Olympus and Warners Midlands continue sponsorship of the RSPCA's YPA08 photography competition
 

Stunning animal images taken by some of the finest young photographers in Britain have been unveiled on the shortlist for the prestigious RSPCA Young Photographer Awards 2008 (YPA08). The event has been sponsored and supported by Olympus for the past sixteen years but three years ago Olympus was joined by printing company Warners Midlands as co-sponsors, the additional sponsorship from Warners enabling the organisers to produce an impressive booklet showcasing the previous year's winners.

The YPA08 judges have whittled down the thousands of entries to a shortlist of thirty-three spectacular shots. The winners will be announced at an exclusive awards ceremony at HM Tower of London on 12th December. Winners of YPA08 will be chosen in categories for under 12 years, 12-18 years, Pet Personalities and the Olympus Portfolio. The winners will receive top Olympus photographic equipment, while the overall winner will also get the chance to go on an exclusive RSPCA photoshoot. Family firm Warners has been trading for over eighty years, having been founded as a newsagent in 1926 but moving into printing in the 1960s. Today the firm employs some three hundred staff and has a turnover of in excess of £30 million per annum. Olympus has other involvement in sponsorship, notably in Formula 1 with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. Over many years the company has photographed some of the sport's legendary drivers: Mario Andretti, Ronnie Peterson, James Hunt, Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher, to name but a few, with Hunt and Senna both winning Drivers' World Championships with McLaren.   In the season which has just finished, working alongside Vodafone McLaren Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton, Heikki Kovalainen, Pedro de la Rosa and Gary Paffett, photographer Jon Nicholson, using the Olympus E-3, was tasked with capturing not only the on-track action, but a behind-the-scenes record of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team's Championship challenge. Model and photographer Penny Lancaster-Stewart has joined the YPA judging panel this year for the first time. She turned her attention to YPA - now in its eighteenth year - after starring on the dance floor in the BBC One television hit show Strictly Come Dancing last year. Thrilled Penny said: "I was delighted to be a judge for the RSPCA's Young Photographer Awards and was thrilled to see lots of creative and interesting images from fantastic young talent." BBC Really Wild Show presenter Nick Baker has also deliberated over the YPA08 entries and will host this year's awards ceremony.