Your Best Shot October-November 2024: The winners!

Your Best Shot is a photo competition open to Australian residents. There's a different theme every couple of months, and a selection of the winning shots will be published in AP mag and online. 

Each issue, AP's Editor Mike O'Connor will choose six images to be published both in print and online, with both a winner and a runner-up selected. Our winner will also receive an amazing prize thanks to Blonde Robot, the Australasian distributors of Peak Design, 3 Legged Thing, and Angelbird.

You can find out all the details for entry and the themes for 2024 here.

October/November 2024

Theme: Rural

There’s something so unique about the rural environment, and yet for photographers it’s often a challenging environment to photograph. This issue, we looked for images that celebrated our rural areas in all their diversity – from wide open spaces to scenes of everyday life.

This was also a hugely challenging competition to judge this time around, with many strong entries in the more than 150 shots entered. Here were our picks.

This issue's winner

John Peters, Before the storm

Editor’s comment: John Peters tells us he photographed these windmills during a cloudless, hot sunny day in Toowoomba.

“The metal blades of the windmills were strongly lit by the sun looking down on them, making them the overall subject of the image,” he says.

This is a really striking image that was really deserving of the prize this issue. It’s also a good reminder of the power of pre-visualisation.

Initially this scene probably appeared like ‘just’ a group of windmills, but in black and white it becomes something else entirely.

It’s helped that John has edited the image really effectively – pushing the blacks deep into the negatives and emphasising those shiny blades beautifully.

The result is a powerful image and a great interpretation of the theme.

Technical details

Canon 90D, Canon 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens @ 35mm. 1/1000s @ f4.5, ISO 100.

Highly commended

Editor’s comment: Taken in the Flinders Ranges in May 2024 during a particularly dry Autumn, Tracy Lees tells us that everything in the scene here was dust, and unfortunately the sun was directly overhead, ‘bleaching’ everything.

“I decided to continue on the theme of bleaching colours in postproduction, as it reflected the desert conditions of the scene,” she says. “Apart from cropping, everything is as in-camera”.

This is a great story image that really speaks to the environment and the harshness of the outback. The bright highlights and the soft, muted colours really emphasise the feeling of drought. Well done.

Technical details

Nikon Zf, NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 lens. 1/1000s @ f13, ISO 400.

Special mentions

How I did it: This was one of those afternoons with quite a bit of cloud that could have made for a great sunset or totally blocked the sun out.

Thankfully as it got closer to sunset the clouds parted a little on the horizon to create the beautiful colour in the clouds that you see. 

There were quite a few cows around, but I wanted one on her own so I just had to wait and thankfully this lone cow kept grazing while the others kept moving.

Technical details

Sony A7 IV, Sony 24-105mm G lens @ 43mm.1/6s @ f16, ISO 100.

How I did it: Here, a farmhouse is silhouetted on a ridge on Melbourne’s fringe. After checking out the fog forecast the night before, I set off early to a lookout in the Dandenong Ranges that I knew had prime easterly and northern views. 

The weather didn’t disappoint, and as the sun lifted, there was a brief minute of golden-orange light.

Technical details

Fujifilm X-H2S, Adapted NIKON AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f4G ED VR lens @ 200mm. 1/8000s @ f5.6, ISO 640.

How I did it: This shot was taken during one of our busiest times of year – shearing. The atmosphere in the shed is amazing with each person with their job to do, all working seamlessly as a team.

Technical details

Canon 5D Mark II. Lens unknown. 1/30s @ f4, ISO 100.

How I did it: I have shot this homestead a number of times over the past few years. It’s located on the Barrier Highway, not far from Burra, South Australia. I can’t tell if it’s still in use in some way. Every time I stop here, I look for a different angle, which is not easy when the only access is from the highway.

The sky was spectacular on this particular spring afternoon, and the canola was absolutely glowing. Despite no breeze, I was treated to wafts of gorgeous, floral scent as I composed and shot.

Technical details

Canon 5D Mark IV, Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 lens @ 70mm. 1/250s @ f20, ISO 400.