Canon Light Awards 2015 winners tell a story of patience

PATIENCE is a virtue, as the old adage goes. And that’s exactly what these amateur photographers mastered to scoop their Canon Light Awards wins.

STUDENT CATEGORY WINNER 2015 21 year old Benn Tudor Roberts from Mindarie (WA) Curtin University 156 “What a great idea. The gesture of the hand links me to the artist and his intent. Each leaf placed into a pattern reminding me of life, death and creation. A lot of care and creative thought has been put into this winning entry, congratulations.” Picture: 2015 Canon Light Awards

PATIENCE is a virtue, as the old adage goes. And that’s exactly what Aussie photographers Alistair McBurnie and Benn Tudor-Roberts mastered to scoop their wins at the Canon Light Awards.

Mr McBurnie, 45, on Saturday took out the 2015 Open Category for a photo of a rower taken at Lake Annecy, in the French Alps, during a trip he had saved for over years as a birthday gift for his wife.

On the day his winning image was taken, the Albury-based hobby photographer said he had been hoping to shoot on Mont Blanc but the weather was too muggy and rainy.

The end outcome, however, was much better.

“I went for a walk looking for some inspiration and basically saw the rower from a bit of a distance,” Mr McBurnie said.

He said he then waited behind his lens for about 45 minutes on the water’s edge for the rower to enter the frame in the way he had hoped. The resulting image totally captured the still mood of the day, he said — and look hard enough, you might just see a silhouette of a bird flying just above the rower, though easier to spot on the hard copy.

Alistair McBurnie’s photo, ‘Rower’ was the 2015 Open Category winner. Picture: 2015 Canon Light Awards

In a similar tale of patience, Mr Tudor-Roberts — who triumphed in the Student Category — said his winning photo took about four hours to create.

The 21-year-old Perth uni student collected and counted 156 leaves before ordering them by size to get the perfect shot that illustrated the tree of life.

“It was a lengthy process, but it was worth it,” he said, explaining the picture intended to portray his connection with nature.

Mr Tudor-Roberts said he specialised in nature and ocean lifestyle photography with an abstract and minimal style.

And as an aspiring professional photographer, he said he was rapt by his win, beating out some tough competition.

Benn Tudor-Roberts’ photo, ‘156’ won the 2015 Student Category. Picture: 2015 Canon Light Awards

2015 Winners

“I still can barely believe I won, there was such a high standard,” he said.

A stoked Mr McBurnie described his win as “one of the most surreal experiences of my life”.

“I never thought such a simple image could win the competition, the first one I’ve ever entered, let alone the Grand Final,” he said.

“As a photography enthusiast myself, I really urge everyone to try their hand at the (awards).”

Alistair McBurnie and Benn Tudor-Roberts at the Finalist Ceremony. Picture: 2015 Canon Light Awards

Mr McBurnie and Mr Tudor-Roberts both won a trip to Namibia with the Canon Collective, to be part of a safari alongside three professional photographers with access to high-performance equipment.

Mr Tudor-Roberts said he was probably inviting his mum along for the adventure.

The two Grand Final winners were among 24 finalists chosen from 72 short-listed throughout 2015. The Canon Light Awards competition sees renowned photographers set a monthly brief that entrants must adhere to. Thousands of submissions are received each year.

Mr McBurnie had originally won the April round with his snap, while Mr Tudor-Roberts won in June.