Gifted Young Photographer Takes Stunning Photos at Drusillas Park
10-year-old Sophia Dennett showcased her incredible talent for photography at Drusillas Park on Sunday 17th September. From red pandas to penguins, Sophia effortlessly captured the beauty and character of the animals living at the zoo.
Drusillas Director, Christine Smith, fell in love with Sophia’s wildlife photography after seeing her work showcased in a local newspaper. Christine was so impressed by her skill that she invited Sophia to take part in one of Drusillas’ Photography Days.
Photo by Sophie Dennet
Christine Smith commented: “Sophia takes such wonderful photographs! I can’t get over how young she is as well. The pictures she snapped on our Photography Day were well worthy of any professional adult photographer. She obviously has a natural gift for the art and is only going to get better and better!”
“Her wildlife pictures published in the Tunbridge Wells Times really caught my eye, and I thought she might like the chance to try her hand at photographing some more exotic animals at Drusillas. As such, I invited her along to our Photography Day and away she went!”
Photo by Sophie Dennet
Sophia, a student at St James’ CoE Junior School, is embarking on a mission to get more children interested in photography. She has even gone as far as setting up her own junior wildlife competition that runs from September 12th to October 31st 2017. The theme is ‘Animal World’ and photos can depict animals in the wild, as pets or in zoos. For full details of how to enter go to www.wlife03.com
Sophia’s mother, Vicky Dennett, commented: “We would like to say a huge thank you to Drusillas for such a fabulous day and to their excellent Keeper, Emily, who had tonnes of knowledge and patience.”
“Sophia took some lovely photos during the course of the day, and is going to be using them to bolster her portfolio for the silver arts award she is currently doing. Her favourite photos were of the meerkats, red pands and flamingos. She was also really thrilled with her photos of Slasher the rockhopper penguin and the squirrel monkeys.”
Photo by Sophie Dennet
Drusillas’ Director, Christine Smith, said: “We are really pleased Sophia enjoyed her day at the zoo, and we hope to see her back here soon. We will definitely be keeping an eye out for her photographs in the future. We love the pictures she took on Sunday! I think it’s very much a case of ‘watch this space’ with young Sophia, she clearly has a lot to offer.”
Photo by Sophie Dennet
Drusillas’ Photography Day experiences offer the best possible opportunity to see their fascinating animals at close quarters and to achieve that paw-fect picture. Participants get to go behind the scenes and venture inside the enclosures of some of the zoo’s most popular animals. Budding photographers will encounter amazing animals such as meerkats, penguins, lemurs, sloths, beavers, capybaras, porcupines, bats, racoons, coatis and more. To find out more about Drusillas’ photography days please visit: https://www.drusillas.co.uk/photography-days
Photo by Sophie Dennet