The winner of the July Pets competition is Travis Dickson, who took the top prize award with a beautifully lit portrait of his friend's dark grey mastiff, Ralph.
Given the difficult task of choosing a winner from a record 765 entries was Marc Gafen, editor of Australia's leading photography magazine for professional photographers, Capture. Appropriately, Marc also has a background in pet photography and runs a successful Sydney business, The Phodographer, which specialises in producing high-quality, on-location portraits of dogs.
"The great lighting and composition make for a strong portrait of Ralph, who is clearly engaging with the photographer," commented Gafen. "The fact that the photographer has relied on the fundamentals of photography rather than overdoing the image in Photoshop is also noteworthy."
Gafen also commented on the closeness of the competition and singled out three other images for special commendations: 'Tess,' by Phillipa Alexander; 'It's My Pea!' by Narelle Robinson; and Sleeping in the Sun,' by Caitlin Summers.
Travis Dickson has won a Lowepro Photo Sport 200 AW camera bag, valued at $219 from Maxwell International. The lightweight bag is ideal for outdoor enthusiasts and features plenty of space for camera and personal gear.
Twenty-five images were shortlisted for judging and the shortlisted images are pictured below.
The brief for the August 2012 competition is “Movement”. To enter an image click here.
WINNER: 'Ralph,' by Travis Dickson.
COMMENDED: 'Tess,' by Phillipa Alexander.
COMMENDED: 'It's My Pea!' by Narelle Robinson.
COMMENDED: 'Sleeping in the Sun,' by Caitlin Summers.
SHORTLISTED: 'Ajay Wants Out,' by Kate Tenbuuren.
SHORTLISTED: 'All Eyes…' by Narelle Robinson.
SHORTLISTED: 'Battle of the Beasts,' by Simon Linge.
SHORTLISTED: 'Bottoms Up!' by Narelle Robinson.
SHORTLISTED: 'Bubba,' by Ian Clark.
SHORTLISTED: 'Cat & Mouse,' by Peter Brodbeck.
SHORTLISTED: 'Coexistence,' by Stitch.
SHORTLISTED: 'Contemplating the Storm,' by Jed Lemmon.
SHORTLISTED: 'Dog Glamour,' by Peter Kalokerinos.
SHORTLISTED: 'Hello Lilly!' by Matthew Tuffield.
SHORTLISTED: 'I Believe I Can Fly!' by Steve Bell.
SHORTLISTED: 'It's My Ball,' by Andrew Fuller.
SHORTLISTED: 'Little Black Boots,' by Narelle Robinson.
SHORTLISTED: 'New Addition,' by Adria Cain.
SHORTLISTED: 'Raph and Leo's Symmetry,' by Mungo Howard.
SHORTLISTED: 'Spin Cycle.' by Lisa.
SHORTLISTED: 'The Many Faces of Bluey,' by Daphne Gonzalvez 
SHORTLISTED: 'Tiger,' by Stitch.
SHORTLISTED: 'We'll Do Anything for Cheese,' by Catherine Douglas.
SHORTLISTED: 'Whippet Good,' by Wayne Kirk.
SHORTLISTED: 'Zoe by Leigh,' Cosma.
