Innholdsfortegnelse for Photographer of Year 2024 i Australian Photography

It’s fair to say I’ve written about Photographer of the Year a few times over the years. In fact, this being the ninth edition of the competition I’ve overseen, it’s also fair to say my thesaurus is running a tad dry when it comes to superlatives I can still get away with when it comes to describing the images we see entered each year. What I can still say though is the competition continues to surprise and delight me every year. I get a sense of the quality of the work being entered while Photographer of the Year is open for entries, but it’s not until the shortlists are done, the judging is complete, and the images are laid out in this very issue that it’s possible to truly experience…

The competition is the largest of its kind for amateur photographers in Australasia and in its 12th year in 2024 had a prize pool valued at more than $16,000. Chin’s winning series was captured at Herdsman Lake over a three-month period, and shows the unique birds, which are characterised by their distinctive appearance and intricate courtship displays, in a variety of ways. He describes his aim with the series was to show their ‘qualities’. For judges Steve and Ann Toon, the series was not only beautifully captured, but a wonderful reward for Chin’s commitment to his subject. “It’s rare to see the patience, persistence, and dedication required to complete a series of shots like this in today’s world of instant gratification,” they said. More than 2,800 entries were received in…

PRESENTED BY @natalie_arber_photography CHRYSALIS MELBOURNE’S Natalie Arber is a selftaught photographer, who says she began taking photography seriously when boredom during pandemic lockdowns kicked in. “I converted my garage into a studio and spent most of the next two years making portraits with my family, experimenting with various camera techniques and lighting,” she says. She describes her People category winning series Chrysalis as a vulnerable body of work captured as a survival mechanism through a challenging year. She was encouraged to enter it by close friends due to its raw emotional narrative. “These are self-portraits captured in my bathroom,” she explains. “It was the only place where solitude and silence was afforded during this time, and [these images] were taken during moments where I felt less than human and powerless.”…

PRESENTED BY SPONSORS @scapes.by.kate BONDI IMPRESSIONS Brisbane-based photographer Kate Stock started her passion for photography as a teenager, but in recent years has turned her interest to creative landscapes. Her series Bondi Impressions is part of a wider series exploring iconic places and landmarks. “I wanted to capture Bondi’s essence in a way that goes beyond the typical postcard view,” she explains. The images in the striking series are all in-camera double exposures captured with a Lensbaby Trio 28mm lens. “It’s a manual pancake lens with three different optics – velvet, twist and sweet, which each create different bokeh effects,” explains Stock. “My aim [with the series] was to fuse together the familiar iconic features of Bondi into layered compositions that create a dreamlike impression of the place we know…

PRESENTED BY @maddykatecreatives LIMINAL REALMS 21-YEAR-OLD Perth photographer Maddison Fenton captured her Black and White winning series Liminal Realms with her friends – subjects she says she prefers to photograph compared to models, as they allow her to capture more natural and personal images. “The four images delve into themes of ghostliness, witchcraft, and the occult,” she explains. The shots were captured using ISO 400 film pushed to 1600 to create a grainy, high-contrast aesthetic that amplifies the eerie, timeless quality of the scenes, and the sense of liminality – a state of transition between one stage and the next. “With this film capture technique I hoped to enhance the mood of the series, giving each image a sense of age and mystery, as though viewers are glimpsing a world…

PRESENTED BY SPONSORS @lodipertovtphotography PRAYER & SPIRITUALITY QUEENSLAND-BASED teacher and travel and street photographer Lodi Pertovt started photography as a means to express himself as he travelled, taking photos on a secondhand iPhone 4, and has since graduated to what he describes as an oversized rucksack full of lenses and two camera bodies wherever he goes. His travel category runner-up series Prayer & Spirituality impressed our judges with its quiet and patient observance of ritual from around the world, while also revealing Pertovt’s clear understanding of light and composition. “Whilst I am not religious, I grew up in a Catholic school community, and have always been deeply fascinated by religion and religious traditions,” he explains. “As I travel, I try to observe these customs without judgement, and attempt to learn…

PRESENTED BY SONIC BOOM KEEN amateur photographer James Stewart says it wasn’t until he joined the Bathurst Camera Club that he became more active in photography, and today he enjoys capturing a little bit of everything - nature, landscapes, travel, architecture, and sport. He says the inspiration for his creative category winning photo was an archeryinspired “bow & arrow” image with a jet plane flying out of a crescent moon that’d he’d seen online. To put his own spin on the idea, which he originally shot for a camera club monthly competition, the image of the plane was first photographed flying overhead and the background masked out. “The building is the Sydney W Hotel at Darling Harbour,” he says. “I masked out the background and removed distracting elements. Then, the…

PRESENTED BY SPONSORS THE WARMTH OF WINTER MELBOURNE’S Sophie Lillis says it wasn’t until her dog Hildie came into her life in 2020 that she became serious about taking photos. “It started with me taking casual phone photos on our walks around the local parks, but soon progressed to me buying an old second-hand DSLR and eventually to the mirrorless setup I use today,” she explains. Her image The warmth of winter was captured on one of these walks, as the light faded and the last rays of the winter sun cast a golden rim light around Hildie’s head. “This image really encompasses all that winter means for me,” she says. WHAT THE JUDGES SAID PETRA LEARY: The success of this image is down to a few factors – the…

Spoil yourself or a loved one with a subscription to Australian Photography and never miss the latest photography tips, news and product reviews 1 YEAR/7 ISSUES ONLY $38 NORMALLY $69 (PRINT + DIGITAL) TO SUBSCRIBE OR RENEW VISIT http://www.greatmagazines.com.au/eoy24 OR CALL 1800 807 760 & QUOTE ADV/EOY24 CONDITIONS: THESE OFFERS ARE OPEN TO NEW AND CURRENT SUBSCRIBERS WITH AN AUSTRALIAN POSTAL ADDRESS. OFFERS EXPIRE 31ST DECEMBER 2024. THE PUBLISHING FREQUENCY OF THE MAGAZINES VARY SO YOU MAY WAIT UP TO 12 WEEKS FOR DELIVERY OF YOUR FIRST MAGAZINE. CUSTOMER ENQUIRIES TO SUBSCRIPTIONS@YAFFA.COM.AU…

WIN BIG WITH WORLD PHOTO ADVENTURES THANKS to our good friends at World Photo Adventures, and to celebrate the opening of their unique photography accommodation Leal Lodge, we have an incredible 6-day, 5-night private photography workshop, with Darran and Frazer Leal, based at Leal Lodge in Tasmania to giveaway. The prize includes flights to the value of $500, five nights’ accommodation at picturesque Leal Lodge, Beauty Point, meals, workshop sessions each day, and self-drive small car hire. Darran and Frazer Leal from World Photo Adventures will be your personal photo tutors, and the tour will target landscape, wildlife and flora in the spectacular north of Tasmania. To enter, all you need to do is tell us in less than 25 words why you would love to experience a unique photography…

PRESENTED BY SPONSORS @donbeck_photography QUALITIES OF A GREAT CRESTED GREBE DESPITE learning photography when he was young, Donald Chin took a break from his camera after he moved to Australia from Malaysia and sold his Canon SLR. In 2021 however, he decided to give it another crack, and instead of his previous portraiture, landscape and people photography, he decided he wanted to try something new. “I dove into capturing wildlife in its natural environment, and [my motivation was] really to share these experiences with my family and friends,” he says. “With no formal photography training, I sought to improve by learning from fellow photographers, reading magazines, and spending hours of experimenting and experiencing new photography techniques.” Captured over a three-month period in 2023 at Herdsman Lake in Perth WA, Chin’s…

PRESENTED BY SPONSORS @nilmini_de_silva_photography PORTRAITS OF SHEARERS SRI Lankan born Australian Nilmini De Silva is a civil engineer in water management by trade, but also a dab hand at photography, something she says she discovered in 2010 while volunteering in South Africa. The images for her runner-up winning series Portraits of Shearers were taken in 2024, while doing a skills swap at Callubri Station, in western NSW. The station is run by Mike Armstrong, a fourth-generation farmer, and his wife Angie. “Angie invited me to do a skills swap,” explains De Silva. “The idea was that I would document the shearing through my writing and photography, and in exchange I would have access to photograph in the shearing shed and be able to camp on the land. I am incredibly…

