Rediscovering a city
Lord Mayor's Photographic Awards 2023 - Rediscover Brisbane
Brisbane City Council hosts an annual photography competition where they ask anyone that lives, works, or studies in Brisbane to share their favourite experiences, unique places, and memorable moments, from sub-terranean secrets to kaleidoscopic skies, bustling bayside precincts to tranquil hilltop escapes. Basically, they want photos showing that Brisbane is a great place to live, work and relax.
Always competing
I have been submitting photos for the competition since 2019, some years went a bit better than others. At first, I started doing it for the money, as there is a chance of winning up to $5000, did anyone say Apple Vision Pro? Just kidding. But the more I started competing the more I got into expanding my photography skills and exploring the city I am currently living in.
What I found interesting was to see how my photos changed over the years, because even though the theme for the year changes, the main part of the theme is about the city of Brisbane. I’m not saying I mastered photography in five years, no siree, but I do feel like the photos that I have taken over the years of the same subject tend to become nicer to look at and start to tell a story instead of just being a photo of some grand vista.
Rediscover Brisbane
This year the theme was “Rediscover Brisbane”, which is quite tricky or was for me. I wanted to have the photo immediately remind you of the city of Brisbane, but at the same time show off something old and unique to Brisbane, or even show an up-and-coming activity that all Brisbanites could enjoy.
Saying it sounds simple, but taking a photo of it was not.
This is where the fun of these competitions starts for me. It forces me to just explore more of the city and go to places I never even knew about. Some days I just drove through the suburbs looking for that perfect photo, and most days I came up with nothing, but other days I found a scene to take a photo of that I am actually proud of, and for now that is enough for me.
Photography for everyone
This competition isn’t aimed at professional photographers, but at all photography levels as they are looking for photos celebrating the city of Brisbane.
Interested in seeing the full set of this year’s photos, then look no further.