Kalgoorlie-Boulder photographer wins photojournalism accolade for candid image of skimpy barmaid

A unique portrait of a Kalgoorlie-Boulder skimpy taking a brief break from her bartending duties has won a regional photojournalism accolade.

Local photographer Mellen Burns won the 2025 Galah Regional Photography Prize’s excellence in photojournalism award for her work Tilly Time.

The winning entry depicts Tilly sipping on a soft drink behind the bar with her name on a skimpy chalk board in the background.

It formed part of Burns’ series, No photos of the girls, which saw her create candid images of skimpies at work in local pubs and bars.

Burns said the award was a “really nice surprise” and enabled her to showcase a unique part of WA’s culture.

“It was good to have an opportunity to show that series outside of the Goldfields,” she said.

“No one (in the Eastern States) really knows anything about that kind of profession.”

The $27,000 photography prize was hosted by independent print magazine Galah.

A panel of five judges compiled a shortlist of 42 works from more than 1100 entries across regional Australia.

Editor-in-chief Annabelle Hickson said Tilly Time’s vibrant colours and unique composition helped Burns to stand out from the competition.

“Straight away when the judges saw Mellen’s (entry) they said it felt like this fresh perspective, amazing colours and composition,” she said.

“They just thought Mellen seemed like a real talent, and they wanted to connect with her.

As part of her award, Burns will receive mentoring sessions with photographers and picture editors from The Sydney Morning Herald’s GoodWeekend magazine.

The Goldfields photographer said the opportunity would enable her to learn more about the photojournalism industry and grow her network.

“I’m excited about it, especially the mentorship sessions,” Burns said.

“It’s always nice having contact with other people in the industry and to be able to pick their brains a little bit.”

Ms Hickson said the prize showcased great talent outside of the major cities and helped to connect regional photographers with industry experts.

“There’s lots of things I’m hoping will happen because of this prize, but one of them is to connect regional artists with an audience of collectors . . . but also mentoring people,” she said.

“I do think you can live anywhere in Australia and be the best photographer.

“You don’t have to live in Sydney, but the more remote you live, the harder networking is, it’s just sort of a fact.

“So that really excites me that this (mentorship opportunity) is one of the one of the prizes.”

An awards night at Armidale, New South Wales, earlier this month celebrated finalists and award winners.

Lisa Sorgini won the $25,000 Galah regional photography prize for her work, The Flood, while the $2000 people’s choice award went to Sweetheart, Merriwa, an image by Maitland photographer Therese Maher.

Burns’ attendance at the awards night was supported by the Regional Arts Fund and City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder.