Clancy Warner’s The Cleansing, Alpine Ash Walk Sculpture Forest, Snowy Valleys Sculpture Trail. Photo: Louise Cowell.
Time is running out for photographers to enter this year’s Winter Photography Competition on the Snowy Valleys Sculpture Trail, with just weeks remaining until entries close on 31 August.
The competition, in its second year, invites everyone from smartphone snappers to seasoned photographers to capture the magic of winter along the 150 km trail, which winds from Adelong and Tumut through Tumbarumba to the alpine edge of Khancoban.
At this time of year, the trail offers an ever-changing palette of frosts, mist, snow and soft winter light – a blend of conditions photographers dream of capturing.
The prize is a photographer’s dream, too: a two-night stay in Bondi during Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi 2025 which is set down for 17 October to 3 November.
The world’s largest annual free-to-the-public sculpture exhibition, Sculpture by the Sea transforms Sydney’s Bondi to Tamarama coastal walk into a two km outdoor gallery where, displayed against the backdrop of the Pacific Ocean, more than 100 works by Australian and international artists attract around half a million visitors over 18 days.
For photographers, it’s a rare chance to work in one of the most striking settings for outdoor art anywhere in the world.
For the Snowy Valleys Sculpture Trail Winter Photography Competition winner, that also means a paid day working alongside the event’s professional exhibition photography team.
And there’s a chance at glory, with the competition’s winning image also to be published on About Regional and Region Riverina, giving the photographer a platform to showcase their work to a broad audience.
Judges are looking for images that convey the atmosphere of the Snowy Valleys Sculpture Trail – be it dramatic, whimsical or contemplative – or standout moments that capture nature and art interacting.
Last year’s winning photo, by Tumbarumba’s Chantelle Bruton, captured Vaclav Fiala’s Universum glowing through mist at the Sculpture Forest at Pilot Hill.
Honourable mentions went to Louise Cowell of Wagga Wagga for her photo of Stephen King’s Grid Study IV, Caroline Cattle of Oura for her representation of Andrew Townsend and Suzie Bleach’s Borderlands, and Bradley Weintraub of Laurel Hill for his charming images of Shen Lieyi’s Rain and Sean Henry’s Seated Man with his dog.
The Snowy Valleys Sculpture Trail was created after the Black Summer bushfires as a legacy project designed to boost tourism and community connection through public art.
It has since grown to feature more than 60 works by artists from 17 countries, scattered across towns, vineyards, forests and walking tracks.
Many are in remote or hidden locations, giving photographers rare opportunities to capture internationally significant works in landscapes that shift dramatically with the seasons.
Recent large-scale additions include Vojtech Mica’s haunting Phantoms of Corporality – Urban Islands at Bago State Forest and Greg Johns’ Horizon Figure in Khancoban, expanding the trail’s reach and diversity.
But to truly test your mettle, maybe the kinetic sculpture Shiver House V4 by UK-based studio NEON might be a worthy subject.
To enter, photographers can share their images on Instagram or Facebook, tagging @snowyvalleyssculpturetrail, using #snowyvalleyssculpturetrail and following both @snowyvalleyssculpturetrail and @sculpturebythesea.
A direct message should also be sent to confirm the entry.
Those with private accounts – or those preferring not to use social media – can email up to six images to [email protected].
Entries close at 11:59 pm AEST on 31 August.
Full details are on the sculpture by the sea website.
Winter is fleeting – and so is the chance to capture it.
