I’ve won the first photo competition I ever entered!
Ok, disclaimer first: It wasn't a massive international competition judged by the most renown photographers in the world nor did I take out thousands of dollars in price money. I was pretty stoked though when I learnt that I had won and did get a pretty sweet price that I am using to this day... and above all, I saw my photo being published in a magazine for the very first time so I was a happy chap.
The Australian Photography Magazine has a monthly competition called “Your Best Shot” where they invite their readers to submit their favourite shots based on a monthly competition theme.
In 2018, I submitted a portrait of my niece. The theme was kids and family photography. I had taken the photo earlier that year when I visited my family in Germany. We went to an open field around the corner from where I grew up and I had my niece standing in the middle of the field surrounded by rapeseed plants.
I didn’t give her a lot of instructions to keep it natural so she just started walking through the field picking flowers and I tried to capture that simple moment of ease and playfulness. I absolutely love photographing candid moments like this. We all get a little funny when a camera is pointed at us so it's important to get your subject as close as possible to forgetting the camera is even there.
A few months later, I received an email form the Australian Photography Magazine, letting me know that my shot had been selected as the winner. I was beyond excited when I received the magazine in the mail and my partner bought a number of copies and sent them to my family. The price was a camera bag from Peak Design which I have been using as my main bag ever since.
Thanks a lot for reading this story. If you want to keep in touch, I would love for you to join my email list or drop me a line on my socials. Take care!