Girl and grandfather award finals

A 10-year-old girl and her grandfather, 77, both reached the final of a global food photography competition.

Hollie, from Caerphilly and Harry – a professional photographer for over 50 years – has been taking photos together every Sunday for two years.

“It gives me great pleasure in nourishing her interest in photography, because she seems to be very creative and a very fast learner,” said Harry.

The two are finalists in two different categories of the world prices for food photography sponsored by Tenderstem, a global competition considered as the “Oscars of Food Photography” which have received nearly 10,000 admissions from 70 countries.

“It’s absolutely great. I’ve been doing this for a long time. Hollie started at the same age as me, nine years old, and seeing her reaching this level now is very gratifying,” Harry told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.

“When she discovered that she was preselected, then later finalist, I think it is right to say that she bounced back like a tennis ball … It will be an experience that she will remember for the rest of her life and, let’s hope, starting her in a life trip.”

The photo of Harry, Lemon Tea, is a finalist in the category on the phone, while the onion piece of Hollie’s germination is in place for the youth prize, with chief Jamie Oliver one of the judges.

“You always have a camera in your pocket, if you have an iPhone or a smartphone. This allows you to capture images from anywhere really when you are on the go, as long as you are aware of the potential,” said Harry.

“Lemon tea is a blow that I made at home, killed directly on it, and I lit it below. It is a question of controlling light, photography, and that’s what I taught in Hollie, how to use light to give life to things.”

He continued: “What we did, we put the iPhone on a tripod and we can control it remotely, using Bluetooth, so we don’t have to touch the phone when we take the photo.”

Hollie said that her entry was inspired by spring, adding: “The way we pulled it, for me, it looks really mystical because it is lateral lighting, it seems that the sun rises from a direction and it happens on the onion.”

The prices take place on May 20 at the Galleries of the shopping center in London, with the images taking place during an exhibition from May 21 to 25.