Sydney photographer Peter Steele has won the Award of Excellence for his stark image of life as a youth in Albury-Wodonga for the Open section of the 24HRs AlburyWodonga photographic project, held earlier this month in the twin cities.

The project drew photographers from as far as Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra to take part in the event, which documented "a day in the life" around Albury-Wodonga on 1-2 June.

The judging panel, drawn from teaching staff in Charles Sturt University's photography degree, were enthused by the high quality of entries from the three sections, secondary, tertiary and open sections.

"The high overall standard of entries in the project is reflected by the exceptional images produced by the winners, particularly Peter Steele's entry," said head judge and the event's coordinator Karen Donnelly.

Over 150 high school students from the Border region joined 200 other contestants, who included commercial photographers, Border Mail photographers, interested enthusiasts, and students from CSU and Australian National University.

Entrants competed for cash prizes totalling $1 500, which was donated by Albury and Wodonga City Councils and CSU.

24HRs was run by the third year students enrolled in the photography degree at the University's Albury-Wodonga Campus.

Prize winners for the three competitions run during the 24HRs project were: