Eve Jeffery
The annual Simple Pleasures Photo Competition was run a little differently this year with all entries being sent in electronically either by email, on Facebook or tagged on Instagram.
There were well over 200 entries for the comp whose theme was ‘Wish You Were Here’ which ran for all of June.
Veteran Simple Pleasures Photo Competition adjudicator, The Echo’s Tree Faerie, and Paul Begg, who has won the competition several times, were on judging duties over a socially distance dinner which included the traditional competition lemon cake baked by Valerie Hardy.
It was a unique experience for two oldish fogies who scrolled through their phones looking at the entries and kept wanting to see them bigger.
In the end, they were unanimous in their decision that the winner was Dexter Jou whose beautiful photo of the Brunswick River made everyone wish they were there.
After the judging, Paul Begg said it was an enjoyable experience. ‘Many photos were of a very high standard which made choosing a winner tricky. It was interesting to see so many interpretations of the Wish You Were Here theme.’
The Tree Faerie said that is was clear many people had put some thought into their photos. ‘They didn’t just snap something off. Also, most of the photos had a water feature, either the river or the ocean, which leads you to believe that’s what most people love about Brunswick. And why wouldn’t you? It’s such a beautiful backdrop for the town.
‘Dexter Jou’s photo, in particular, captured that early morning feeling on the Brunswick River. You can almost hear the town waking up.’
For his efforts, Dexter won a $150 Brunswick Heads shopping voucher. Second place with a $100 voucher went to Mikahl Vaninersel-Linsley and third place with a $50 voucher went to Jonathan Miller.
Winners received gift vouchers to be spent in any Bruns business. The vouchers are part of the Brunswick Chamber of Commerce’s Buy Local Campaign. The vouchers are ‘spent’ and the business redeems the cash from our ‘banker’.
For more information, visit the Brunswick Heads Simple Pleasure website. http://www.brunswickheads.org.
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