PRESENTED BY @takenbybenwood TAKEN FROM ABOVE BASED in Perth, Ben Wood is a self-taught and aspiring travel and adventure photographer who only picked up his first camera 18 months ago. He says his work often reflects the concept of “sonder” – the feeling that everyone has a life as complex as your own, even if you’re unaware of it. His Aerial category winning series Taken from Above was captured on a recent trip to Vietnam, where he says he tried to push himself out of his comfort zone and seek perspectives that most tourists miss. “I spent much of my time in rural villages, connecting with locals while photographing with my drone, which was my first experience using it,” he explains. “I was struck by how I could capture bold,…

PRESENTED BY SPONSORS @natalieperrin BENT NOT BROKEN MELBOURNE photographer Natalie Perrin turned her lens to her own recovery from surgery for her runner-up winning series Bent not Broken. “These photographs chronicle a personal journey through scoliosis, a condition I was diagnosed with in my teens,” explains Perrin. “At that time, doctors advised that it wouldn’t worsen, but as the years went by, my spine continued to curve and compress. My lumbar spine had compacted, the vertebrae twisting and barely stacking atop each other. The pain and discomfort intensified, leading me to make the daunting decision to undergo surgery.” “The surgery was extensive – two separate procedures, involving the removal of part of my rib to access the lumbar spine, breaking apart vertebrae that had naturally fused, and the placement of…

PRESENTED BY CEYNOTE KALEIDOSCOPE DAN Vaughan says his Single Shot winning image Ceynote Kaleidoscope was quite spontaneous, and also marked the first time the underwater photographer had worked with a model. The shot was taken at Cenote Jardin del Eden (Garden of Eden) in Mexico, right after a hurricane swept through the area. The heavy rain and runoff had altered many of the cenotes, changing the water’s colour due to algal blooms mixed with tannic acid. “Some tourists were disappointed, grumbling that the cenotes weren’t their usual crystal-clear selves,” says Vaughan. “As we entered the cenote, the scene began as a wide, open pool, but soon transitioned into the cavern zone. It was dark, but there was always a hint of light somewhere in the distance. After taking a turn,…

PRESENTED BY SPONSORS @rosiefoto CITY IN THE CLOUDS PASSIONATE Sydney photographer Rosie Steggles says she has been shooting seriously since about 2017, and describes architecture, seascapes and in-camera motion and multiple exposures as her favourite subjects. She’s combined three of those loves with her runner-up image City in the Clouds. The image, which was captured in Matera, Italy, involved using several photos, each with slight compositional changes, layered together to create one final image. “The city is known as the White City and I felt the photographic treatment enhanced the beauty of the city perched on the hill amongst the clouds,” she says. WHAT THE JUDGES SAID MANDARINE MONTGOMERY: This is a very pleasing use of image overlays evoking faded Italian frescoes. Delicate and muted tones awash the landscape…

As a self-taught amateur photographer who has roamed and lived across the vast landscapes of Australia, it wasn’t until I captured this image that my passion for photography truly ignited. My love for photography dates to my childhood, when I eagerly took it as an elective in primary school. I fondly remember sneaking my dad’s 35mm camera whenever I could, often without his knowledge until the film was developed. Years later, when my own children showed an interest in digital photography, I decided to join a camera club with them. This not only helped them learn the intricacies of their cameras but also allowed me to refine my skills. Wildlife photography became my passion, and with it came the inevitable encounters with snakes. Typically, these venomous creatures are found at…

AUSTRALIA One of our entrants wrote we’d have a tough time judging this theme, and they were dead right – there’s nothing quite as diverse as Australia, and capturing one image that speaks to it ain’t easy. So, as well as the ‘classic’ Australiana shots, we were looking for images that really spoke to what it means to live in the great southern land. These were our picks this issue. ETHAN HUDSON The Long and Winding Road EDITOR’S COMMENT While there were many fantastic images entered this month, something about this classic composition by Ethan Hudson really stood out. True, it’s a scene from the Flinders we’ve seen many times before, but it’s a beautiful take on it, with that wonderful late afternoon light bringing a lovely glow to the…

PRESENTED BY SPONSORS @rebecca__harrison WILD WINTER IN ICELAND BASED in Perth, teacher Rebecca Harrison captured her striking series of an arctic fox, the only true native land mammal of Iceland, in the Hornstrandir nature reserve in the Westfjords – the only place where it is protected from hunting. “The size of a large cat, this fox survives in a harsh environment eating birds, bird eggs, berries, seaweed and other food it manages to scavenge,” she explains. “I have visited Hornstrandir three times, each time to photograph this elusive animal, in all seasons,” explains Harrison. “This last series was taken in Winter of 2024 – the days were short – only five hours long, snow was waist deep, with many days a ‘white out’ from blizzards, but none of this fazed…

