From trudging through snow to mastering the photography of objects the size of a match-head, this year's Canberra Times winter photocomp winners have clearly earned their places.
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Kingston's Jake Sims took out the number one prize of $500 for his incredible photo of his friend stand-up paddle boarding on an alpine lake in the NSW back country.
Though keen to keep his secret location hidden, he did reveal how he captured the perfect moment.
"My mate Erryn and I do a lot of back country snowboarding but knew the weather wasn't going to be the best aso we decided to take a paddle board," he said.
"It took a while to get him in the right position on the lake ... I had to use an ice axe as a stabiliser as I was at the bank on the other side at an elevation where there was a lot of snow.
"I looked at my shot and thought the scenery and the paddle board looked beautiful."
Though an experienced photographer for the Australian Army, it was the first photography competition Mr Sims had ever entered. "I am so surprised and absolutely stoked to win," he said.
Tim Leach from Evatt was the competition's runner up, scoring $300 for his highly-zoomed photo of a black beetle covered in a blanket of frost amongst the -5 degree chill of a Canberra winter's night.
It was a technique he had been perfecting for three years, and often needed to leave his camera in the cold overnight so that it's heat would not melt the frost.
"Some objects I photograph are as small as a match-heads and are very sensitive to light," he said.
"So I use something called a focus rail where you mount the camera on and move it over slowly forward over the depth of field. It literally takes 30 to 40 minutes to take the images for one tiny object."
He said the fleeting nature of his subjects attracted him to photograph in such detail.
"One of the reasons for taking the frost images like the beetle is that these tiny frost-covered objects are inherently beautiful, but very ephemeral," he said.
"They exist for a very short time over night and are then gone forever without anyone being aware of them. The challenge for me is to record them under very cold and technically difficult conditions for others to also enjoy."
It was a photo of a calm and serene sunset over Lake Burley Griffin capturing "glass-like water" that gave Jerrabomberra's Natalie Lyons the third place price of $200.
All three winners said they would put their newfound cash towards their passion for photography.
Though the winter photocomp is closed, budding photographers need not fret as the spring competition has opened.
To enter, send a maximum of three photos to photocomp@canberratimes.com.au by November 30 as attached JPEG files and include your name, address, phone number, photo title, a description of the photo and the date it was taken. Touch or click here for terms and conditions.
