Page 65 - Australian Photography Feb 2022

CATEGORY SPONSOR
JACOB DEDMAN
WHERE TO NOW?
When he’s photographing, Jacob Dedman says he knows who he is and what he can do. “My life is full of challenges because I live
with FASD, which effects everything in my life. It’s difficult to live in a world that often doesn’t allow for differences. But photography allows me to be different and I can be unique and cre- ative, and experiment without worry of being judged,” he said.
Jacob’s runner-up photo was created whilst onholidayswithhisparentsinSouthAustralia. “We were five days into the trip when we were plunged into a seven-day snap lock-
down,” he explained. “We found a place we could wait it out, and where there were photo opportunities for me, which was the town of Quorn.
Early one morning, I set my camera up on my tripod, set the focus, set the intervalom- eter on, and then walked to where I sat on the step of this train car. At the time, I was thinking about how many of us are worried about what is going to happen next. Will there be another huge outbreak? What if someone I know gets it? With concerns of whether I’d see my friends and family, it got me thinking: where to now?”
WHAT THE JUDGES SAID ANTHONY MCKEE: Runner-up in the Junior competition is Jacob Dedman’s study “Where to Now?”, a quiet self- portrait of a young man pondering his place in the world.
This image has some strong design elements, including the converging lines into the distant sunrise, and a certain element of tension created by the
imposing structure of the wagon and the surrounding textures. About the only distracting element in this image is the lens flare, but that even seems to work in this instance, shining a subtle spotlight onto the young man who we can only guess is hoping he doesn’t spend as much time on the sidings as this train might have.
PRIZE: $200 Camera House voucher.
1 Matthew Barrett
2 Jacob Dedman
3 Jarvis Smallman
4 Felix Lovell
5 Piper Byrnes
6 Dylan Schafter
7 Henry Openshaw
8 Cian O'Hagan
9 Matthew Barrett
10 Cian O'Hagan
11 Matthew Barrett 12 Jake Frazer
13 Jarvis Smallman 14 Jarvis Smallman 15 Mace Kirk
16 Jacob Dedman 17 Jarvis Smallman 18 Jacob Dedman 19 Ben Chubb
20 Jacob Dedman
JUNIOR TOP 20
| 79 | FEBRUARY 2022 | AUSTRALIANPHOTOGRAPHY.COM
RUNNER-UP
JUNIOR