When Karina Wilson took her nephews and dogs for a walk at her father's property in Collector, she thought she was photographing light filtering through the woods.
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Then she took a double take at the photo on her iPhone and noticed something poking out from the trees.
"I hadn't even noticed a kangaroo was there, and after I took the photo I realised it was standing there staring at me," The Canberra Times winter photo competition entrant said.
"Two seconds later it was gone."
Ms Wilson believes that stepping outside on a chilly winter's day isn't so daunting with a camera and creative mind.
Photography lies between a hobby and obsession for the Chisholm woman, whose "brain is always looking through a lens".
And she's not alone in her ability to capture a stunning photo through only a smartphone.
James Crook didn't have his Nikon D80 handy when he took his 10-month-old daughter Lara to an exhibition at the National Library.
But when curious Lara leaned over to explore an interactive sculpture at Reconciliation Place that was making a humming sound, he dropped to the ground and grabbed his Samsung Galaxy phone.
"I got down on my hands and knees and actually got some duck poo on my chest," he said.
"But I didn't care, I just wanted to photograph her intrigued by the noise coming out of it."
Unlike Mr Crook, Bruce's Alex Petkovic had time to go home and grab his camera before taking the photo he entered into the photo competition.
"I was on my way home near the AIS and saw what I thought was snow on the road," he said.
"But I rushed home to get the camera and my wife said it was from a hailstorm, so I went back and took the photo. It looked nice with the sun just setting."
The Canberra Times photo competition is open until August 31. Photographers are invited to send their best winter photos in for the chance to win $1000 of prizes, as well as have their work published.
To enter, send a maximum of three photos to photocomp@canberratimes.com.au as attached JPEG files and include your name, address, phone number, photo title, a description of the photo and the date it was taken. Photos must be at least 150 kilobytes and should not carry a watermark. Full terms and conditions are available here.
