The theme of Bayside Council’s 2021 photography competition Aspects of COVID inspired a record number of submissions with entrants recording the many ways they and their families coped with the ups and downs of living in a pandemic.
The winners of the 2021 photography competition, including a special category to highlight COVID heroes, were announced on Friday, 26 November.
This year there were six categories and a total of $6,000 in prize money on offer.
“It was interesting, and inspirational, to see how individuals and families chose to tell their COVID story through a photo,” a Council spokesperson said.
Families and face masks featured in many of the entries this year while Botany Bay continued to be the most photographed location.
The COVID Heroes winning entry is a beautiful black and white image of a mother with a new born, while the winning entry in the primary school category shows a young girl wearing a rainbow mask of light. It is sad, but hopeful.
All entries from this year’s competition will form part of the Bayside Local History collection to provide an historical record of the community’s view of 2020/2021 when the world was turned upside down by the COVID pandemic.
A new animal category also proved extremely popular as residents shared the best photos of their non-human companions, and while dogs and cats featured strongly it was great to see the family’s fish or bird also starred.
The six categories were: Primary school, High school, Amateur adult, Open, COVID heroes, and Our animal family.
Council received an overwhelming number of entries in this popular competition and the judging panel had a tough time narrowing them down.