Photography competition winner: Mr Lawrence Vassallo
An 'early morning opportunity’ in retirement
Congratulations to Resthaven Walkerville Retirement Living resident, Mr Lawrence Vassallo, who was recently awarded the 2023 Seniors Card ‘Through the Lens’ Judge’s Choice Award, for his piece, Early Morning Opportunity.
Mr Vassallo explains, ‘My wife, Kathryn and I, grew a keen interest in macro photography back when we retired in 2018.’
‘We were living in Victoria at the time, and the Wombat Forest is full of unique fungi, particularly the Pixies Parasol variant. That became our new workstation for a while!’
Buying a second-hand camera, Mr Vassallo began taking photographs of the fungi whenever he had a spare moment, with the assistance of his wife’s artful eye.
‘Kathryn is the artistic one out of us, I’m on the technical side!’
A couple of years ago, the Vassallos relocated to South Australia, finding their new home at Resthaven Walkerville Retirement Living.
‘We enjoy it here and have joined The Field Naturalists Society of South Australia, where we can share our interest with others.’
Mr Vassallo soon traded his second-hand camera for his new and improved flagship camera, Olympus OM1, diving into the ‘focus stacking’ technique.
‘This camera is brilliant for macro photography. The stacking technique takes multiple images, which is then combined into one, and we can see even the tiniest intricacies of the fungi as a result.’
In 2022, Mr Vassallo entered one his works in the Seniors Card ‘Through the Lens’ competition. To his surprise, he was awarded runner up!
Eager to enter the 2023 competition, Mr Vassallo won the Judge’s Choice Award for his piece titled, Early Morning Opportunity.
Mr Vassallo explains his piece, ‘We took this photo of a Pixies Parasol [Mycena interrupta] in the early morning with a perfectly placed drop of dew reflecting the light forest around it.’
‘It’s been great fun to work on a new skill in retirement, and I’m interested to see what else we can accomplish—perhaps we’ll try birds next!’
Congratulations on your deserving award, Mr Vassallo.
Each year, Seniors Card offer various opportunities for older people to share their talents with the community. Check out the 2023 winners and their photos here.