A COVID-19 positive patient with the Delta variant receives treatment in St Vincent’s Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit. Sydney, NSW. July 13, 2021. Photo: Kate Geraghty, The Sydney Morning Herald.
NIKON PHOTO OF THE YEAR
- WINNER: Kate Geraghty, The Sydney Morning Herald, “Fighting COVID-19 Delta”
Kate Geraghty has been named the winner of the 2021 Nikon Photo of the Year Prize for “Fighting COVID-19 Delta”. The judges felt Kate Geraghty’s photo epitomised the year.
“This sums up COVID like no other picture,” the judges said. “An empathetic image that explains COVID in Australia: all the loneliness and isolation. There’s a greater story being told; a lot of family members can’t even get that close to patients like this. Geraghty’s skills with, and use of, light make the image.
NIKON PORTRAIT PRIZE
- WINNER: Brian Cassey, The Australian, “The Yarrick Family of Kunhanhaa”
“The Yarrick Family of Kunhanhaa” Mother Shaylene Yarrick beds down five of the children who sleep in the lounge of her two-bedroom house, which regularly sleeps up to 22 members of her extended family.
The judges felt Brian Cassey’s stunning family portrait told them a great deal about its subjects, from where they live to how they communicate.
They said: “It’s not easy to get that many people in a shot, compose an image and get it to work. One child makes eye contact but everyone else is doing their own thing. The lighting is just beautiful and the circular motion of the composition means the faces keep drawing the eye around, finding something new each time.”
The Walkley Awards for Excellence in Photojournalism
All finalists detailed below were announced today alongside all the finalists in the 66th 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. This exhibition lets us reflect on the year in news, through the individual worldviews and skilled lenses of Australia’s best photographers.
You’ll be able to see the two prize-winners – and all finalists in the Walkley Awards for Excellence in Photojournalism – with the Nikon-Walkley Press Photography Exhibition hanging in the Fountain Court of NSW Parliament House, opening in November. For more details, visit the Walkley website.
Judges for this first round are selected by the Walkley Judging Board. You can find information about the Walkley Awards judging process here and the Terms and Conditions of the Awards here.
Thanks to the generous support of the NSW Government all Walkley Award winners will be announced at a gala dinner in Tamworth on Friday February 11, following the Walkley Regional Journalism Summit on February 10.
The winners of the 2021 Nikon Photography Prizes are announced below, along with the list of photographic category finalists for all the Walkley Awards.
2021 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.
NIKON PHOTO OF THE YEAR
- WINNER: Kate Geraghty, The Sydney Morning Herald, “Fighting COVID-19 Delta”
NIKON PORTRAIT PRIZE
- WINNER: Brian Cassey, The Australian, “The Yarrick Family of Kunhanhaa”
66th Walkley Photography Award finalists
SPORT PHOTOGRAPHY
Finalist: Alex Coppel, Herald Sun, The Daily Telegraph, The Courier-Mail and The Advertiser, “The Games that Had to Happen”
USA’s Tara Davis lets her hair fly as she makes her landing in the final of the Women’s Long Jump at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Finalist: Michael Dodge, Tennis Australia and Instagram, “Unguarded Moments”
Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, it proved to be a lonely world for all the tennis players at the 2021 Australian Open at Melbourne Park. But at least Jessica Pegula of the United States had the enduring support of her one-man team in coach David Witt. Here she celebrates after defeating Elina Svitolina of Ukraine as coach Witt cuts a solitary figure within the confines of an empty Rod Laver Arena.
Finalist: Jason Edwards, Herald Sun and The Australian, “The Crux”
Tom Perkins completes the crux part of a route called Trapeze on Castle Crag, an iconic formation at the foot of Mount Arapiles/Dyuritte near Horsham in western Victoria.
NEWS PHOTOGRAPHY
Finalist: Kate Geraghty, The Sydney Morning Herald, “COVID-19 ICU”
A COVID-19 positive patient with the Delta variant receives treatment in St Vincent’s Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit. Sydney, NSW. July 13, 2021.
Finalist: Justin McManus, The Age, “Anti-Lockdown Protest”
Anti-lockdown rally at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne. Protesters rally against Victoria’s stage four lockdown restrictions on September 5, 2020.
Finalist: Brook Mitchell, The Sydney Morning Herald, “Sydney Anti-Lockdown Protest”
A protester makes contact with a police horse outside Town Hall during a chaotic anti-lockdown protest in Sydney on July 24, 2021.
FEATURE/PHOTOGRAPHIC ESSAY
Award Partner Canva
Finalist: Scott Barbour, ausopen.com, “2021 Australian Open”
Rafael Nadal of Spain jumps in the air as he prepares to walk onto the court to play Cameron Norrie of Great Britain on Rod Laver Arena during Day 6 of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Saturday, February 13, 2021.
Finalist: Jake Nowakowski, Herald Sun and The Weekend Australian Magazine, “Superheroes in Lockdown”
Vision (cosplayer Steve Alder-Goad) trims a rose bush while his neighbour looks on.
Finalist: Dean Sewell, The Sun-Herald, “Of Mice and Men”
Allan Inglis disposes of drowned mice carcasses in the open fields beyond the homestead. He performs this task several times over during the morning. “Even the Guinea Fowl are sick of them,” he quips, as he nods to the birds that roam freely around his property.
NIKON-WALKLEY PRESS PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
Award Partner Nikon
Finalist: Alex Coppel, Herald Sun, The Daily Telegraph and The Courier-Mail
USA’s Caeleb Dressel powers through the water on his way to winning Gold in the final of the Men’s 100m Butterfly at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Finalist: Jason Edwards, Herald Sun
The family of William Wall, a 14-year-old boy with autism, grieve in the moment they are told he has been found dead.
Finalist: Christopher Hopkins, The Age, The Guardian, The Sydney Morning Herald and Al Jazeera
Former Wesley College student David Kay was sexually assaulted by two teachers in the 1970s. Now 58, Mr Kay has decided to speak publicly about the ordeal that “tarnished almost every aspect of my life”. He wants Wesley College to be held to account and says he was inspired to speak out publicly by “kick-arse young women” such as 2021 Australian of the Year and sexual assault survivor Grace Tame. Melbourne, Australia. May 30, 2021.
Thanks to this year’s Walkley photographic judges:
- Sandra Jackson, Visual Editor, The West Australian
- Danie Sprague, Photographic Editor, The Age
- Barbara McGrady, photographer
- Mark Baker, Senior Photo Editor and Photographer, AP
- Renee Nowytarger, past Nikon-Walkley Press Photographer of the Year
- For media enquiries, including requests to reprint finalists’ photos online or in print, contact Clare Fletcher on clare.fletcher@walkleys.com or 0432 616 810.