Click on the image to view captions

The judges' verdict

The winning picture - a member of 4RAR(Cdo) bounding forward during IMT, June 2003

First Prize

Pte Ben Peardon, 4RAR(Cdo)

Judges' comments

GOOD framing, use of natural light and movement creates action and atmosphere and gives the impression that the subject is about to burst out of the image.

A great example of how to use a military theme effectively to create drama and interest.
- LACW Simone Liebelt

THIS shot has been carefully constructed with excellent composition and a little burning-in (darkening) of the edges. It pulls the viewer in, and you can't help but be drawn to look at the soldier's face. Combining this with a slow shutter speed (to blur the spray of water) conveys a sense of urgency. A winning shot.
- POPH Kevin Bristow

THIS image is strong on many levels. It captures the peak of the action - soldier movement - the splash caught at the decisive moment. It uses "in-your-face" simple but effective composition. The reason I most like it, however, is because of the unusual lighting employed. The soldier is isolated from the background by a halo of light, yet the image has been accurately exposed to capture detail in the shadowed areas, the face in particular. The burning in around the edges heightens the impact of the main subject as the eyes are led in to the soldier.
- WO2 Al Green

Members of 1CER conducting ESF training during November 2002.

Second Prize

Spr Bernard Pearson, 1CER

Judges' comments

THIS IS a classic newspaper image that captures the mood, drama and emotion of the event by using black and white and good framing to tell the story. A great opportunity shot that takes advantage of the environment as well as the subject matter. Congratulations
- LACW Simone Liebelt

AGAIN, another excellent shot using strong composition. This time the faces are all but hidden from the viewer, causing the viewer to scan from one visor to the next. This creates a very interesting shot. The use of the black and white media works well with the water droplets and the dark sky creating a foreboding feeling, which is in sync with the content of the image.
A well-deserved second place.
- POPH Kevin Bristow

I LIKE the the composition and the choice of Black and White works well as it enhances the threatening mood of the image subject matter.
- WO2 Al Green

LCpl Gilchrist commands the gun group during a live-fire assault with Leopards during Exercise Predator’s Gallop 2003.

Third Prize

Cpl Neil Ruskin, 5/7RAR

LCpl Gilchrist commands the gun group during a live-fire assault with Leopards during Exercise Predator's Gallop 2003.

Judges' comments

AN INTERESTING shot that draws the eye to a number of elements, capturing the atmosphere of the military environment. The use of movement and selective focus also adds to the drama.
- LACW Simone Liebelt

A BUSY and interesting shot that has been thought through and composed well. By using a large aperture and selective focus, Neil has separated the soldiers from the action happening around them. Neil has also used a telephoto lens to compress the distance between the tank and the soldiers, conveying the closeness of combat.
- POPH Kevin Bristow

WHILE this has all the content that can make a good image it could have been made stronger with a small change. The point of focus should have been on the soldier in the foreground - our main point of interest. What is good is that the photographer has got down at the same levels as the soldier to get a feeling of involvement. As this is probably a live fire, the photographer could also position himself further to his right, shooting over shoulders toward the line of attack. A wider angle lens would still have the tank in frame while a 45-degree angle view of the action would give the image a 3D feel.
- WO2 Al Green

Cpl Neil Ruskin, 5/7RAR, winner of the 2003 Harry Burton Award.Photo by Pte Jamie Osborne, 1JPAU(P) The winning photo, selected by Eve Burton, sister of the late Harry Burton. Pte Hintz listens to the radio during a combined Recon/Snipers patrol in East Timor, taken February 14, 2003, during 5/7RAR's deployment on Op Citadel. Photo by Cpl Neil Ruskin, 5/7RAR

The Harry Burton Memorial Award

Courage of the lone soldier

5/7RAR's Cpl Neil Ruskin wins with a photo 'almost martyr-like'

By Sgt Troy Rodgers
This year's Harry Burton Memorial Award for photography in the ADF has been won by Army's Cpl Neil Ruskin from 5/7RAR in Darwin.

