Kasey Bubb had “no idea” her dad had entered her photo in Geelong council’s annual calendar competition – until she was shortlisted.
“I was surprised and thankful that he believed in me,” the 16-year-old from Grovedale told the Independent.
Although her proud dad Daniel admits he got “into a bit of trouble” for entering the unedited photo without telling her.
Kasey was 15 when she made the Geelong 2020 Calendar shortlist of 24, alongside entries from experienced adult photographers.
Her shot of an old tree at Geelong Botanic Gardens would eventually appear on the April page of the calendar.
The aspiring travel photographer first got behind the lens at age eight when she “stole” her mum’s camera on a family trip to the Victorian high country.
“Mum had just finished taking photos and it was on the tripod,” she said.
“When she got back she said, ‘you can continue taking them if you like’.”
Her aunt and uncle gave her an old camera a couple of years later and she soon fell in love with photographing native plants, animals and the night sky.
“They just bring me joy and I think that they’re beautiful in their own way,” she said.
Kasey encouraged locals to submit their photos in the 2021 calendar competition with entries opening this week.
“If it’s their hobby and they think they’ve got a talent for it, [they should] enter because you never know what’s going to happen.”
Entries close on August 28 for the calendar, which is distributed to about 130,000 households across Geelong. To enter: www.geelongaustralia.com.au
