The Bacchus Marsh and District Photography Club has won an award for a competition run by The Australian Photographic Society.
The theme for the competition was ’Sport, hobbies and fun activities’, with the club attending a session run by Young Diggers Victoria in Melton.
The Young Diggers Victoria runs a free training program, providing assistance dogs to veterans of the Australian Defence Force who have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and associated mental health issues.
The team of six submitted 12 images to the competition.
Mark Brown, who has been involved in the club for over two years, said the group considered itself underdogs and was ‘surprised’ with the win.
“We were probably one of the smaller clubs to enter the competition,” he said.
However, there was no doubt about the quality of the submissions.
“We thought so and obviously the judges thought so too.”
The club’s mages that focused on creating a sense of atmosphere and emotion, reflecting the fun, focus, and energy of participating in an activity.
Mr Brown said the spirit of companionship and connection is what gave the shots such an impactful meaning.
“They’re rescuing the dogs and the dogs are rescuing them,” he said.
“It wasn’t a normal day … it was a special training session.”
The Bacchus Marsh and District Photography Club, which has more than 30 members, meets twice a month at the Lerderderg Library.
The meetings are split between workshop nights and club competition nights.
Eddie Russell
