Prize pic shows darker Sydney
Fiona Brady
23Apr08
Canal, the prize-winning photo by Alex Bloom.
A TEENAGE uni student from Russell Lea has won a major photography competition with a gritty image of Lidcombe's canals.
Alex Bloom, 19, beat 500 people to take first prize in the Historic Houses Trust My Sydney Now competition, which invited entrants to submit their favourite Sydney moments.
While the majority of entries focussed on Sydney's natural beauty and glamour, Bloom's award-winning picture Canal shows the city's underbelly.
He describes it as "a photo of some mates in the canal after a paint, about to go for a skate".
"Under the road in the canal, the light coming is almost literally white because everything else under there is basically pitch black."
The judges described Bloom's picture, which he shot on film with an SLR Minolta 404si, as "technically and aesthetically stunning".
They also praised the photograph's "underground aesthetic" which revealed the grit and grime of the city normally wiped away from the surface.
The "mostly self-taught" teenager got into photography by taking pictures of friends skateboarding.
"I guess Canal is what I'd ideally like to take photos of more often," he said.
Bloom, who is studying Fine Arts and English at the University of NSW, won a Nikon Digital SLR and a Nikon Coolpix S51 valued at over $2500.
The winning photographs are on display at the Museum of Sydney along with the Sydney Now exhibition which showcases some of the best photojournalism of Sydney since the year 2000.
- The exhibition is on daily until Sunday from 9.30am to 5pm at the Museum of Sydney, corner of Bridge and Phillip streets, city. Cost is $10 and concession $5.
- Call 9251 5988 or visit www.hht.net.au
