TOP SHOT WINS PHOTO AWARD
TOWNSVILLE freelance photographer Fiona Lake has won the prestigious Star Prize for Photography from the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists.
Her winning aerial image of a bullock team was taken last year at Surat, near Roma, during the Cobb and Co Festival which is held every five years.
The drone image, which also won the contest’s Nature/ Landscape category, impressed judges with its combination of light and timing.
Ms Lake was a previous runner-up in the award and a former judge.
She has always had a strong connection to the land and a passion for agricultural photography after growing up in regional NSW.
“I grew up on a farm near the Murray River and have been taking photographs ever since I was given a camera by my grandparents in the 1970s,” Ms Lake said.
She said sometimes it could take years to get that perfect photograph.
“You are always chasing photographs that got away, so it is like fishing.
“Really for me it’s the stories, the purpose, and you always try and make them beautiful as well.
“So to try and do that and be there at the right time and all the other things that need to come together is challenging.
“The photo that won the award I like because for me it reminds me of the skill of the bullocky and that driver still uses that bullock team to snig out logs in northern NSW.
“I really like the idea of marrying the best of the old with the best of the new — that is what that image symbolises for me. Nothing is ever perfect and as a photographer you always see the things that could have been done better, so you don’t rest on your laurels.”