Judge: Sean McGowan

Note: Images were scored in five criteria, each worth a maximum five points.

The criteria were: 1. People in Relevant Context (Environmental Portraiture)

2. Newsworthiness of the event or story

3. Impact of the Image

4. Composition

5. Lighting and exposure

In the case of a tie, weighting was given to creativity (composition and lighting).

WINNER:

#1374 The Fleurieu Sun, Dani Brown

“Flamin’ Good Fun”

This is a spectacular cover image by Brown, eye-catching and rife with questions. The subjects are both obviously excited by the huge colourful flame and are recognisable - famous in their own rights - which makes the image even more intriguing to the viewer. The exposure in the foreground and on the subjects is moody and sets off the flames well creating a front page that cries out to be picked up. This was a difficult image to capture in tricky lighting, wisely cropped to eliminate some of the otherwise distracting elements and used to great effect by the editor.

RUNNER UP:

#1374 The Fleurieu Sun, Jesse Ehlers

“Fishing Comp Landed”

The Bluff at Victor Harbor is an iconic formation on the Fleurieu Peninsula but few people have seen it from this angle, at dawn. Brown has done well to follow the fishing boats with her drone, framing an artistic landscape image in soft morning light with striking leading lines and beautiful colours.

THIRD:

#1117 The Southern Argus, Tara Nash

“Flower Power”

Nash’s picture of a woman amongst sunflowers is wonderfully vibrant and the story positive and uplifting. An off-camera fill-flash would have lessened the dark shadows on the subject’s face, ideally with a scrim shading her from the direct sun so she felt less inclined to squint, but the impact of this image is strong nonetheless.

SPECIAL MENTION:

Next page …

#1245 The Centralian, Phil Williams

“Splash and Dash”

A rare image of a bathing rainbow bee-eater used perfectly on a lift-out cover. Possible slightly out of focus and over sharpened to compensate.

#1080 The Bunyip, Mark Willoughby

“CFS Brigade Fires Up”

A well-composed environmental portrait, a locally important story, impactful with strong lighting and balanced exposure. Unfortunately the resolution of the supplied PDF was too low for inclusion in judging.