Two mates stand in a horse yard, their eyes sparkling as they joke and share stories collected over nearly nine decades of life in the bush.

Photographer Amy Ahchay was determined to capture the rich history between friends Gordon and Rob as they paused for a cup of tea and a chat in a paddock in Queensland’s Calliope.

“They’re just always up to no good or chatting or laughing,” Amy said.

“Their faces tell a thousand stories and their hands tell a thousand more.”

The image, called Two Old Mates Never Short of a Yarn, is one of 10 winners in Rural Aid’s annual Spirit of the Bush photography competition, which aims to give Australians a glimpse of country life.

Gordon, in his 90s, spent his working life lugging timber and leading Scouts, while Rob, in his 80s, had always toiled on the land, Amy said.

“They’re just such hard workers and it’s qualities you don’t see any more,” she said.

“They’re real countrymen.”

Among the winners were images of worn-through working boots, a rusted tin shed under dramatic violet night skies, a curious pair of kelpie pups and a farmer mustering a mob of sheep as a child tags along.

Erika Smart, a nature photographer from the NSW Central Coast, captured a row of galahs with their pink bellies protruding as another tries to join their group, in a shot called Room For One More.

The rural charity’s chief executive John Warlters said the competition, in its sixth year, continued to open up rural Australia to the rest of the nation.

“This year’s photos are a moving tribute to life outside the city limits,” John said.

“They tell stories of perseverance, pride and connection.

“There’s an authenticity to these images that resonates, whether it’s a family working through drought, or a breathtaking sunrise over a remote property, the spirit of the bush shines through.”

The 2025 competition entries doubled the previous year’s efforts, with 201 photographers submitting 429 images from across Australia.

Amy said it was critical to preserve connections between the cities and the bush.

“It’s important to let people into a space and show the true story of rural communities and see what goes on in their world,” she said.

“Otherwise people in town just go to the shops, they get their groceries, they whinge about the price and that’s that.

“But there’s a whole process that happens before then ... (photography) just bridges the gap into an unknown.”

— AAP

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Monday, 10th January 2028

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