Page 10 - Australian Photography Feb 2022

RUNNER-UP
PEOPLE
COVID LOCKDOWN WINDOW VISITS WITH DAD
1 Andy Rovenko
2 Carole Mills Noronha
3 Katy Bindels
4 Matt Pickles
4 Natalie Cunningham
6 Anna Brozek
7 David Cossini
8 Kate Lionis
9 Hanne Matthews
10 Grant Hunt
11 JohnDalton
12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 19 19
PEOPLE TOP
20
James Thompson Emma Sewell Laura Walker Polly Fenton Alysha Beales Fiona Bowring Louie Lai
Adrian Thornton Jun Zhang Grant Hunt
CAROLE MILLS NORONHA
@carolemillsnoronha
Carole Mills Noronha’s runner-up winning series is, she says, a gift for her dad – the subject of these stark, striking, and yet still hopeful images she captured throughout 2021.
“My beautiful dad lives in a Melbourne Aged Care home,” she explained. “He is 89 years old and has Dementia and Alzheimer's. Dad spent ten months of 2020 in lockdown inside this building. Most of this year, 2021, has been the same.”
“Without fail, on every window visit, dad would invite me inside. Each visit I told him why I couldn't: Covid. I visited dad at least twice a week. Every window visit was different. I watched dad's many emotions from the other side of the glass, month after month. From joy, confusion, frustra-
tion, tears to happiness. These photos are for dad. Moments of his life he has already forgotten.”
WHAT THE JUDGES SAID
ANTHONY MCKEE: Covid has been a chal- lenging time, not just for photographers, but for our parents and many older relatives. For many photographers though, these chal- lenges have been an opportunity to explore new ideas that we might never have imag- ined. Carole’s series of monochrome images are a touching story of how she and her fam- ily have kept in touch with her father. Each photograph has a lovely uniqueness to it, and as you look at the images you cannot help but feel for the family, and every other Austra- lian in similar situations, who have tried to maintain a meaningful relationship with an elderly relative – through glass!
HELEN WHITTLE: This all too familiar feeling of separation from our loved ones is cleverly captured and perfectly executed in this se- ries. Using reflections to highlight the sto- ries, Carole has captured the love, but also the pain of separation we have felt from re- cent lockdowns. Relatable and raw, this is a moving portfolio which touches us all.
PRIZE: $200 Camera House voucher.
| 24 | FEBRUARY 2022 | AUSTRALIANPHOTOGRAPHY.COM