Honor Auchinleck, Corryong Courier
The Man From Snowy River Bush Festival Elyne Mitchell Photo Story Awards hopes that you will find great pleasure in creating your entries for the 2024 Awards.
This year’s theme is ‘The Call of the High Country’. Entries open on 1 December, 2023.
Elyne was a great admirer of A B (‘Banjo’) Paterson. As she was the inaugural Patron of the Bush Festival, it seems fitting that we use a theme that complements both Elyne’s and Banjo’s legacies.
Paterson and Elyne Mitchell were among many writers, artists and photographers who heard and many who continue to hear, ‘The Call of the High Country’. The Man from Snowy River Bush Festival proudly promotes High Country writers, poets, artists and sculptors in the event’s Art and Photography Exhibition.
Elyne Mitchell only wrote one anthology of photo stories – A Vision of the Snowy Mountains (1988). She enjoyed the experience so much that she regretted not having started writing photo stories earlier in her long writing life. She loved the inspirational interplay between her photography and her writing and she was always keen to inspire enthusiastic like-minded people.
We hope that you will take a photograph that inspires you to write about your interpretation of ‘The Call of the High Country’ and what it means to you. The Photo Story Awards invites you to summon up your creative energies and take a step into the bush-covered hills and mountains. Remember the person who climbs the highest, sees farthest…on a good day!
‘The Call of the High Country’ suggests venturing into the unknown and gaining new perspectives of the surrounding world. The theme promises something different, something out of the ordinary and perhaps even something mysterious, thrilling or even a bit scary. Or perhaps like Elyne you want to find wildflowers among twisted snow gums or mountain streams and waterfalls or to hear the song of the birds and of the wind weaving around the hills.
In letting your imagination run free, please remember the awards’ judges. They are the most discerning part of your audience and will be looking at the quality of the composition of your photo(s) and for originality and perceptive qualities in your writing. They will be looking for attention to detail and grammatical accuracy. Please remember that your photograph should be eye-catching and that the photograph and your written component should complement each other. It is important to avoid distressing your viewers with your entry or entries.
You don’t have to climb Mt Kosciuszko!
You might just choose some high ground close to your home as your High Country. Remember if you are venturing into new country make sure you do your research about the local conditions. Check the weather. Make sure you are wearing adequate clothing and have sufficient food and drink. Most importantly, ensure that someone else knows where you are going and when to expect you to return. It is always best to go bushwalking with a friend or friends.
There have been enquiries about whether entrants can use inspiration from their artwork in their photo stories. Art is a wonderful form of inspiration for writing. Entrants may photograph their artwork and write their entries from the photograph. It can then be copied and pasted into the entry above the writing component.
Ensure you use a high resolution photograph. The photograph and the written component must be the entrant’s own work. If they want to submit an entry inspired by someone else’s artwork, for example a sculpture, the entrant must photograph the work and acknowledge the artist or sculptor.
The written component can also be presented as poetry. Do not submit other people’s work claiming it as your own, even if someone has given you permission to do so. Please remember the awards are about you and your work.
The Photo Story Awards has two categories – one for juniors under eighteen and the senior category for those over 18 years of age.
You may find that over the next few months you might create a number of potential entries. You can submit up to five pieces, so choose your photo stories carefully and submit before entries close towards the end of February 2024.
Keep an eye on The Man from Snowy River Bush Festival website for confirmation of the closing date for entry and for notification of the receipt of your entry.
The Photo Story Awards took off after the 2020 Black Summer bushfires and pandemic. For some people creating photo stories became a hobby that brought great pleasure.
This article appeared in the Corryong Courier, 9 November 2023.
