I’ve just returned home after over-nighting in York, a small historic country town just over an hour east of Perth. I travelled to York on Friday 26^th March to co-judge the 2010 York Photographic Awards with Chris Hassell, an esteemed state photography judge and photographer. The awards are held annually and are the largest photography hanging awards (i.e. framed or able to be taken straight from the awards and hung on a purchaser’s wall – so not mounted on cardboard) held in Western Australia. Chris and I arrived at noon and after a lovely lunch with Ken and Liz, President and Secretary respectively for the York Society Photographic Awards Sub-committee, we spent the afternoon viewing, reviewing, discussing, debating, negating, negotiating, adjudicating, and revisiting each and every entry. The high standard of many images made it difficult to split some as winners or highly commended awards,  but we eventually we reached a unanimous decision and awarded four first prize category placing’s and ten highly commended awards.

The presentation ceremony was held today (27^th March) at the Sandalford Gallery, Avon Terrace, York and approximately 60 people attended. Chris and I appreciated the approaches made to us by entrants who were keen to discuss their images and who asked us for feedback and advice. We think every entrant deserves a special mention for being brave enough to show their work in a public forum of peers, and to put it forth for judging. And it was great for us to receive comments like “It’s nice to come to a photography award’s and agree with the judges”, so I’m thinking that means we chose well.

Big congratulations to all of the winners and highly commended award recipients – especially the Open Colour award winner, being the category with the most entries, won by 15 year old Sean Standen with his image “Sunset at Green Hill”. Sean also received a highly commended award for the same image in the York Subject category. He might only be 15 but he is a serious photographer, and a good one at that! Definitely someone to watch out for!

Here’s a copy of Sean’s winning image “Sunset at Green Hill” (c) Sean Standen.

Another stunning winning image was Derek Kimberley’s panoramic high dynamic range (HDR) photograph titled “York Streetscape”. Derek won the York Subject category, also received a Highly Commended award for another HDR image,  “Shed” in the Monochromatic Category. (Image below – Alex Cearns, Chris Hassell and Derek Kimberley with “York Streetscape”. Photo courtesy of Lindsay McNeill, York & Districts Community Matters.)

Here’s the full list of winners and highly commended awards for 2010:

OPEN COLOUR – Winner

Sean Standen “Sunset at Green Hill”

Judges comments:

• “Beautiful sunset panorama with a strongly silhouetted tee as the focal point, set off by the leading lines of the train tracks. Well thought out composition with all the elements coming together. “
• “A high impact photography with striking colours, yet a simple composition with the glowing railway lines leading into the sunset. The tree on the right just adds balance and interest, but is necessary to create a powerful image.”

OPEN COLOUR – Highly Commended

Merv French “Greens Pool”

David Horsfield “Mends St Jetty”

Kathy Oliver “Goose Muster”

Colin Thomas “Off the Wall”

 CREATIVE PHOTOGRAPHY – Winner

Jan Robinson “Beyond the window”

Judges Comments:

• “Well handled, multi-layered image with strong presentation and appropriate and professional framing. A unique concept of looking through the window and effectively using this as a frame within a frame. The layering of sea water on the edges of the image adds to the beach theme and feel.”
• “A very well executed creative image. The strength of the well-lit lighthouse, complemented by the lines of the window frame is beautifully set off by the well-conceived ‘frame’ of the sea. The viewer’s eye is drawn into the frame, up the steps to the lighthouse, and then the inclusion of the seagull adds to the general ocean scene. Predominant tones of blue and white add to the simplicity of the image.”

CREATIVE PHOTOGRAPHY – Highly Commended

Shayne Emmitt “Light of Perth”

MONOCHROMATIC PHOTOGRAPHY – Winner

Kirsten Sivyer “Fire/Smoke, Cuballing”

Judges Comments:

• “Relevant and current image depicting a burn off. The windmills stand out in silhouette and the wisps of smoke hold their own against the dark background, Strong variance in the dark tones and overall a stunning and emotive image.”
• “This is a relatively simple image, beautifully handled in terms of lighting and composition. The oblique lines of the landscape add gentleness to the scene with a backlit effect created by the fires giving certain prominence of the trees which are in silhouette. The placement of the windmills slightly off centre adds strength to a very striking photograph.”

MONOCHROMATIC PHOTOGRAPHY – Highly Commended

Derek Kimberley “Shed”

Shayne Emmitt “Old Man”

YORK SUBJECT – Winner     

Derek Kimberley “York Streetscape”

Judges comments:

• “Panoramic High dynamic range image depicting York’s main street with vibrant and dense colours to catch the eye. The panoramic composition shows the town centre in a way not previously seen in a photograph and gives an interesting take on a character town.”
• “The unusual treatment of this York scene has great strength and impact and stood out from the other images for this reason. The photographer has skilfully manipulated the scene in such a way as to provide the viewer with a readily recognisable image but shown in a very novel way. The choice of high dynamic range gives a certain antique look to the old buildings which is very appropriate and has been very well executed without being overdone. The interesting sky is a welcome addition.”

YORK SUBJECT – Highly Commended

Sally Monteiro  “Untitled”

Sean Standen “Sunset at Green Hill”

Marie Kingsley “The York Flour Mill”

The photography exhibition is open daily from 10am-4pm until 5th April, so do call in and take a look if you are out and about in York. Most of the images are available for purchase too!

Thanks to the York Society for their hospitality. The accommodation they provided at The Bayleaf was colourful (literally!!) and comfortable, and the evening meal at The Mill Cafe was made all the better in the company of the York Society Photographic Awards sub-committee volunteers. Thanks also to Chris for being a fabulous co-judge – I think our similar judging styles and belief in fairness and encouragement made us a good team. Thanks finally to John and Debora for the laughs and the company.