Oliver's striking bull run picture

Oliver Riley, who studies photography at Bath Spa University, said he was overwhelmed to be a runner-up in the Calumet Student Photographer of the Year 2016 competition.

The 19-year-old’s image was of the famous annual Running of the Bulls in Pamplona which involves people running in front of the bulls that have been let loose in parts of the Spanish town.

Oliver said: “A lot of thought and planning went into the image as I had to spend a lot of time researching where the best place would be to capture the shot, what street I should be on, at what height I should be and at what time.

“You have about 10 seconds to take the picture, so you’ve really got to get it right and so I was quite nervous.

“Also, I was hanging out of the balcony window, with the owner of the apartment who I didn’t really know, holding onto my legs so I could get the shot. So all the hard work paid off as being named a runner-up has made me proud and very surprised.”

The first-year student is hoping to pursue his photography career, specialising in animals and wildlife.

Calumet Photographic’s annual campaign was developed to encourage artistic photography among up-and-coming student photographers.

Oliver scooped a £20 Calumet gift card and a year’s subscription to Professional Photography magazine.

Jon Warner, managing director of Calumet Photographic, which has an online shop and eight stores across the country, said: “We were bowled over by the high level of talent we saw this year and are proud we have, yet again, discovered some serious talent.

“The judging panel were struck by the striking and powerful image Oliver managed to shoot, which really makes you feel like you are part of the event. Hearing the amount of work he put into the research, even before he got to Spain, was also really impressive. But it paid off, because he captured a great moment where there’s so much to look at in the picture.”

This year the shortlisted entries were reviewed by a panel of judges from the photography world, including Mr Warner, last year’s winner Oliver Henderson and Emma-Lily Pendleton.