By Kyra Gillespie
Drouin photographer Louise Sedgman is this year’s winner of the 2018 Victorian Professional Pet/Animal Photographer of the Year award.
The prestigious award presented by the Australian Institute of Professional Photographers (AIPP) and sponsored by Epson, has been running annually for the past 40 years.
These awards are the largest awards for professional print photography in Australia and one of the largest in the world.
It is the only professional photography awards in the country that require physical prints to be submitted for judging.
“Winning the title is my greatest photographic achievement to date,” Ms Sedgman said.
“It’s such an incredible experience and one that has made me realise that if you work hard, surround yourself with amazing people and believe in yourself, anything is possible.”
The acclaimed photographer’s love for her craft stemmed from her love of horses growing up.
“After getting my first pony at age five, my life has evolved around horses ever since. I love everything about them,” she said.
“As a teenager and into my early twenties, I drew horses in pastel, entering the odd art exhibition at the time.
“In my early twenties, my mum bought me my first camera. I joined the local camera club and met my dearest friend Ruth Burleigh. Our journey since has been one of a mother daughter like relationship with everything photography and horses thrown in.
“Ruth is a pro photographer and shared her knowledge of the dark room with me.
“My love of photography grew steadily and eventually I made the decision to do professional photography for the rest of my life. The rest is history.”
Ms Sedgman’s passion lies in capturing the unique relationships women and children have with their horses.
In 2015 she became an accredited member of the Australian Institute of Professional Photographers.
“It’s such an honour and privilege to be a part of photographic community that supports all genres of photography, that maintain industry standards, that encourage you to grow both artistically and professionally and to provide awards both state and national where we can show case our work and strive to be the very best we can be.”
