Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2021 i Australian Photography

Revealed in these pages are the winners, runners-up and finalists of the 2020 Photographer of the Year, the largest competition for amateur photographers in Australasia, and the culmination of months of work from literally hundreds of people – at the thick end, the work of talented photographers from throughout the region who submitted more than 3,000 entries this year, and at the pointy end, our editorial team and judging panel, tasked with shortlisting and assessing this year's work. Back in 2016 when I joined AP it was right around the time we were announcing the winners of the 2015 edition of the competition. As a pretty green magazine editor (and photographer) at the time, leafing through a mag filled with page after page of winning images was a downright humbling…

ALI MOUGHNIEH @amoughnieh INSECT PORTRAITS Ali Moughnieh is a Sydney based photographer, born and brought up in Kuwait but calling Sydney home since 2015. He says his striking insect portraits series is an attempt to show insects in a way the average person never sees. “Humans have evolved to recognise faces; we look for the eyes, for the mouth, for the symmetry, we look for features similar to ours, because we understand them,” he explains. “However, because insects are very small, we only see them as a whole, we don’t see their faces, and therefore we don’t easily relate to them. What I’m trying to achieve with my work is to create shock and draw attention by showing a different perspective of insects, one that we were never meant to…

SPONSOR ALAN COLIGADO @acoligado SHAPES OF SOUSSEVLAI Sydney photographer Alan Coligado has been perfecting his black and white photography for a number of years, and his Landscape runner-up portfolio was a popular choice with the judges, bringing a sense of abstraction to Namibia’s famous Sossusvlei dunes, which he visited in August 2019. “As striking as the colour of the dunes is, I was equally mesmerised by how they were sculpted by the winds over time,” he says. “I thought that rendering these natural structures in black and white would bring their contours to the fore. The vertical orientation was another conscious choice that I made to push the concept of abstracting shape and form a bit further.” WHAT THE JUDGES’ SAID JACQUES VAN AS: Alan’s portfolio is impressive, and not…

SPONSOR DAVID DAHLENBURG daviddahlenburg.com INDUSTRIAL NOIR South Australian photographer David Dahlenburg’s series Industrial Noir explores the industrial architecture of the winery he works for, and the series is the first time he’s used his phone to take fine art images. “The winery is forever changing with varying weather and lighting conditions,” Dahlenburg says. “There are many compositions that can be achieved from walking up stairs and onto catwalks. Pipes, handrails, road markings and welds on wine tanks can be used for leading lines and to add interest.” “The images in this series were taken with my iPhone. As luck would have it, when the light is just right, the only camera you have on you is the one on your phone. I found the phone particularly good at capturing reflections…

BEC LOWE beclowe.myportfolio.com UNCONFINED Mother of three from Brisbane Bec Lowe says she usually has her camera close at hand with photography being her primary creative outlet. Her Creative category winning self-portrait is the result of combining flash with a slow shutter speed. “Flash helps to define me, then with the slower shutter speed I move slightly to create the softer edges and generate movement,” she explains. “Sometimes when I create an image, I have a clear vision of what I want to accomplish. It can be thoughtful, slowly cultivated, with props, planning and patience. Other times I follow my mood. It’s a blur of emotions and thoughts, which is what I did with this image. “In part of the image, I am clearly defined and surrounded by softness –…

SPONSOR JARVIS SMALLMAN @jarvis.s.photography SUNSET SEAL Jarvis Smallman is an accomplished 14-year-old from the small community of Hopetoun Western Australia, who is lucky enough to call the beautiful Fitzgerald Biosphere home. In between the outdoors, beach and surf, he’s also developed a passion for photography. “I was snorkelling at my favourite beach when I saw a curious head and two huge eyes poke out of the water,” he says. “I rushed back to the beach to grab my camera, and this seal came up close to say hello. I drifted with her down the current as the sun was setting over the ocean. Capturing the perfect shot was difficult as she was moving so fast, but everything lined up perfectly and I was able to nail this image. Such an…

25 IMAGES ANNOUNCED IN WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD 25 IMAGES from the annual Natural History Museum’s prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition have been shortlisted for this year’s People’s Choice Vote. This year’s selection of images includes two endangered Iberian lynx kittens making an abandoned hayloft their playground, a family of beavers in their favourite feeding spot, a distinctive portrait of a Japanese warbonnet and a group of burrowing owls living in harmony with their human neighbours in Florida’s Ten Thousand Barrier Islands. Three Australian photographers have also made the shortlist; Robert Irwin, Gary Meredith and AP contributor Douglas Gimesy. The 25 images were shortlisted by the Natural History Museum from over 49,000 image entries from across the world. Voting ends on 2 February 2021.…

JULIE THOMAS @juliethomasphotoart CAMOUFLAGE It’s fitting that our overall winner of Photographer of the Year, and our People category winning se-ries for 2020, happened to be a lockdown proj-ect, as personal projects are something many photographers have taken on in the last year. Bendigo based photographer Julie Thomas says the inspiration behind Camouflage was her two daughters, with her eldest, 12-year-old Madi, the star of this colourful and creative portfolio. “When we went into lockdown in Victoria, we had a lot of spare time on our hands,” Thomas says. “We were keeping ourselves busy together with painting, mask making, stop-motion videos and face painting. It didn’t take long before the dining table was covered with paints, canvas, fabric and ideas that evolved into this “Camouflage” series.” My eldest daughter loved…

