Guardian Australia’s Carly Earl wins top award in 2025 Australian Life photography competition

Earl's portrait of young drovers in central Queensland praised by judges for beautiful insight into reality of life in rural Australia'

• Australian Life photography competition 2025 finalists - in pictures

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Guardian Australia's picture editor, Carly Earl, has won the $10,000 top award in the 2025 Australian Life photography competition, with the judges praising Earl for capturing a beautiful insight into reality of life in rural Australia" in her portrait of young drovers in central Queensland.

Earl, a Sydney-based photographer and picture editor for Guardian Australia, took the portrait of 19-year-old Riley Swanson while covering a droving team working south of Roma in central Queensland.

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