By ANEEKA SIMONIS
THEY say a picture tells a thousand words.
And in Ebony Brown’s case, a picture snapped by the budding photographer is worth more than a thousand dollars.
The 26-year-old Pakenham photography student is the recent recipient of a major national photography excellence award.
Her winning image, Courage Represented Through History, took out the top student prize in the Canon Light Awards (CLA) drawn in July.
Ebony, a student at The Photography Institute, captured the image at the Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbour during her honeymoon last year.
“The inspiration behind this image for the brief on Courage was retrospective. History itself presents many forms of courage within the stories that were, and were not told,” she said.
“Whilst walking through the showcase of historic aircrafts, we were overwhelmed by so many emotions, and it was clear that men and women who experienced the scars of World War II endured their experiences with so much bravery and determination to see a better day.
“I wanted to capture these emotions and more, in a creative way that told the story that all is seen, but not forgotten.”
Ebony’s skilled depiction of courage landed her the top prize in the student division of the monthly competition – scoring her $4000 in prize money.
But it may not be the only prize Ebony will win.
Each overall category winner will be awarded with a luxury photo safari for two in Africa.
Ebony said the experience would be unforgettable.
“It would be amazing! You would be able to get some great pictures of the landscapes and animals … I love taking pictures that show emotion and tell a story,” she said.
At the moment, photography is just a hobby for Ebony but she hopes it may become more in the future.
“I’d love to turn it into something bigger … we will see what happens,” she said.
