Susie McDonell is pictured with her mother La Reine Beal. Susie won the Champion print and was the most successful exhibitor. Susie’s photograph of Jessica Head can be seen behind them.
The Harden-Murrumburrah Camera Club (HMCC) held its incredibly popular exhibition and competition over the weekend, with entries received from as far afield as Sydney, Wagga Wagga, and West Wyalong. The exhibition began with an awards presentation at the Murrumburrah Court House last Friday night. Susie McDonell was the Most Successful Exhibitor at the event, and had the honour of receiving the Connie McFadyen Perpetual Trophy from her mother, La Reine Beal. Susie received three first places, taking out the Landscape/Waterscape, the Portrait Monochrome and Open sections. She also received one second place and five Highly Commended across four additional categories. Her stirring portrait of Jess Head, from the Harden-Murrumburrah Light Horse Troop, caught the eye of the judges and was awarded the Bendigo Bank Champion Print. Susie received $150 in prizemoney courtesy of the Harden Murrumburrah Community Bank.
In the Junior 12 Years and Under, Kirralee Gendle’s photographic talents were recognised, with ‘Selfie’ taking out the People category as well as the $50 Bendigo Bank Champion Junior Print award. She also came second in the Birds and Animals category and received a Highly Commended in the Open section. Kirralee was also the Most Successful Junior Exhibitor. At the close of the exhibition at 3:30pm on Sunday afternoon, the organisers counted the votes for the People’s Choice Award. There were a large number of submissions, with the majority of the votes going to Trevor Bullock of the Rock’s picture, ‘The Frogmouths’. “We had a good number of entries, we were surprised. A lot came in the last week,” said Keith Ward of the HMCC. “They were of outstanding quality.” The organisers of the exhibition would particularly like to thank the Harden-Murrumburrah Community Bank for their ongoing support of the event. The Bank donated $200 for the Champion Print Awards out of the $890 total prize pool for this year’s competition.
