Reef Check Australia Photography Competition:

Finalists Announced

Pictures speak a thousand words: In celebration of World Animal Day 4th October 2007, Reef Check Australia and Project AWARE are pleased to announce the finalists for the 2007 “What do Australia’s coral reefs mean to you?” photography competition. The goal of the competition was to showcase the Australian public’s ‘vision’ of the value of our coral reefs and the threats that they currently face.

The Finalists
The judges were impressed by the high standard of entries to this year’s competition. The competition received more than >120 entries and several thousand votes were cast online at the Reef Check website. All the category winners will receive Sea&Sea MX10 underwater camera kits donated by Mike Ball dive expeditions.

People and the Reef: Winner: Justin Gilligan Runner Up: Chris Jones
Creative Visions of Coral Reefs: Winner: Chris Hamilton Runner Up: Justin Gilligan
The Reef in OUR Hands: Winner: Giles Winstanley Runner Up: Jeremy Goldberg
Animal Behaviour: Joint Winners: Giles Winstanley & David Watson Runner Up: Matt Curnock
Icons of the Reef: Winner: Gary Brennand Runner Up: Andrew Green

Reef Check Australia Photographer of the Year 2007

Giles Winstanley; Giles was selected as the overall winner based on his portfolio of images. His images were judged to best capture the range of themes in the 2007 competition. Two of Giles’ images were selected as winners of the “Reef in Our Hands” and “Animal Behaviour” categories and a third image received a highly commended rating in the “Icons of the Reef” category. Giles will receive a Canon A630 digital camera and underwater housing donated by Canon Australia and a GBR weekend sail dive trip courtesy of New Horizons.

“Giles has captured a number of stunning images that demonstrate a high level of photographic skill and artistic vision” said Roger Beeden; Marketing and Communications Manager, Reef Check Australia.

Justin Gilligan; Justin was selected as the overall runner up based on his portfolio of images. The judges were impressed with Justin’s choice of subject matter and photographic skills. As a result several of Justin’s images were selected as finalists: 1) winner of the “People and the Reef” category, 2) runner up in the “Creative Visions of the Reef” category and 3) as a highly commended entry in the “Icons of the Reef” category. In addition to his category winners prize Justin will also receive a voucher for accommodation generously donated by Lychee Tree Resort in Port Douglas.

Reef Check Australia Young Photographer of the Year 2007

Samara Nicolson from Townsville is this years Young Photographer of the Year. Samara’s image titled “Mangrove Magic” was chosen as the winner as it represented the important linkages between coastal mangroves and Australia’s coral reefs. Mangroves are indeed magic as they are nursery areas for many species of reef fish around Australia. Samara wins a special prize of a double outer Reef trip courtesy of Sunsea cruises in Townsville.

The Exhibition: Reef Check Australia and Project AWARE would like to thank everyone who has participated in making the inaugural competition such a success. An exhibition of finalists’ images is currently on display at the Perc Tucker Art Gallery, Townsville until the 7th October 2007. The images can be viewed online and a selection of limited edition prints of the winning images are currently being auctioned on ebay, see www.reefcheckaustralia.org for details. Next year’s Reef Check / Project AWARE competition will play a key role in supporting the 2nd International Year of the Reef in Australia. For information on International Year of the Reef visit http://www.iyor.org/.