Rural Press Awards …

… not a biggie – but gratifying nevertheless. Received the news that an image I made in the aftermath of Cyclone Yasi has been selected as the winner of the ‘People’ category of the “2012 Queensland Rural Press Photography Awards”. It will now be a Queensland representative in the Australian Council of Agricultural Journalists “2012 Australian Star Prize for Rural Photography” and if successful there it will be an Australian entry in the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists Photography Awards.

The image (below) of Atherton Tablelands farmer Shane O’Brien was made at the end of a day of clearing trees felled by Yasi’s power. Falling trees killed hundreds of head of Shane’s stock and the felled trunks made traversing and operating his cattle farm impossible. Despite the quick response to cyclone damage on the coastal strip of north Queensland, farmers inland from the coast on the Tablelands received little or no support.

It was published in The Australian newspaper on February 14th 2011 … full text of the story here.

Image © Brian Cassey 2011