Sony Alpha Award Winner 2021

In July 2021 I was awarded the Grand Prize Winner for 2021 Sony Alpha Awards, judged by the World Photography Organisation.

The award was true honour and privilege.

Scott Gray, CEO of the World Photography Organisation and Grand Prize judge commented "After such a turbulent year it is a delight to view Matt Beaver’s “The Fog”; a calm, elegant and cinematic image. It is a beautifully layered photograph, from tone and texture through to subject and focus; it draws you in with its enigmatic quality."

My winning image ‘The Fog’ is an image I’ve seen this image a thousand times before, except in different circumstances.

I’ve seen farmers walking through brown paddocks of dirt under blue skies and a blazing sun. It hasn’t rained in months. The farmer has checked the weather app, the predicted rain never eventuates. Crop failure, after crop failure the ground remains dry. The drought never seems to end.

This image was captured while we waited for the fog to clear.

The drought had broken, the landscape was green again and crops were thriving. The country had turned a corner and the constant drought was no longer.

A big thanks to the resilient farmers who continue to work the land to feed us all and Ben our farmer in the frame.