THIS is the stunning image that saw a teenager win a top wildlife photography competition.

Cameron Smith, from Wetheringsett, picked up the overall winner award in the Suffolk Wildlife Trust Photography Competition 2010 for this fantastic picture of a bee hovering by a garden flower.

Cameron, 13, said it had taken many attempts to capture the exact image he was after, which proved good enough to win over the panel of judges, made up of a trio of experienced professional wildlife photographers.

He said: “It was taken in my garden one weekend. Dad had leant me his camera. I was taking photographs of flowers and insects because I like taking close-ups.

“I spotted this bee buzzing around a plant and I decided to try and take a picture of it. It took me a lot of attempts before I got the picture I wanted to get. I chose this photo because the bee was in flight and the photo was sharp. It looked cool.”

The overall highly commended shot was taken by David Hermon of Felixstowe with a spectacular photo of a peregrine falcon.

The judging panel included Kevin Sawford, who said the process of choosing the winners had been very difficult. He said: “Photographing action like this is not easy and the judges deliberated for some time before choosing the overall winner.”

Fellow judge Bill Baston said the careful thought and preparation that had gone into Cameron’s photograph made it a worthy winner – not only of the junior category but also of the overall competition.

He added: “It’s a remarkable achievement for a 13-year-old. The colourful, curved flower sweeps across the image and points towards the hovering bee, which is razor-sharp and frozen in mid-air, ‘framed’ in the dark gap between two out-of-focus flowers in the background, so that it stands out even more.”

All the winning photos and the best of the rest will be on show at the Redgrave and Lopham Fen reserve this weekend.

n If you’re a keen young photographer check out the See Hear photo competition link at www.eadt24.co.uk – you could win a great prize!