Albany Agricultural Show 2023: New categories and increased prize money offered by photography competition

With over $4,000 in cash and prizes on offer, Kelsey Freemantle is looking forward to the 2023 Albany Agricultural Show photography competition. In response to community feedback and in consultation with ACE Camera Club’s Bob Symons, the photographers living with disability category will be a new feature at the show. Competition categories will also include colour snapshots, colour enlargements, monochrome enlargements, youth and school photography and drone photography. “A really popular category that was introduced last year was drone photography,” said Ms Freemantle, who is The Albany Agricultural Society’s photography councillor. “You see some amazing stuff with drones, like whales that you can’t really see unless you’ve got that birds-eye view, especially with our coastline that can be quite inaccessible.” A photographer with a passion for underwater pictures, Ms Freemantle said the natural environment was a focus for many Albany camera owners. “You see a lot of stuff down here that doesn’t often get seen,” she said. “The biodiversity is amazing.” Entries for the photography competition opened in August and will close on November 3. “The cut-off is the Wednesday before the show weekend which gives everybody a chance to get their entries in,” Ms Freemantle said. Cash prizes across all categories this year have been increased thanks to sponsors’ support, Ms Freemantle said . “I wanted to increase the prize money to reward people for the effort that they go to,” she said. “Sometimes if people are getting photos mounted or enlarged, it can be quite an expensive process.” Judging will take place on November 9 and Ms Fremantle said that the hobby has never been more accessible. “Everyone has access to a camera now and you don’t have to have access to amazing gear,” she said. “If you really like a photo that you’ve taken, you should submit it and have a go.”