Return to photography earns prize
TERRY Charles’ photography career has come full circle.
The winner of the Alwyn Kucks award at the Heritage Bank Photographic Competition this week first picked up a camera at the age of 17.
But life had other plans for Mr Charles.
“Kids took over after then and it’s only in the past two years that I started again,” he said.
As a teen he converted his sisters’ playhouse into a makeshift photography lab where he would spend hours developing black and white film.
As fate would have it, it was his knack for black and white that scored him the gong.
His striking shot of fishermen casting off on a Northern Territory pier earned him the prize, one he knew he had a shot at the minute the shutter closed.
But it wasn’t without a few bumps and scrapes on the way.
“Apart from falling over twice trying to get to the right location and the slippery rock - there was some beauty in it,” Mr Charles said.
“Most photographers are surprised but you know when you have a good shot.
“But when you look at the quality of prints on show you go ‘oh wow’.”
❝story Telling the is my release.
— Terry Charles
His love for photography was rekindled by the same inspiration that was sparked in him as a young art student.
But also because he
needed to kill time.
“I needed a hobby,” Mt Charles said.
“Apart from that I love taking photos in my spare time, telling the story is my release.
“I am rather selfish because the photos are for my enjoyment ... but if other people like my photos it is a bonus.”