February is here and the world wakes up when people return from holidays and the schools go back!

February also means The Man from Snowy River Bush Festival is approaching fast and local entries in art and photography are being called for the Elyne Mitchell Photo Story Award.

There are some great artists, photographers and writers of all ages in th region and the award is an opportunity to show the world that the Upper Murray is a quality place.

In a good season the Festival’s theme ‘A Vision Splendid’ seems like a gift from the gods!

Bushfires are all but banished for another year and the Upper Murray is still tinged with green where in other years, the hillsides were parched dry and the mud in dry lagoons was cracking.

With all the recent rain weeds are flourishing but so are gardens!

Rainy days can inspire wonderful photography using the contrasts of shafts of light pouring down through billowing dark clouds.

Sunsets and sunrises challenge photographers to a myriad of visions splendid.

Bleak, wet days with low-lying cloud can be a photographer’s enemy but they are great opportunities for sorting your photos.

Go find that image that captures ‘A Vision Splendid’ and inspires you to write a couple of hundred words about it. Have fun!

Relive the experiences that inspired you to take the photographs in the first place and share the inspiration with those who might see your photo story.

Create and enter more than one story. You can enter five!

Photo stories can not only be a work of art with the written work complementing the photograph but they can also reveal a new perspective on a familiar world.

A photo story might capture another artist’s work and show how art can thrill the people who see it.

Don’t forget that if you photograph your own artwork, give yourself credit.

And if it’s a photograph of another artist’s work, acknowledge him or her too.

For those short of inspiration for their photography, their photo story or artwork, a day out in the bush or a glimpse of some sculpture on the Snowy Valleys Sculpture trail or the Great River Road might bring new ideas to the fore.

While your inspiration might come from other artists, the writing and the photograph must be yours.

Check The Man from Snowy River Bush Festival website www.bushfestival.com.au for further information or changing dates for submissions or entries.

Importantly, enjoy this opportunity to enjoy your art, photography and writing.

If you can, treat yourself to a day out and ‘A Vision Splendid’! 

This article appeared in the Corryong Courier, 2 February 2023.