Haymaker image judged best rural photo

Making hay while the sun shines is hot work. This rural truth was the inspiration and the perspiration for the winning photo in this year’s Australian Star Prize for Rural Photography.

Victorian photographer Nigel Hallett took the winning shot which was published in the Colac Herald in November 2009 . It captured a worker in the field stripped to the waist cooling off with a water bottle.

Competition judge Peter McNamara said it was a great rural Australian image.

“It’s hard yakka being a farmer and this photo captures that better than words,” said Mr McNamara who is Digital Archiving Editor at The Courier Mail newspaper in Brisbane.

The photograph won the People category before going on to take out the overall title in a clean sweep for Victoria in the 2010 Star Prize.

The prestigious competition was organised by the Australian Council of Agricultural Journalists, the umbrella body for Australia’s five rural press clubs, to celebrate excellence for photographers capturing rural images.

Herald and Weekly Times photographer Zoe Phillips won the other two categories for Nature/Landscape and Production.

Her study of three dogs in the back of a utility was published in the Sunday Herald and a photo of sheep being yarded was published in The Weekly Times.

The Victorian photographs came out on top against finalists selected from around Australia.

“There were some excellent entries from very talented photographers this year,” Mr McNamara said.

“The photo of the three dogs in the ute was unusual and appealing while the image of the sheep being yarded captured the action against a very dramatic skyline,” he said.

The three winning images will now represent Australia in the International Star Prize for Photography due to be announced in Belgium at the end of April.

For more information:

Australian photo award coordinator Gordon Collie on 07 3856 3614
ACAJ secretary and Victorian representative Emily Bogue on 03 5225 6450.