A NEWPORT photographer has won an international award for an image he captured during the city’s Nato summit.

Malpas photographer Richard Walton, 30, has travelled the globe in his quest to capture stunning images, but it was a picture taken in Newport’s Chepstow Road which scooped the prize in the documentary category of The Societies International 20x16 Annual Photography Print Competition.

He has also been awarded The Societies Masters Photography award, and is the youngest person to have received the honour.

Mr Walton who works under his full name Richard P Walton, has been a professional photographer since finishing his photography studies at Crosskeys College 12 years ago.

His winning monochrome image was captured in September last year during the protests at Newport’s Nato summit, depicting a little girl looking through a barrier shield of a policeman on Chepstow Road.

“I’m living the dream,” he said.

“I still photograph weddings locally but often I go further afield.

“I think it’s just the way I put myself out there.

“I just try to do something different- I climb trees and think of doing weird angles to make [my work] more contemporary.”

The competition in January 14 is part of one of the largest conventions in Europe which sees around 14,000 people through the doors to take part in workshops and see the images from a range of categories on display taken by photographers from all over the world.

Mr Walton received a glass trophy for each award as well as £500 worth of photography equipment.

The jet-setting photographer lectures in colleges and universities around the world and is invited to the Gumball3000 Car Rally annually which sees him travel from Miami to Ibiza.

Clients also seek him out to capture their weddings overseas with Mr Walton travelling to weddings in Cyprus and Ibiza.

“I had a studio but jot go rid of it in October because I was always out and about and travelling a lot,” he added.

This May it will be the photographer's own wedding, which he plans to get a photographer friend to cover.

To see more of his work visit: http://www.richardpwalton.co.uk/