Now a freelance food and wine photographer, Grant Nowell took his winning portrait at an Adelaide Hills wine awards judging session, where he was struck by the sight of one of the judges spitting a long stream of red wine underneath a picture of a young Queen Elizabeth.

He was encouraged to enter the Wollongong competition by his daughter who lives and works in this region.

"I am just thrilled to have won because I love taking photos," he said.

"It think it's fantastic to see the contributions of artists being celebrated in the Wollongong community and it's a tribute to the gallery that it is encouraging artists through a prize like this."

Mr Nowell is no stranger to winning awards for his craft and is well-known for his Walkley-nominated photo of Alexander Downer wearing fishnet stockings.

He was also the official photographer for Hillary Clinton's 2012 visit to Australia and has covered various royal and papal tours.

There were about 70 entrants in the popular Wollongong City Gallery Friends photographic portrait prize this year, vying for the $3000 major prize.