The story behind the photo: ‘Frog in a Bog’ by Tom Owen Edmunds
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Tom Owen Edmunds was crowned winner of the Urban Animals category in the 2023 Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year (AGNPOTY) competition.
His winning image, titled Frog in a Bog was taken on an Apple iPhone, and shows a green tree frog (Litoria caerulea) in a public toilet in Walgett, New South Wales
“One of the joys of Australia is that nature is everywhere. I love rural Australia – and the ever present dunny frogs – and liked the space-age look of this dunny juxtaposed with the ancient frog. My brother-in-law tells me a frog in the dunny means the water is clean… better that than a snake!,” Tom says.
Were you unexpectedly there or had you planned to cover this moment?
I was on a road trip, visiting my sister and brother in law at the Walgett Show, when I cameacross this scene in a very well maintained public lavatory. I love the fact that nature in Australia nature is everywhere, and I was immediately struck by the gleaming space-age dunny harbouringan ancient rainforest-green frog. My brother in law tells me a frog in dunny means the water is clean – and it’s certainly better than a snake
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Did you have special equipment?
This photograph was taken an iPhone. I love the fact that the quality is now good enough to be selected for an international competition and hung in major museum. There were no particular technical challenges, just a question of framing. Cameras on mobile phones have democratizedphotography: we are all photographers now. But of course it’s never been the camera that counts– we need first to see an image, then capture it in a way that is pleasing to the eye.
Any additional thoughts?
I now work in rainforest conservation but had a misspent youth as a wildlife and travel photographer in the 80s and 90s. This is the first photographic competition I’ve entered for over 25 years so I am delighted to have an image included.