The Walkley Awards for Excellence in Photojournalism
All photographic category finalists and prize-winners detailed below were announced today alongside all the finalists in the 69th Walkley Awards.
The Walkley Awards for Excellence in Photojournalism recognise the work of photographers across a range of genres, from news and sport to portraiture and photographic essays. These images let us reflect on the year in news, through the individual worldviews and skilled lenses of Australia’s best photographers.
The winners of the Nikon Photography Prizes are listed below, along with Walkley Awards photographic category finalists. A single ‘hero’ image is included below to represent each finalist, though their nominated entries may include multiple images (up to five images for Sport Photography and News Photography; up to 12 images for Feature/Photographic Essay; up to 10 images for Nikon-Walkley Press Photographer of the Year). All images from the two prize-winners and all finalists in the Walkley Awards for Excellence in Photojournalism will be on display at the State Library of NSW from 23 November, 2024 as the Nikon-Walkley Press Photography Exhibition.
All Walkley Award winners will be announced at a gala dinner in Sydney on November 19. You can find information about the Walkley Awards judging process here and the Terms and Conditions of the Awards here.
Content warning: This post includes images that may be graphic or confronting.
2024 NIKON PHOTOGRAPHY PRIZE WINNERS
These are not Walkley Awards, but prizes administered by the Walkley Foundation on behalf of Nikon. These photos will also appear in the Nikon-Walkley Press Photography exhibition.
WINNER: NIKON PHOTO OF THE YEAR
Kate Geraghty, The Sydney Morning Herald, ‘Funeral at Al-Aqsa’
Funeral at Al-Aqsa: Palestinian mourners carrying a coffin are stopped momentarily by an Israeli police officer before entering the Al-Aqsa mosque in East Jerusalem. 27 October, 2023.
Kate Geraghty has been named the winner of the 2024 Nikon Photo of the Year Prize for ‘Funeral at Al-Aqsa’.
The 2024 Walkley Photography Judges said Kate Geraghty’s photo of Palestinian mourners being stopped by an Israeli official at the Al Aqsa mosque felt so emblematic of a frozen moment in the stand-off between two states, it had to be their Photo Of The Year.
‘No single image can capture the nuance of an entire story, but it can encapsulate in a moment a more complex story or issue. Kate Geraghty anticipated the moment, bearing witness with technical skill, exemplary composition and empathy. Even though this was a temporary impasse, and the funeral procession moved on, this moment indicates the stalemate of the past year’s conflict.’
Kate Geraghty joined The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper in 2002. She has covered assignments including wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, South Sudan, Ukraine and most recently the Israel-Hamas War. She is the proud recipient of several Walkley awards including the 2017 Gold Walkley Award with Michael Bachelard.
WINNER: NIKON PORTRAIT PRIZE
Christopher Hopkins, The Age/SMH, Good Weekend Magazine, ‘Scars of Regret’
Scars of Regret: Mel Jefferies sits for a portrait in her sharehouse bedroom in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs. 30 October, 2023.
‘Portraiture isn’t about the photographer, it’s about the subject,’ said the judges. ‘In this image we can see that Christopher Hopkins has created conditions where his subject feels comfortable and in control enough to pull down her mask. It’s a single capture but it looks like he spent a lot of time with his subject developing the frame: there’s intimacy, vulnerability, and trust shining through. The painterly lighting and stark composition put focus on Mel, stripped down, simple and beautiful in a way that recalls Diane Arbus. Then there’s the visual image of transition and identity. Mel’s stare expresses the pain of this journey to feel at home in her body. She holds the viewer’s gaze and makes you want to learn more, connecting this human moment to a broader issue for the community.’
69th Walkley Photography Award finalists
SPORT PHOTOGRAPHY
Finalist: David Gray, AFP, ‘Light, shadows, action at the Australian Open tennis’
France’s Adrian Mannarino looks up at the roof closing on Rod Laver Arena during a practice session ahead of the Australian Open. Melbourne, 11 January, 2024.
Finalist: Nick Moir, The Sydney Morning Herald, ‘Birdsville Rodeo’
Birdsville Rodeo: Bronco rider Joe Curtin falls from a rodeo horse at the Birdsville Rodeo
Finalist: Quinn Rooney, Getty Images, ‘Australians in the Pool’
Focus: Flynn Southam prepares to compete ahead of the Men’s 200m Freestyle Final at the 2024 Australian Swimming Trials. 11 June, 2024, Brisbane, Australia.
NEWS PHOTOGRAPHY
Finalist: Flavio Brancaleone, The Sydney Morning Herald, News.com.au and The Australian, ‘Bondi Junction Stabbing Attack, no place is immune to the reach of terror’
People gathered at a bus stop behind the Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre after fleeing on Saturday, 13 April, 2024. Visibly distressed, they dispersed after making quick phone calls. Meanwhile, heavily armed police were at the main entrance, ready to enter and secure the building.
Kate Geraghty, The Sydney Morning Herald, ‘Aftermath of October 7 attacks’
October 7 attack survivor Rabbi Shachar Butzchak is treated in the Soroka Medical Centre for bullet wounds to his leg after being shot during the Hamas attack in Ofakim, Israel.
Finalist: David Gray, AFP, ‘Walk to freedom’
Walk to Freedom: Ground crew watch as WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange raises his fist after arriving at Canberra Airport in Canberra on June 26, 2024, after he pleaded guilty at a US court in Saipan to a single count of conspiracy to obtain and disseminate US national defence information.
FEATURE/PHOTOGRAPHIC ESSAY
Finalist: Sean Davey, Oculi / ABC News, ‘The Goode Fight’
Local residents comforted 68-year-old Louise Goode at the end of the day her home of 29 years was demolished, and helped move her belongings to neighbours’ houses across the street.
Finalist: Diego Fedele, Freelance / Getty Images, ‘In the Shadow of a Deadly Sky’
Hroza massacre: A Ukrainian police officer sits on a merry-go-round in the village of Hroza. Civilian bodies lie on the ground outside the cafe, which was struck by a ballistic missile hours earlier on 5 October, 2023, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine.
Finalist: Christopher Hopkins, Freelance / Al Jazeera, ‘They Teach Us to Sing’
Edwin: Four-year-old Edwin Nangobi stares into the camera as he sits with his mother, 20-year-old Katherine Muwunguzi (r), and Grandmother Joy Nangobi in the room Katherine shares as sleeping quarters with bags of cassava. ‘Kat’ was raped repeatedly by a neighbour at a young age, resulting in the pregnancy and birth of Edwin. Kat lives with an undiagnosed intellectual disability and is unable to comprehend that Edwin is her child. Namazala, Jinja District.
NIKON-WALKLEY PRESS PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
Award Partner Nikon
Finalist: Matthew Abbott, Freelance / Oculi
An Australian ex-serviceman, dressed in full military attire and carrying a veterans’ flag, attends the ‘NO’ Rally in Hyde Park. In the weeks leading up to the Voice referendum, the rhetoric surrounding the debate grew increasingly heated.
Finalist: Christopher Hopkins, Freelance
The Push Back: Trans rights activists were forced back by mounted police outside Parliament House as they tried to disrupt the ‘Women WILL Speak’ rally in Melbourne.
Finalist: Nick Moir, The Sydney Morning Herald
The Wet West: despite being in an El-Nino year, after a dry spring NSW had a very wet summer including this violent storm near Nyngan in the state’s west.
For media enquiries, including requests to reprint finalists’ photos online or in print, contact James Gorman on james.gorman@walkleys.com or 0414 990 480.
