Australia's best image at the Sony World Photography Awards 2018

27 March 2018

Sydney-based fine art photographer, Chris Round has been announced as the winner of the 2018 Australia National Award, a category of the Sony World Photography Awards. Round’s image, Intake Tower, Blowering Reservoir, NSW, Australia, was selected by an expert panel of judges as the best single image taken by an Australian photographer submitted to the 2018 Awards. As National Award winner, Round receives the latest digital imaging equipment from Sony.

Intake tower, Blowering Reservoir, NSW, Australia. This image is part of an ongoing project concerning the Snowy Hydro Scheme and the Snowy Mountains region in NSW. It's an exploration of the balance between nature and man’s intervention upon it - vast structures amongst epic landscapes, re-shaped waterways and newly created ones. This is the Blowering Reservoir intake tower taken in the early morning light, using a Pentax 67 medium format camera and Portra160NC film. The brutalist structure creates an interesting juxtaposition with the surrounding environment and the soft-looking water – a result of the need for a long exposure. © Chris Round, Australia, Commended, Open Architecture. Winner, Australia National Award, 2018 Sony World Photography Awards.
Intake tower, Blowering Reservoir, NSW, Australia. This image is part of an ongoing project concerning the Snowy Hydro Scheme and the Snowy Mountains region in NSW. It's an exploration of the balance between nature and man’s intervention upon it - vast structures amongst epic landscapes, re-shaped waterways and newly created ones. This is the Blowering Reservoir intake tower taken in the early morning light, using a Pentax 67 medium format camera and Portra160NC film. The brutalist structure creates an interesting juxtaposition with the surrounding environment and the soft-looking water – a result of the need for a long exposure.
© Chris Round, Australia, Commended, Open Architecture. Winner, Australia National Award,
2018 Sony World Photography Awards.

As a fine art photographer, Round is particularly interested in capturing landscapes that feature human interventions. His work has previously been shortlisted at the Sony World Photography Awards and is commended in the 2018 Awards’ Open Architecture category. “I'm excited about this win as it validates the hard work and thinking that goes into making an image,” Round said. “The recognition given by the judges and the Awards is highly pleasing and adds extra energy to my practice.”

The 11th time the competition has been run, this year saw a record-breaking 320,000 submissions by photographers from more than 200 countries and territories. A total of 63 National Awards were announced. The overall and Professional category winners of the Awards will be announced on 19 April. For more details, visit www.worldphoto.org