Lakeview School student Ruth Lagolago holding her photo which won the overall prize at the Wairarapa Schools Photography Competition. PHOTO/ELISA VORSTER
It may have been Ruth Lagolago’s first competition but she made sure she left her mark.
The eight-year-old Lakeview School student took out the Year 3 and 4 Living Category section as well as being awarded 2018 Overall Winner in the annual Wairarapa Primary Schools Photography Awards last week.
Her winning photo is a close up shot of her best friend Mable Lio who is peeking through playground equipment at the school.
What makes her win even more impressive is the fact the photo was taken using an iPad.
“We don’t have access to cameras so we use the school iPads,” her teacher Michelle Kerr said.
Kerr tries to teach the students basic photography skills during lesson time to prepare them for the competition.
This has the students experimenting with zooming in, colour, angles and perspective.
But the competition is tough, with Kerr saying the quality improves every year.
Ruth felt “proud and happy” to win the award in which the school received a framed print of her winning photo.
“My mum had tears in her eyes,” Ruth said.
Supporting her on the night was her mum, her baby sister, Mable’s mum, Mrs Kerr and her principal Tim Nelson.
“To take overall winner, we’re so proud of her,” Kerr said.
“She’s a neat kid who does her best and puts her all into everything.”
Ruth was also excited to share the win with her dad and her friends, who thought it was “really cool”.
She said she plans to continue pursuing photography and looks forward to taking photos containing trees and flowers.
