18-year-old photographer uses decade-old DSLR to shoot mystical bird image that wins one of Europe’s most prestigious wildlife photography awards

A now 18-year-old photographer has turned a misty morning and a lake full of swans into an award-winning wildlife image – using a Nikon DSLR that’s been around for a decade.

Szymon Bartold’s Swan lake captures the birds gliding through glowing orange hues at sunrise, their silhouettes reflected in the water’s surface to create an almost mystical scene. As mute swans rose majestically from the mist, bathed in golden light, he pressed the shutter.