Pupils can snap up £1,000 for their school in photography competition

The wesbite cartridgesave.co.uk is challenging children aged four to 11 nationwide to print off and send in a photo of something that matters to them in a competition called Generation P.

Alongside each entry they must explain, in less than 100 words, why the person, event, place or object depicted is so important to them.

In return a panel of judges will award the photographer of the very best entry £1,000 for their school to spend on print or photographic equipment.

Two runner ups will receive £500 for their school and all three placed entrants will bags themselves a state-of-the-art camera worth £100.

In addition the top 50 entries from across the UK will be showcased in a free-to-download-and-print photo album.

This album will become a testament to the things that mattered to children in 2016, that can be printed and physically handed down to their children’s children.

The competition will be judged by Stuart Nicol, former head of pictures for The Daily Telegraph and group picture editor of The Press Association.

As a photographer Stuart covered major news events all over the world including the invasion of Lebanon by Israeli forces, famine in Ethiopia and Southern Sudan and the protests in Tiananmen Square.

Closer to home he covered multiple royal weddings, the miners’ strike, and the conflict in Northern Ireland.

More recently he worked as a photo manager at the 2012 London Olympics.

He said: “The most amazing thing about photography, is that it allows you to steal a moment in time, a moment never to be repeated.

“A printed photograph has immense power. It allows you hold onto that memory, that moment, forever.

“The best photos are not the ones with the perfect lighting or most expensive print but the ones that capture the emotion of the moment.

“I am so excited to seeing what the UK’s youngest photographers will deliver.”

Stuart will be joined on the judging panel by Dr Sandi Mann, a behavioural psychologist from the University of Central Lancashire who specialises in the analysis of things that matter to people.

She commented: “Our relentless march into the digital space means we are no longer printing photos and we are in danger of losing the connection to our past.

“It’s important that our future generation takes steps now to stop and print the photos that matter to them so that they always have physical reminders of the memories that document their lives.”

Ian Cowley, managing director of cartridgesave.co.uk, added: “We’ll never be able to 100 per cent rely on technology so printing is the only way to guarantee that an image won’t be lost.

“By running this competition we want to celebrate the power of printing and the fact it provides us with a physical testimony of that one memory we never want to forget.”

Children can access hints and tips from both Stuart and Dr Mann on what makes a good photo and how best to explain why it matters, plus full details of how to enter at

www.cartridgesave.co.uk/printwhatmatters/news

Closing date for entries is May 6.