More than 300 photographers under the age of 15 years from all over the State participated in the ESB's Environmental Photography Awards competition last year, out of a total national and international entry of almost 3,000 professional and amateur photographers.

Young Elaine Wynne from Edenderry, Co Offaly, won first and second places in the junior category. She was presented with her trophy at the Gallery of Photography in Dublin last week, plus a certificate (for second place) and cheques for £400 and £300, respectively, by the Minister for Public Enterprise, Mary O'Rourke and the chairman of the ESB, Billy McCann. Her top picture was a dark, brooding sky and seascape, Twilight from the Cliffs of Moher; Wynne's second-place photograph, Rocky Waters, can be seen above left. In third place was Emma Treanor from Ballinasloe, Co Galway, who received a certificate a and a cheque for £200 for the photograph shown above.

There was a youth category, too, in which the winner was Mark Russell Hill from Dublin.

John Hooton from Co Cork won the amateur category, Richard Mills from Cork won the first prize in the professional category and the international winner was Keith Brownlow from Cheshire in England.

This is the third year of the competition, the aim of which is to encourage the development of environmental photography and raise public awareness of the unique and fragile beauty of our countryside and urban areas. Subjects included plant magic, the waterworld, animal wonders, the world in our hands, wild world, city wonders and the built environment. In assessing the entries, the judges took into account picture content and treatment of subject matter, originality, picture composition, lighting and presentation.

Television personality and conservationist Bill Oddie also attended the awards ceremony. Total prize money totalled some £12,000.