Puppy portrait takes prize

Fernridge School pupil Adam Davies, 5, with his teacher’s pet dog Duke, which he photographed for a competition. PHOTO/EMILY NORMAN

By Emily Norman
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It took 5-year-old Fernridge School pupil Adam Davies hundreds of snaps to land the perfect photograph.
And his hard work paid off, with his puppy portrait taking out the ‘Living’ category of this year’s Year 1 and 2 Masterton Primary Schools Photography Competition.
Adam’s mother, Tina Davies, was “really proud” of the winning snap, a composition which filled the frame perfectly with blue and white fluff – white from his teacher’s west highland terrier, and blue from the classroom pillow the dog’s head was resting on.
“It was a cool photo,” Mrs Davies said.
“Adam loves dogs – dogs and photography are his thing.
“He took hundreds of photos on the iPad of Duke the dog.”
Adam, who has Down Syndrome, had honed his photography skills at home, where he regularly takes photos of animals.
“We have guinea pigs and rabbits, dogs and cats so he takes lots of photos of them,” his mother said.
Adam’s teacher Lucy Zouch and teacher aide Des Stewart said Adam had a keen eye for photography.
“I’ve had to delete some apps on the iPad because he had taken so many photos,” Mrs Zouch said.
“I remember the day he took this one; Adam was sitting with Des with the iPad out and just snapping away at lots of different things.
“I had brought the dogs in for the day and Duke was getting a little bit sooky and was wanting to sit on the cushion away from everyone.
“That’s when Adam took the photo — he did a great job.”
The Masterton Primary Schools Photography Competition had its prize-giving at Masterton Intermediate School last week.
Mrs Davies said Adam was so excited with his achievement he kept cheering, “we won, we won”.