Esther Lauaki
By Esther Lauaki
Titan Debirioun’s powerful image captivated the judges of this year’s Way Out West photography competition.
Titan took out the contest with his striking portrait, Strength of Melanin Blues, of a young man of African heritage set against a blue background.
The Wyndham City Libraries and Youth Services competition was open to entrants aged between 12 and 25 who live, work, go to school or socialise in Wyndham.
There were 166 entries this year from young creatives across the municipality.
Judge Jill Velinos said Titan’s image “captivated” the panel with its use of natural light, beautifully balanced tones and expression.
Ms Vilinos said the judges faced a tough decision thanks to the high quality of submissions to the competition.
“A warm congratulations to everyone that took part in the photo contest, and in particular those who won a category or received a highly commended,” she said.
“Keep taking photos as a form of creative expression… Always remember that photography is about light so use that to inform you as to when, where and what you photograph.”
Her advice to budding photographers was; “The best way to learn is to practice”.
“If the light’s not right then wait until it is,” she said.
“Move around, look at things from a different angle, try a different perspective.
“Get close, pull back.
“Research photographers that inspire you and learn to understand what makes a photograph stand out.”
Wyndham mayor Josh Gilligan said that, due to COVID, the exhibition of all the entries in this year’s competition would look a little different.
“This competition continues to grow in popularity every year and attracts a diverse range of entries,” Cr Gilligan said.
“We’re unable to showcase the exhibition and tour the photos as we’ve done in previous years.
“We will showcase the winning entries digitally and, in addition, we’re printing the entries in a book.”
Information: www.wyndham.vic.gov.au/wayoutwest/2020
