WHEN Scott Reinhard first thought of running a high school photography competition, he had little idea just how popular it would be. With 128 entries over five categories flooding in, Scott and his appointed judges had a hard task to decide on winners.
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The inaugural Light in Focus Photography Competition was organised from Scott’s MR Photography studio in Wingham. His motivation was to encourage more local kids to be interested in photography. Scott chose to open the competition to high school students in Forster, Gloucester, Wingham, Cundletown and Taree.
Could it have been the prizes on offer that gave so many high school students the incentive to enter with multiple entries? Scott was offering some state of the art equipment in all five categories including the super cute Nikon Coolpix S01.
This tiny (really tiny) camera packs quite a punch with a 10 mega pixel capability. But the main prize was a super duper SLR Nikon D3200 with 35ml lens, a prize worth over $1000 to the lucky winner overall.
Entries were of an incredibly high standard and Scott was surprised just how geared up some of the kids already seemed to be. Many of the entrants had obvious access to high tech digital cameras, impressive lenses and waterproof housings.
But one particular entrant really captured the eye of the judges. Thomas Galati won the Natural Environment category with his single entry print. “He doesn’t even own a camera,” said Scott. Thomas borrowed the school camera and impressed the judges with his apparent knowledge and skill behind the lens.
Scott said he really loved running the competition but has learnt some valuable lessons. “It’s the first time I’ve done anything like it,” he said. Next year Scott hopes to receive entries from a broader range of schools. All winners this year are students at St Clare’s High School in Taree, “they had the largest number of entries,” said Scott.
“The school and students really got behind it.”
Photo’s of winning entries by category:
Awesome iPhone – Caitlin Hicks
Totally Hekkaz Abstract – Chloe Becker
Xtreme Sport – Mark Green
Natural Environment – Thomas Galati
People and Pets – Sarah Locker
Overall Winner – Matthew McKendry