Kanwal’s Grace Evans has taken out this year’s Dobell Christmas Card competition.
Presented by Federal Member for Dobell, Emma McBride, each year the themed competition is opened to residents of the electorate, with this year’s targeting local photographers.
Entries were opened in November and were uploaded to McBride’s website, where constitutents could vote for their favourite photo.
Evans’ snap of The Entrance Boatshed won the popular vote and the right to be the featured image on McBride’s 2020 Christmas card.
It’s a confidence boost for the Early Childhood Educator who has slowly but surely begun developing her own photography business.
“My win came as a total shock.
“A friend of mine actually sent me a text message saying I’d won, and I replied, ‘Oh my goodness, really, I didn’t know.’
“She told me to check Facebook and I had been tagged in the clip of Emma announcing the winner and runner ups in Parliament.
“I was just so excited to hear Emma McBride say my name as the winner of the competition,” Evans said.
A passionate landscape photographer, Evans said that she was delighted that her shot of the boatshed would be making its way around Dobell.
“I actually entered three shots that I felt represented the Central Coast and Dobell.
“The first was of a wave with the sun rising behind it at Norah Head, showing off our beautiful beaches and coastline.
“The second was a smoky sunrise at the old wharf near the Gorokan Fish Co-op, which was washed away in one of the storms we had this year.
“The third was of the Boatshed, which is such an amazing and historic building to me, and just knowing that my photograph is going to be seen by so many people on Emma’s Christmas card is thrilling,” Evans said.
“I feel the competition is a wonderful way for local photographers to gain exposure and I hope Emma continues to hold it.
“We live in a beautiful part of NSW and sharing our photographs with the wider community can only benefit our tourism and hospitality industries in what’s been a tough year.”
“I’d like to thank each person who voted for my photograph and the people around me who encourage and support me and my photography.”
Dilon Luke