Emma is not the best working dog on the farm, but she was never cut out for town life. That is how she came to live on the Williams family dairy property at Vacy in the Hunter Valley.
That was four years ago. Since then, she has taken a dip in every dam and water trough on the place.
"She's a water dog," owner David Williams said when he found out his photo of Emma cooling off in a water trough surrounded by the farm's resident dairy cows has won the 2020 Hunter Photography Prize.
"She's a great dog. She loves rounding up the cattle and she's really friendly. She's good company.
"Lately she's taken up expecting to have her photo taken every time she comes along."
More from the Photo Prize: The full list of finalists in the 2020 Hunter Photo Prize
Williams has deep roots in the Hunter. The farm, which runs jersey and cross-bred dairy cattle, belonged to his father and grandfather before him. He manages the property now with his mother and brother, Peter.
"I've been here my whole life," he said. "Fifty-seven years. The Williams' came from the Southern Tablelands in the late 1800s, but we have family that go right back to the first settlers in the Hunter."
Williams' picturesque rural snap has won him a Fuji X-A3 Mirrorless camera with a 16-50mm lens worth more than $900, from Domayne @ Harvey Norman Kotara.
"It's unexpected," he said, elated with the win. Most of his vibrant photos, which document life on the farm and the myriad agricultural and native animals that live there, are taken on his phone.
"Before social media, I never took a photo," he said. "Phone cameras got me started. I've never gone out and chased the attention.
"I think it's just something different that people don't get to see. It's the day-to-day on the farm."
A stunning lightning strike over a country scene at Lochinvar, captured by storm chaser Daniel Johnson, was highly commended by judges, winning him a Nikon D3500 SLR with 18-55mm lens kit.
Johnson studied film photography in high school but said he put the hobby aside for a long time, only taking it up again in recent years.
More from the Photo Prize: A selection of entries to the 2020 Hunter Photography Prize
"There are a lot of similarities," he said, "But you had to get all your exposure settings correct in the camera for film because you only had one chance to shoot it." Johnson, a volunteer firefighter, watches the weather radars to chase the perfect shot, but said he is interested most in showing his rural hometown.
"A lot of people like to take storm shots around the coast, but I like to stick to the country scenes," he said. "There was a hefty cell coming over one afternoon and I was able to get out in front of it and shoot as it was coming toward me."
Aithyn Grove's aerial drone shot of a Dungog roundabout was voted people's choice winner, winning Grove a Nikon B500 Ultra Zoom 16MP. Grove works for Dungog Shire Council and said he was inspired to shoot the scene from above after working on the construction.
"I thought it would be good to document something that I had a hand in building," he said.
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