The scale dependence of the evolution of photoproduction cross section
s with the photon-proton centre of mass energy W is studied using low
Q(2) < 0.01 GeV2 e(+)p interactions collected by the Ill experiment at
HERA. The value of the largest transverse momentum of a charged parti
cle in the photon fragmentation region is used to define the hard scal
e. The slope of the W dependence of the cross section is observed to i
ncrease steeply with increasing transverse momentum. The result is com
pared to measurements of the Q(2) evolution of the W dependence of the
virtual photon-proton cross section. Interpretations in terms of QCD
and in terms of Regge phenomenology are discussed.