SPONSOR JASMINE VINK @jasmine_vink ESSENTIAL WORKER Ecologist and wildlife photographer Jasmine Vink’s work may already be familiar to you – she won the overall award of Photographer of the Year back in 2018 with a series of images of frogs from Borneo and Madagascar. Here, the Brisbane photographer has turned her attention to flying foxes, the ‘essential workers’ of the ecosystem that keep forests healthy and even assist bushland to recover after fire. “Photographing wild black flying foxes was my photographic project while in lockdown,” Vink says. “I was able to visit a friend who had flying foxes regularly visit her backyard and spend time with them to gain their trust over several months. After spending this time getting to know the regular flying foxes, I was able to approach…

ANTHONY LAWRENCE @drcamera NETWORKS A specialist obstetrician and gynaecologist in practice for more than 30 years, Melbourne's Anthony Lawrence is also a keen traveller, and for his Travel category winning series Networks, chose to hit the waterfront in Bangladesh's capital of Dhaka to shoot a series that reveals a snapshot of the fisher-men who work the shores in this vast city. For our judges, it was Lawrence's decision to tell an intimate documentary-style story with a gritty, authentic feel that made his portfolio a clear standout this year. WHAT THE JUDGES' SAID ANTHONY MCKEE: While many photographers often try to capture all encompassing vistas while on their travels, Anthony Lawrence’s photograph “Network” gives us a closer, more detailed look at the fishermen of Dhaka, Bangladesh, as they work to repair…

SPONSOR JANINE DAWES @jnine_d THE SEED POD Perth based accountant Janine Dawes says she has always had a keen interest in macro photography and with restrictions imposed due to the pandemic, decided to look for subjects like flowers, leaves and insects that were easy to find and close to home. “One day when I was out for my daily walk, some seed pods that had fallen on the ground caught my eye. They had started to dry out in the sun and looked like a great subject to photograph so I picked one up and took it home,” she says. “The intricate details and vein like markings that the macro lens was able to capture on the pod were amazing and even more so once converted to black and white.…

EMMA FRATER @emmafraterphotography FIRE WATCH Although her image was taken in May 2018 during a hazard reduction burn, scenes like this could have just as easily been captured in many parts of Australia last summer during our horror 2019/20 bushfire season. Here, the viewer is witness to the devastating spectacle of a huge plume of smoke and ash towering over Mount Solitary in the Blue Mountains, during the first reduction burn in the area for more than 25 years. For Blue Mountains local Emma Frater, as soon as she heard the burn was happening she was off with her camera to the nearest viewpoint to capture it. “I took quite a few shots of the smoky valley and the firebombing helicopters, but the man standing alone with his hand on…

SPONSOR RUTH WOODROW ruth.angrybluecat.com MELBOURNE IN ISOLATION Ruth Woodrow’s collage Melbourne in Isolation may initially look simple, but then you start looking at the details. The product of more than four months of pounding the pavement and more than 250 images, her image impressed our judges with its deliberate use of colour and clever and quirky repetition. “Each image represents a happy memory of time spent walking my neighbourhood with my husband, Paul, over a period of three months, from March to June 2020,” Woodrow explains. “When I found out that I would be working from home, I decided that I was going to go for a walk every day for both my mental and physical wellbeing. During my walks I started noticing the various signs and markings on the…

ALEX CEARNS houndstoothstudio.com.au DYLAN FOX dylanfox.com.au JACQUES VAN AS jacquesvaphotography.com SALLY BROWNBILL thebrownbilleffect.com ANTHONY McKEE anthonymckee.com.au GEORGINA STEYTLER georginasteytler.com.au LISA MICHELE BURNS thewanderinglens.com SHANNON WILD shannonwild.com DOUWE DIJKSTRA monochromevisions.net HELEN WHITTLE helenwhittlephotography.com MARK GALER markgaler.com STEVE & ANN TOON toonwildlife.com DREW HOPPER drewhopperphotography.com HILLARY YOUNGER hillaryounger.com.au RYAN DOMENICO ryandomenico.com TIM LEVY levy.photo…

MY FAVOURITE IMAGE THIS MONTH’S WINNER PETER RANDELL Throwing The Fleece EDITOR’S COMMENT We’re a sucker for a great story image, and this image by Peter Randell is not only that, but also a beautiful family record as well. “The last old ram had been shorn after escaping capture for a few years, and my then 96 year old father-in-law was keen to see his son throw and clean up the fleece,” Peter explains. “He had been born on the farm and was a keen sheep and wheat man who had done well with his breeding programs in earlier times.” “I positioned myself at the far side of the sorting table and shot up at the undersurface of the fleece as my brother-in-law threw, with the camera set on rapid-fire.…