A high standard of photography from all ranks of the ADF made this year's competition difficult to judge.

The award is in memory of Australian photographer Harry Burton who, with three other journalists, was sadly murdered by Taliban forces in Afghanistan on November 19, 2001.

The Taliban stopped the vehicle in which Harry and his fellow correspondents were travelling.

At gunpoint the four were ordered to get out of the vehicle. Clearly identified as non-combatants, the four journalists were led down to the rocky creek bed nearby and shot.

A member from Harry's family judges The Harry Burton Memorial Award. This year, Harry's sister Eve judged the competition.

Eve, who lives in Townsville and studies art at James Cook University, said it was an honour to be the judge for this year's competition and was amazed that CDF Gen Peter Cosgrove had asked the competition be named in Harry's memory.

Gen Cosgrove first met Harry and Harry's partner Joanne Collins in East Timor in 1999. Harry and Jo were filing stories for Reuters when Australian and international forces first arrived in East Timor and continued to file stories after INTERFET left East Timor when the UN took command in 2000.

Eve said this year's winning photo reminded her of her brother Harry on the last day he was seen alive. She was very moved by the winning image of a lone soldier walking into the unknown.

"The photo is almost martyr-like, with the courage of the lone soldier giving all for the freedom of the masses," she said.

"These were the same characteristics of my brother Harry."

Pte Ben Peardon, 4RAR(Cdo), winner of the 2003 ADF Amateur Photographic Competiton. Photo provided by 4RAR(Cdo)

Soldiers dominate ADF photo comp

Pte Ben Peardon, 4RAR(Cdo), has won the 2003 ADF Amateur Photography Competition.

His photo of a member of 4RAR(Cdo) splashing through a mangrove swamp during training caught the eye of the three judges from Army, Navy and Airforce.

All three prizes and the Harry Burton Memorial Award were won by soldiers.

For second place, the judges rated a photo of 1CER personnel doing Emergency Support Force training in the rain by Spr Bernard Pearson, 1CER.

Cpl Neil Ruskin, 5/7RAR, won third place and the Harry Burton Memorial Award.

The best of 155 photographs

THE second ADF Amateur Photography Competition, run by the Service newspapers, has been decided.

The photographs printed in this special lift-out to the newspapers have been selected as the best of this year's entries by a panel of three military photographers from all three services.

Last year's winner Giving orders in smoke ... Pte Jamie Osborne's photograph of 1RAR soldiers in action, which won him the inaugural Harry Burton Memorial Award in 2002.

The Army's most senior and respected photographer, WO2 Al Green, 1JPAU(P), POPH Kev Bristow, PACC-Digital Media, and LACW Simone Liebelt, Airforce News, went through the 155 entries from 44 personnel from across the ADF to determine who came first, second and third.

Pte Ben Peardon, 4RAR(Cdo) won first prize with his photo of a commando during training. In the inaugural competition in 2002, Pte Peardon was highly commended in the best photo category.

Spr Bernard Pearson, 1CER, won second prize with his photo of 1CER members doing ESF training. Last year, Spr Pearson won the Black and White category.

Third prize went to Cpl Neil Ruskin, 5/7RAR, for his action shot of Exercise Predator's Gallop this year.

Cpl Ruskin also won the Harry Burton Memorial Award, honouring the memory of Australian photojournalist and cameraman Harry Burton who was murdered in Afghanistan. This was judged by a member of the Burton family, Eve Burton, who is one of Harry's sisters.

Unlike the inaugural competition in 2002, which had four categories, this year's contest was reduced to just one category - best photo - and the Harry Burton Memorial Award.

Each of the judges rated the entries on composition, technical skills (such as sharpness and exposure), military theme, best use of opportunity; and subject interest for public display.

With not as many sunsets or dawns this year, the competition proved again that plenty of personnel have a keen eye for that little slice of history or magic moment captured for all time.

.