QCG Collected Works - Part III — Queensland Camera Group

Here it is - the last of the series of three installments of blogs, featuring the images and words of the 2020 QCG Collected Works. Our book has now been reproduced by Momento Pro and will be included in the camera club kits which Momento Pro send to their customers as an example of a goodie. Good job to us!

Puffin Beak Tap Mating Ritual by Anne Pappalardo

This image received an Honour in the Nature Category (print) and is one of my favourites from a special family holiday taken in 2019. I was fortunate to visit Skomer Island in Wales which is a well-known haven for puffins. While puffins do not mate for life, they do tend towards monogomy. They rarely change mates, and before building a nest, perform a mating ritual where they sweetly rub their beaks together. I was so thrilled to capture this image as it is different to the usual ‘beak full of sand eels’ but more importantly to me, shows the very real connection to each other these birds enjoy.

Little Feet by Sue Chen

This image has special meaning to me as I actually 'made a photograph’ and went through a course of ‘pregnancy’ from concept to ‘giving birth’ during Covid lockdown. I had to wait for the right season to have the small mandarin and the pomegranate then looked for the perfect leaf that compliments the shape and colours. Took about three days to photograph it as I kept changing the layout, angle and distance of the "little feet". Lol...

Afternoon Stroll by Nick Lefebvre

I took this picture of the Science Museum in Valencia, Spain one winter's afternoon in 2015. We arrived at the City of Arts and Sciences within which the Museum sits at 2 pm and left after sunset. It was so interesting.

Flora by Jasmine Westerman

A tree in bloom, yet this one flower held my attention.

This ‘lady’ in colonial style dress, her head dressed with a bonnet, a shawl draped over her shoulders, and a billowing skirt drawn tight into her slim stem waist.

I left some time later, who knows how long.

In awe of Nature, its perfection personified.

My Life in a Box by Jasmine Westerman

This (honour) image best represents what 2020 was for me, taken in ‘Lockdown’ during the COVID pandemic.

It’s a self reflection of what I valued in my life, and to ponder what was, what is and what will be....pity my saxophone couldn’t squeeze into the box.

Very deep thinking to find the box was really quite shallow. What was clearly the most important thing, was the desire to connect with other people and the outside world :)

Fog Flood by Tony FitzGerald

This image of Brisbane city was captured from My Coot-tha very early on a chilly and foggy early winter’s morning. I particularly like the image because of the amazing eerie lighting effect created by the city lights illuminating the fog from beneath prior to the sunrise overwhelming the scene. This illumination effect is accentuated somewhat by the long shutter speed used to capture the image. I finished up with quite an audience of early morning visitors to the lookout looking over my shoulder in amazement, some asking why they were not able to achieve a similar results with their phones. In time they probably will.

No Fear Here by Ray Eisenmenger

Other travellers often spoil the view for photographers but in this case they played their part beautifully.

Resting on a Bed of Green by Jane McMenamin

On a cold morning in early winter, wrapped in my woollies, I watched this egret fishing for breakfast in the Brisbane River. When it took a break on a floating island of green vegetation, I was struck by the beauty of its delicate breeding plumage. My early start to the day was well rewarded! This image received a Merit in the Open Category.

Una Heera by Rodney Nancarrow

My love of music is equal to if not greater than my love of photography so it is pure joy when the opportunity presents itself to combine the two. This image is of Dawn, the singer and one of the main songwriters of the band and was taken at the 2019 to 2020 Woodford Folk Festival. Una Heera are a talented young Brisbane band who describe their genre as music from the forest. Not only do they present themselves beautifully on stage but their music is joyful and soothing. The backdrop was a full stage size LED screen with ever changing colours and patterns so it did present some challenges but in this image I feel it worked nicely.

The Possession by Rodney Nancarrow

The base image for The Possession was taken at “Melaleuca”, a holiday cottage in Boreen Point that was originally owned by the writer, poet and activist Judith Wright. The cottage is constructed of rammed earth and is very museum like, filled with an eclectic collection of antiques and bric-a-brac. I thought that the doll with the spooky eyes in the old pram would make a nice still life study on the front patio but the image just seemed to lack something. I decided to do a simple composite and add my carnival friend in the window and I was quite pleased with the unsettling feeling this addition gave to the image. For me The Possession exemplifies my slightly skewed sense of humour.

There Goes the Bus by Gaye Slade

This image was given an Merit in March 2020 in the Set Subject ACTION. I took it early evening in front of the Treasury Building, Brisbane. A city bus crossed in front of my camera just as I was taking it. As the camera was on slow shutter speed it gave a light trail. It is one of my favourite images as I love this building especially at night.

2020 Best of the Best Awarded Images

Best of the Best Images are selected by a panel of three judges at the conclusion of each compettion year. They are selected from the honour and merit images and are considered the ‘best of the best’ for that year.

Print of the Year - Visiting her Ghosts by Anne Pappalardo

This image is a composite I made following a presentation by Michelle Kennedy at one of the club’s Focus Meetings. The fact that it did well is testimony to the success of the club’s Focus program and to the fact that Michelle was so generous in sharing her techniques. This year, due to Covid, these awards were announced via Zoom (rather than our annual dinner), and the club took the opporutnity to showcase all of the shortlisted images for the Best of the Best award (we’d never done that before). When the Print of the Year awards were being showcased I remember marvelling at the caliber of the work. It was humbling just to be included in the shortlist.

DPI of the Year - Trapped in a Kaleidoscope by Phil Lawrence

I am interested in Creative images and in many instances and where appropriate have included my grand children as models. This image also received an Honour in the QCG August 2020 Open Competition.

Gaye Edwards Portrait Prize - Ette by Betty Collerson

This image received an Honour in the June 2020 A Grade Portrait and Open Competition. It was then chosen Portrait of the Year 2020 in the Gaye Edwards Annual Portrait Prize. I photographed Ette Karney, who is from the Ivory Coast, and now lives in Brisbane, in a Portrait Master Class Workshop run by John Lomas, from the Brisbane Camera Group.

Black and White Print of the Year - The Outback Publican by Martin Riley

This image received an Honour in the set subject ‘Portrait’ in June 2020. This amazing character, Lester, was the publican at the Middleton Pub, located west of Winton in remote western Queensland. Lester was full of charm and stories and even recited his own poetry to us on the veranda of the pub. This image just captures his cheeky disposition perfectly!

Mountain Landscape of the Year - The Path by Harvey Kramer

This image received a Merit for 'Scapes' in 2020. It was also awarded first place in 'Mountain Landscape of the Year'. Mountains, trekking and photography go hand in hand for me. Our group was trekking the mountain up from Lake Mackenzie on the Routeburn Track in the NZ Alps. It was February and there had been an unseasonal snowfall overnight. As we climbed higher, the unveiling panorama was breathtaking. The awesome beauty of Nature literally stopped me in my tracks!

Most Apt Title of the Year - Contemplating a New Wheelbarrow by Martin Riley

This image received a Merit and Most Apt Title in the Open competition in March 2020. This lady was captured at the busy and atmospheric fish markets in Negombo, Sri Lanka. She was escaping the chaos in a quite laneway, and I loved the gritty nature of the surroundings with the rusty old wheelbarrow and the exposed electrical wiring. The lady’s mind seemed to be miles away - contemplating a new wheelbarrow?

QCG Blog

QCG Collected Works - Part III