WHEN he clicked away on a disposable camera, Max Mallender simply thought he was capturing another memory of his travels around Thailand.
But the image of a man sheltering under an umbrella while riding his motorcycle in a torrential tropical downpour near Chiang Mai has ended up winning the teenager a national photographic competition.
Max Mallender
Max, 19, who lives in Stamford Bridge on the border of North and East Yorkshire, picked up the top spot in the Stories of the Eye competition run by the arts and culture magazine Vice after returning from the month-long trip this summer to Thailand.
His picture was selected by the judging panel ahead of 3,000 other entries and he has now been awarded a new Olympus camera and an invitation to see his photo framed and displayed in a London gallery.
Max, who is currently helping run a photography course at York College where he used to study, said: "I was really surprised and thrilled to win. I took the picture on the spur of the moment and never really thought it would turn out so well.
"It was great to be invited to London and to see my picture in the gallery."
Among the competition judges were TV presenter Miquita Oliver and model Daisy Lowe.