PRESENTED BY @niallchang COLOURS OF BOLIVIAN HIGHLANDS NIALL Chang’s name may be familiar to you – with the Sydney photographer taking out the Landscape category in Photographer of the Year for the second year in a row – a rare feat. His winning set of images was captured between 3,600m and 4,200m above sea level in the Bolivian highlands early in 2024. “Whilst the land was arid and lacking in vegetation, it was rich in minerals and its geology diverse,” he explains. “The harsh sunlight brought out the layers and colours of the different minerals that highlight the otherworldly landscapes in this part of Bolivia.” For the judges, Chang’s consistency in subject matter, composition, and editing made the series a clear winner this year. WHAT THE JUDGES SAID ANTHONY MCKEE:…

PRESENTED BY SPONSORS @wild_winkle_art BANGLADESH FROM ABOVE MARGARET River’s Sandy Winkle describes herself as a passionate travel photographer, whose career in the merchant navy helped forge a passion for photography and documenting many of her journeys around the world. The four drone photos she submitted were taken on a recent trip to Bangladesh, where she described the colours from above as eye-catching and telling a story that you just can't see from eye level. “The Taxi Boats tied together on the Buriganga River in Dhaka formed an image of flowers from above,” she recalls. “The floating markets were a dream to fly over, and the chilli farms were so beautiful – although eye watering!” she says. Finally, the textile dyeing villages caught from above revealed a stunning view of paddocks…

PRESENTED BY @ro___zana THE BEAUTY OF A BUDAPEST BATH-HOUSE ROSIE Lang is an analog photographer and architectural graduate currently based in Walyalup/Fremantle. She describes her work as deeply influenced by her love of travel and exploration, focusing on landscapes, architectural forms, and the interaction between people and public space. Set within various historic bathhouses strewn throughout Hungary’s capital, the photographs in her Travel category winning series The beauty of a Budapest Bath-house were captured on film, and show the timeless cultural tradition of public bathing for which Budapest is renowned. “These four images are part of a larger ongoing photographic series in which I have been exploring the ritualistic act of bathing across a diversity of cultures and continents, to highlight our shared humanity in an increasingly fragmented world,” she…

PRESENTED BY SPONSORS @david.williams_photo MAERVOLL STORM MELBOURNE-BASED IT specialist David Williams captured his moody and evocative Single Shot runner-up image Maervoll Storm in Lofoten, Norway. He says the day the shot was captured didn’t start particularly well. “Strong gale force winds and driving rain overnight changed the plan for the day,” he recalls. “By midday the winds had abated to gale force gusts but still with driving rain.” “I believe you must put yourself into interesting locations in order to capture interesting photographs. My first attempt wasn’t successful – the tripod was not stable and the windswept water and heavy rain made it impossible to keep the lens dry long enough for a water and glare-free photo.” However, the return journey via a higher road was a different story. “This…

PRESENTED BY HONEY POSSUM ON SCARLET BANKSIA AUSTIN Ridley-Jarvis is a 15-year-old emerging photographer from Perth’s north. Despite his obvious talent, he says he doesn’t consider himself a photographer as such, but rather he’s a ‘nature guy’ who uses photography to capture his discoveries and as a means to spread his conservation message. Austin hopes to forge a career in biodiversity and conservation where his photography will become a useful and valuable tool. Highlights of Austin’s journey so far have been photographing endangered numbats and Mardo (Yellow-footed antechinus) in WA’s Wandoo woodland, and more recently capturing images of the elusive Noolbenger (Honey Possum) in the south-west of WA, the star of his Junior category winning image. WHAT THE JUDGES SAID DOUWE DIJKSTRA: Austin Ridley-Jarvis’ winning image in the Junior category…

WITH ROZ ZITO Smartphones are often looked down upon by photographers, but the quality of phone images in the last decade has improved out of sight, and at the end of the day the best camera is the one you have with you. We always have our phones, and there are times when it is the only way to capture the magic. 2024 was an exceptional year for auroras due to intense solar flares and coronal mass ejections from the sun. I missed the show in May, however, in early October I was in central Victoria and had a few fruitless attempts – but at least found that Lake Eppalock was a good south-facing vantage point in our area without much light pollution and a view over the water. It…