SPONSOR CIHAN BEKTAS cihanbektas.net HER Cihan Bektas’ ethereal tribute to his wife was made over a period of three years, with images shot on a polaroid camera. There’s no manipulation, no staging and no post-production in the series, which seeks to explore Bektas’ wife’s schizophrenia by documenting and trying to ‘control the nervousness, irritability, self-harming and even suicidal behaviours acquired in momentary personal disorders caused by the illness.’ At first glance it’s a troubling, dark and moving series, made all the more remarkable when you consider that all the moments here were captured candidly. In total, he says more than 220 polaroid films were used to capture the series. WHAT THE JUDGES’ SAID DREW HOPPER: The surrealism and dream-like visuals in Cihan’s series evoke a sense of undefined beauty in…

NICOLE ANDREWS @birdtragic DUNES In a year where most of us have been greatly limited with where we can travel, Melbourne’s Nicole Andrews timed her trips to the Death Valley, USA and Morocco’s eastern border with Algeria to perfection. The result is a truly global set of images that emphasise both the diversity of sand dunes and their striking shapes and forms in a variety of light. “Many parts of the Moroccan dunes were badly roughed up by quadbikes and camel tracks but we were fortunate enough to find some unspoilt dunes at Erg Chegaga and Erg Lihoudi,” she says. “Finding just that right spot while coping with intense heat and often gusty conditions was challenging.” Anyone who has photographed dunes will know just how tricky they can be to…

SPONSOR PIETRO GIORDANO pietrogiordanophotography.com INDIA Pietro Giordano’s five-week trip to India in 2018 was ‘everything he dreamed it would be’, and gave him the opportunity to work on his portrait photography in one of the most visually striking countries on earth. Captured in Rajasthan, he says he was captivated by the instant connection with the people of this village and their generous offering to be able to take photos of them in their humble environment. “I would often walk alone early in the mornings to capture the new day and start of daily life,” he says.” “They were intrigued by my genuine curiosity and I always tried to engage with gestures and smiles and in return they posed for me in a very honest, natural and proud way.” WHAT THE…

CAMERON MEACHAM @cmeacham_photography SHADOWS AT PLAY Cameron Meacham is no stranger to these pages, taking out the Black and White category of Photographer of the Year back in 2018. Since then, he's kept his enthusiasm for black and white, but shifted his focus to photographing his daughter Gracie, 3. His series, captured in Melbourne, explores a day in the life of his daughter – both during and after lockdown and managing the restrictions of the 5km limit around his house. “When the parks finally opened up, Gracie and dads (my) life soon became park life,” he explains. “Every day was a new adventure, finding a different park within our 5kms. The ‘Shadows at Play’ series evolved while capturing the incidental moments she experienced along the way, while encompassing the shadows…

SPONSOR LUKE MACKENZIE iamlukemackenzie.com MORNING DELIGHT Victorian photographer Luke Mackenzie captured his runner-up image Morning Delight in early 2019 when his work had him driving the Great Ocean Road quite frequently. He’s done the seemingly impossible with this photo – shooting a location we’ve seen hundreds of times in a unique way. “I’d been to the Apostles countless times at sunrise to shoot, but I’d never seen it in these conditions with the cloud rolling off the cliffs, then down and across the ocean like that,” he explains. “You can see in the image the thick fog about to come across in the background. This moment only lasted a few minutes before the whole place was covered in fog and the lighting had completely changed to a dreary morning.” “One…

JAKE FRAZER @jf.frazer BLINDING COLOUR 16-year-old Northern Rivers photographer Jake Frazer captured this evovative, filmlike image in January 2020 while sitting on a tram in Kamakura, Japan. “I was probably scrolling Instagram,” he tells us, “amazed at all the impossibly creative and meaningful photographs on there, and almost completely missed the scene laid out before my eyes.” With spitting rain to add mood, cloud cover for lighting, a vignette of patient humans and a driver; perfectly silhouetted, all the ingredients were there for a stunning image. “Fumbling for my camera, it occurred to me… How many of these picture-perfect shots have I missed due to distraction? I was scared to intrude, but knew that regret would follow if I didn’t take a chance.” The rest, as they say, is history.…

This image is one of the more interesting I’ve captured in my time as a sports photographer. What at first glance may look like just another speedway shot is actually a remarkable moment in time that would be almost impossible to replicate. If you look at the bottom of the frame, you can see the silhouette of another photographer who was shooting the same scene I was. Being up close, he fired his camera flash at the exact moment I took this image from up high in the stands at Archerfield Speedway in Queensland. After I took the image, I remember taking a look on the back of the camera and seeing the shadows above the cars, but even then I didn’t really give it much thought. It wasn’t until…

POWERFUL POINT OF FOCUS According to Craig Anderson, this photo was taken on a sunset walk with his wife at Harmers Haven in Victoria. He said, “With limited zoom, I knew I had to get a bit closer to this cormorant airing/drying its wings. I took a series of photos as I slowly inched closer through a maze of rock pools….. Unfortunately the bird did fly off before I got as close as I wanted to, so the image has had a reasonably heavy crop. Looking through the photos I took, the waves in the background were a little more dramatic in this one, helping the context of the image”. I’ve shown it to a number of people, and it’s surprising how many saw a dragon instead of a bird…