Chris wins award for photo

Chris came third in one of Australia's biggest photo competitions out of thousands of entries.  He did this by capturing a moment of spontaneous joy with some his best friends (90 year old Cecil, Soni and little Luna).  

My friend Cecil at 92 years old is still a purveyor of joy and believes that "A smile is a light in the window of the soul indicating that the heart is at home."  May all, through research and care, see this joy in their lives.

He captured the moment with his mobile phone.  So wonderful that you don't need to have a big SLR camera anymore to capture stunning photos.  In fact, a mobile phone camera is so much better to capture spontaneous moments like this one

I got to share in Chris's success as I had the privilege of editing the photo.  I didn't do much at all - just darkened the background and put some radiant light on the faces to allow the joy stand out.

The award ceremony was held at Novartis headquarters.  The quality of the entries was amazing and I was inspired beyond words.  The competition required not just a photo but some words too, to describe what the photo meant to you.  It is the combination of the two, I realised, that creates true meaningful beauty.  I'm going to start doing this more and more with my photos.

All in all, such a great experience.  I've realised the joy of doing just a little tiny bit to help others to shine.  To help others beam with joy.  It's life-changing for me.  Far more joyful for me than being in the limelight myself.  It's what I want to start doing more and more of.  

The most special thing of all is that Chris has revealed this to me, not so much by allowing me to help him shine on this occasion, but by the way he constantly helps others to shine (including me with my new DIY skills.)   It's such a deep part of his nature.  I love him so much.

Chris with his award winning photo

One of the finalists was only 9 .  How awesome is that!

Lovely classical music in the background ...

The food was indescribably good !  This is the little girl, Luna, in Chris's photo who got to be there and go up with Chris to get his award.

Receiving the award

The quality of the entries was very high which made Chris's triumph all the more special.

Here is Chris with his friend, Cecil.  It's a beautiful friendship that has lasted for many, many years.  Cecil has has been a purveyor of joy  for Chris for decades with his great humour and his skills as a magician.  Cecil is now old without the use of his legs and lives in a stark old age home, which is really tough for him.  But Chris visits him all the time and brings cheer and colour into his world.    There you go, karma does exist.

Related link
Cecil's 90th birthday party in the park  (organised by Chris)