Scavenger Hunt Photo Contest

Winners revealed! Young photographers capture nature’s beauty...

This summer, young photographers across the UK turned their lenses to focus on beauty in the natural world, as part of The Week Junior Science+Nature magazine’s annual Scavenger Hunt Photo Contest. Readers were challenged to track down 10 natural treasures, and get creative with a camera. 

The result was over 1,000 breathtaking photos that show wild spaces through young eyes. From these, the judging panel selected two top prizewinners and eight runners-up. Thanks to competition partners, Canon, first and second prize winners will each receive over £1,000 of state-of-the-art Canon photography equipment, to help them take their skills to the next level. 

The overall winner is Golden Hour, taken by Anwen, 16, from Aberystwyth – a puffin bathed in golden light, its beak brimming with sand eels. Anwen said, “I had been dreaming of a photo of a puffin during golden hour ever since I started wildlife photography, and this evening I was able to capture my vision.” Anwen’s stunning shot now graces the front cover of the latest Science+Nature issue.

All 10 winning shots will be exhibited at the Photography & Video Show, March 2026, where the young photographers’ work will go on public display alongside prizewinning images from professionals.