Photography: Daily Life/Feature Photography Winner

Angela Wylie, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, “A Windy Oaks Day”

Since starting her career as a darkroom assistant in 1989, Angela Wylie has covered major news assignments including the Solomon Islands, asylum seekers on Nauru and Manus Island, logging and mining in Papua New Guinea, the Childers backpacker tragedy and the aftermath of the tsunami in Banda Aceh.

Her sports coverage has included the AFL, the Australian Open and the Grand Prix and her feature photography has also appeared in the [melbourne] magazine and Good Weekend.

On the final days of Melbourne’s annual Spring Racing Carnival, Wylie was sent out to capture a colour photo to describe the relaxed feel of Oaks Day – otherwise known as “Ladies Day”.

Caught in the middle of a very breezy day, the photographer propped herself in a natural wind tunnel to capture the action and the unexpected squeal of three race-day princesses caught unawares.

Judges’ comments
Wylie got the frock shot! Meticulous pre-race preparation could not save this trio from an unexpected gust of wind. This whimsical moment in daily life raises the spirits of the viewer.