Amateur photographer and bus enthusiast Anthony Allen has won Volvo’s photo competition
July 29, 2013
Bus enthusiast Anthony Allen has been crowned overall winner of the Volvo Bus Australia 2013 photo competition.
Allen’s photo of a Volvo B12B Bayside coach driving past Parliament House in Canberra was deemed by judges as a perfect combination of a Volvo bus and an iconic Australian landmark.
Not only did Allen take out first place, but was also runner up with his entry of a classic Grenda Volvo bus.
“I was surprised to find out that I had won and then that I had won in both categories,” says Allen.
“Both of the photos I took were memories of buses that I had driven,” says the former Bayside Coaches and Ventura Buslines driver.
The top prize includes a $1000 Westfield shopping voucher and an exclusive Volvo Bus merchandise pack. Anthony Allen’s photo will also grace the cover of the 2014 Volvo Bus Australia calendar.
The Volvo Bus photo competition celebrates more than 40 years’ presence of Volvo Bus in Australia. The competition received over 200 submissions and more than 40,000 page views of the competition website.
“The photo competition has been a fun way to relive our over four-decade-long history in Australia,” Volvo Bus Australia General Manager Sean Copeland says.
“We are happy with the response to the competition and the Volvo Bus memories that people have shared with us.”
Photos submitted by Paul Lancaster, Lisa Cooke, Hayden Ramsdale, Derek Flannery, Gavin Rufus, Zack Harrison, David Copley, Robert Rachwal, Adam Jones and Steve Wilson have been chosen as the other 10 runners-up.
They will each receive a $250 shopping voucher and Volvo merchandise pack.
The winning photo of a Bayside Coach was taken on a sunny Sunday afternoon as it was on tour in Canberra, which had coincidentally been driven by Allen before he started working in Canberra.
“I had driven the coach before and knew it was going to be sold, so I wanted to take a photo of it,” Allen says.
Allen’s photo of a 1977 B58 Volgren-bodied Grenda bus is a good representation of Volvo’s 40 year history in Australia, say the judges.
Allen says he is aware of many older modelled Volvo B10M buses still running.
“It’s a good indication that the product is both high quality and appealing to the driver,” he says.
Of the prize voucher, a spending spree awaits, but it could be reinvested into more high quality photographs.
“I haven’t yet decided what I will do with the prize money, perhaps I will upgrade my camera and buy something nice for my partner,” says Allen.
Anthony Allen’s award winning images feature in the August 2013 issue of Australasian Bus and Coach.