Sledmere House hosts exhibition in honour of teenage photographer killed in crash

• Jon Hill previews the exhibition at Sledmere House. A posthumous exhibition is showcasing the work of an award-winning teenage photographer seven months after she died in a car accident.Elise Thomas, 17, from Sledmere, East Yorkshire, suffered fatal injuries in a crash on the M1 in August last year.

She had started taking wildlife photos during the first Covid-19 lockdown in 2020, quickly gaining acclaim and winning the RSPCA Young Photographer of the Year award in 2021.

Many of her pictures are now on display at Sledmere House, near Driffield.Her mum, Jo Clark, said: "She first picked up a camera in lockdown when nobody could go anywhere. We were very lucky because we lived on a farm so we could go for a walk and not see anybody.

"She just brought her camera with her and that was it. We did not see her for hours on end."Elise's stepfather, Nick Clark, said Elise was "in awe" of the nature she could see around her. Fifty photos have been selected by professional photographer Christopher Sykes for the exhibition. Sykes said: "When you think these photographs were taken when she was under 15 and you just see the eye she had, she obviously had a great career ahead of her in photography. He added: "Not everybody has that eye."

Describing the exhibition as a "joyful" celebration of Elise's work, he said it was also "tinged with sadness"."I think she would be so proud. We all are," he added.The selected photos have been printed by another professional in the business, Paul Berriff, who has been a photographer and filmmaker for over 50 years. He said Elise's photos were "exceptional", adding: "I could not believe that somebody of that age had done these pictures."

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