Through the Lens: Seniors Card Photographic Competition and Exhibition has been delivered by the Office for Ageing Well as part of this year’s Week of Ageing Well and International Day of Older Persons. The photo competition was open to all South Australian Seniors Card members and celebrates the skills of our older population through the art of photography.
More than 1000 entries were received! With such high numbers of entries consistently in the competition, Through the Lens further demonstrates that people of all ages enjoy the art of photography and that age does not limit your creativity!
Judges Choice Award
Wrecked
Lotte Ebdrup
On a recent photography trip to the Port Pirie area, we discovered a property scattered with forgotten relics, including a train graveyard and abandoned vehicles. We had arrived to photograph the Milky Way and experiment with light painting. This weathered yellow bus immediately caught my eye. Sitting among the overgrown landscape, its rust, peeling paint and graffiti told a story of neglect. I positioned it beneath the Milky Way, creating a contrast between something forgotten and slowly reclaimed by nature, and the timeless beauty of the night sky.
Active ageing
Stars of the Sea (Winner)
Pasquale Belperio
I've never really taken a liking to swimming in the sea, but my wife Sue and her friends often enjoy taking to the water at Glenelg beach where the jetty provides the perfect vantage point from which to document their love for the sea. My wife was a swimming instructor in a previous life, and the ultimate ritual is the star float technique, about which she is instructing her friend Denice on this fine art. It’s also the perfect way of getting essential vitamins as we age, in this case Vitamin Sea.
Set Apart (Finalist)
Yvonne Smuts
This elderly Fisherman moved to the peripheral of the somewhat frenzied activity of the others fishing the wild surf of Waitpinga Beach. Looking across my way he momentarily paused his measured activity, allowing me to anchor this intense and 'knowing' gaze. The abundant catch which followed, and his confident delight, spoke of the richness of life for him.
Artistic photography
Saucy Succulent (Winner)
Judith Brealey
This photo was taken 15 years ago in my garden. From the original, the image of the succulent has been cropped, contrast increased, a blue tint added, and the warmth and brightness also increased.
Gun turret (Finalist)
Paul Finlay
Several of these concrete structures were erected at strategic points around Sydney Harbour during WWII to house the guns that protected the Harbour from Japanese invasion. The guns are long gone but the menacing shadows remain.
Landscape and nature
Cheeky Girl (Winner)
Christine Hughes
While travelling through Tanzania we saw countless impalas, each one as beautiful as the next. One of the ladies in our truck asked to stop for this particular girl. I wasn’t planning to take a photo, but my camera was already in my lap, so I thought — why not? I’m so glad I did. I fell in love with her instantly. She looked right at us and cheekily stuck her tongue out, as if she knew she was being photographed.
Pink Mosaic (Finalist)
Elizabeth Daniels
A breathtaking aerial view of a vibrant pink salt lake, where mineral-rich waters create striking shades of rose, crimson, and magenta. Golden causeways divide the shimmering salt pans into geometric patterns, transforming the landscape into a stunning natural abstract artwork. This image celebrates the extraordinary beauty and colours found in Australia's iconic salt lakes.
Meaningful connections
Friends soaking in the Muloorina Station Hot Springs (Winner)
David Macdonald
Many years behind them, a lifetime of stories between them and still they find new reasons to laugh. In the heart of the South Australian Outback, the water is warm, but their connection is warmer.
Grandsons looking to the stars (Finalist)
Sue Latto
On a family holiday in Bali while on the beach for sunset my eldest grandson took my youngest grandson’s hand and started pointing out the stars while watching the sun go down.
Our State
Sponsored by the South Australian Photographic Federation
Adelaide Alive! (Winner)
John Kirk
Aerial view of the 2023 Adelaide Fringe Festival precinct with its wonderful light and colour at sunset. Rundle and Rymill Parks are in the foreground of this view looking west from above Dequetteville Tce. In the background, East Tce and the East End of Rundle Street have attracted large crowds of festival goers.
Interaction with a Leafy Seadragon (Finalist)
Angela Cogman
This photograph was captured whilst scuba diving in Edithburgh on Yorke Peninsula in January 2025 prior to the algal bloom. Leafy Seadragons are shy creatures, a longer lens allowed me to maintain some distance from it, providing space for it to turn and look at me inquisitively.
Portrait
Simon and the pelicans (Winner)
Sandy Horne
The pre-dawn light at Bald Hill Beach was just amazing on this particular morning. The pastel pinks, purples and blues were a photographer's delight. I noticed my birding friend, Simon, in the distance and caught him as he casually strolled past the pelicans. Simon's relaxed body language conveys his simple enjoyment of this moment in time. At one with nature.
In his own World (Finalist)
Boguslawa Grzywacz
Captured on Rundle Mall, Adelaide on 08/02/2024, this environmental portrait explores human identity and dedication. By obscuring the street artist’s face behind a waterfall of striking silver hair, the focus shifts entirely to his weathered hands and the act of sketching. Surrounded by his own framed drawings, he stands as a symbol of quiet focus. This photograph celebrates seniors who continue to enrich our public spaces with their unique style and vibrant presence.
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