Some good news in early 2020, in contrast to what was happening in the world at that time, was that my image Feeding Time won two awards in the Warragul National Photographic Competition – 1st place in the Nature section and Best Digital Image. Both of these awards resulted in amazing prizes – a fancy BenQ monitor (something I had always wanted) and a metal print of the winning image.
Soon after that, in June 2020, I exhibited a set of images at the Rabbit Hole, a quirky gallery space in Bridgetown. This Nature in Focus exhibition contrasted two styles, with the images presented in pairs. One of each pair was a ‘straight’ image; the other a more creative or altered reality style. There is a connection between the subjects of each pair; mostly the same species, sometimes just a place. The image pairs are presented in the slideshow below.
The image I used as the ‘face’ of my exhibition, Fluffy Eastern Grey, was selected as a finalist in the Mono section of Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year 2020.
A more creative image, On the Wing, was a finalist in the 2020 WAPF “In My View” competition and was selected to grace the cover of the resulting book.
I have been taking part in Australian Photographic Society approved competitions for a while now, and in March 2021, achieved my AAPS (Associate of the APS). Along they way, I have received a few awards and medals for various images. I am slowly working towards the next level of FAPS (Fellowship of the APS).
Every year, I take part in the WAPF’s PrintWest inter-club competition – each club enters 15 Colour and 15 Mono images, which are then judged and given scores to find the top club for the year. Bridgetown Camera Club has been doing really well, considering we are a much smaller group than some of the big Perth clubs – we were 6th in 2020, 5th in 2021 and 8th this year. On a personal note, in 2020 I had 5 images accepted, with iMfolosi Vulture making the top 10 in Mono. Last year (2021) I had 2 acceptances, and Crested Guineafowl was in the top 3 in Colour. I have just found out that my only acceptance for 2022, On Guard, was in the top 3 of Mono and was voted People’s Choice in Mono.
Nature in Focus 