Competitions

Holy Man – Kathmandu, Nepal, by Jennifer Varela.
Nikon D800; Lens: 24-70mm

By Wayne Jones.
The second Brumbies home game of the season and the first time I’d fired the day-old 7D Mark ll – a steep learning curve after my previous Canon bodies (30D, 50D and 5D Mk2). I was mighty impressed with the 7D’s focus tracking system, which was a big bonus considering the arms, legs and bodies going everywhere and getting in the way of the intended subject hidden away inside a scrum.

By Rob Toman.
This friendly kookaburra, brought even closer with a 300mm zoom lens, had an inquisitive look in his eyes.

By Marwan El Hassan.
Macro photography is my ultimate passion, my addiction, and my drive in life. I take all my time to slowly savor every moment when I take photos like this one. I shot this daisy in the botanic gardens in Canberra. Daisies are among my favorite subjects. I love the texture of this particular flower. It talks to me, and it invites to think of the non-ending layers that go deeper and deeper inside the flower. I was lucky that day without any wind (a rare thing in Canberra), so I used only a reflector and natural light. Most often, if I can, I prefer to shoot flowers without using a flash, to maintain the natural look and color. This photo to me has a hint of Zen feeling, with the middle of the flower serving as a point of concentration and meditation. To me at least, the whole process of shooting, processing and looking at this photo is indeed a very meditative experience. My hope is to convey the same perception and feelings to other viewers.

By Lauren Heeney.
I took this photo of Poulnabrone Dolmen in County Clare, Ireland, while on holiday. A portal tomb, I have heard that it is the most photographed object in Ireland! It certainly impressed me.

By Wayne Jones.
While on a cruise from Copenhagen to New York, one of our stopovers was at Reykjavik, Iceland, where I managed spend the day on a photo tour with a bunch of other photo nuts from the cruise. Our guide was Mike Kissane of fStop Tours and one of our photo stops was at Kleifarvatn Lake about 40 or so minutes out of Reykjavik. It was a great day out where I spent most of the time talking to Mike and taking very few photos. This one was of one of the other tour participants taking her own photos of the very calm lake with the red rain jacket a bit of a standout.

By Amanda Bull.