Australia's top news image of 2018

18 October 2018
© Lukas Coch. AAP. , “Linda Burney Airborne. ”Nikon-Walkley Photo of the Year Prize Winner. Liberal MP Warren Entsch lifts up Labor MP Linda Burney as they celebrate the passing of the Marriage Amendment Bill in the House of Representatives at Parliament House in Canberra, December 7 2017.

Lukas Coch has been named the winner of the 2018 Nikon-Walkley Photo of the Year Prize for his image, Linda Burney Airborne. “For Burney it was a bittersweet moment—her son, who was gay, had died just six weeks before,” Coch said. “For all of those who campaigned so hard for so many years, it was both a happy day and a day far too long in coming.”

Nikon-Walkley winners will be announced 22 November at the 63rd Annual Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism. Image of the finalists and other category winners appear below.

Category finalists

NIKON-WALKLEY PRESS PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR

  • Matthew Abbott,The New York Times, Oculi, ABC and The Australian
  • Dean Lewins,NBC News, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Guardian, The Australian and Time
  • Andrew Quilty,The New York Times, Human Rights Watch, National Geographic Magazine, Politic and The Guardian

 

© Matthew Abbott, The New York Times, Oculi, ABC and The Australian. The beginning of the first major demonstration, “Welcome to Hell”, at the G20 in Hamburg, Germany. Protesters in the city continued to riot over the next three days during the summit.
© Matthew Abbott. The beginning of the first major demonstration, “Welcome to Hell”, at the G20 in Hamburg, Germany. Protesters in the city continued to riot over the next three days during the summit.
© Dean Lewins, NBCnews.com, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Guardian, The Australian and Time. Supermaxi Black Jack, surrounded by spectator craft, leads the fleet down the coast in the 2017 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.
© Dean Lewins. Supermaxi Black Jack, surrounded by spectator craft,
leads the fleet down the coast in the 2017 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.
© Andrew Quilty, The New York Times, Human Rights Watch, National Geographic Magazine, Politic and The Guardian. 12-year-old Shafiquallah’s uncle Zar Gul comforts him while a nurse prepares to clean the wounds on the stumps that used to be his legs. He and his two younger brothers Mangal and Rashid share this room in Nangahar Regional Hospital in eastern Afghanistan. Between the three of them they have only one leg.
© Andrew Quilty. 12-year-old Shafiquallah’s uncle Zar Gul comforts him while a nurse prepares to clean the wounds on the stumps that used to be his legs. He and his two younger brothers Mangal and Rashid share this room in Nangahar Regional Hospital in eastern Afghanistan. Between the three of them they have only one leg.

NEWS PHOTOGRAPHY

  • Lukas Coch,AAP, “Linda Burney Airborne"
  • Jenny Evans,Getty ImagesandThe Daily Telegraph, “Life Saver”
  • Andrew Quilty,The New York Times, “‘It’s a Massacre’: Blast in Kabul Deepens Toll of a Long War”
© Lukas Coch. AAP. , “Linda Burney Airborne. ”Nikon-Walkley Photo of the Year Prize Winner. Liberal MP Warren Entsch lifts up Labor MP Linda Burney as they celebrate the passing of the Marriage Amendment Bill in the House of Representatives at Parliament House in Canberra, December 7 2017.
© Lukas Coch. Liberal MP Warren Entsch lifts up Labor MP Linda Burney as they celebrate the passing of the Marriage Amendment Bill in the House of Representatives at Parliament House in Canberra, 7 December,  2017.
© Jenny Evans, Getty Images and The Daily Telegraph, “Life Saver”. A woman screams and raises her arm as she is caught in a rip at Bronte Beach in Sydney during very rough surf conditions.
© Jenny Evans. Life Saver. A woman screams and raises her arm as she is caught
in a rip at Bronte Beach in Sydney during very rough surf conditions.
© Andrew Quilty, The New York Times, “‘It’s a Massacre’: Blast in Kabul Deepens Toll of a Long War”. Victims lie dead and severely wounded among fallen branches, crumpled cars and debris after the huge bomb was detonated only metres away, minutes earlier. Miraculously, some in this photograph survived.
© Andrew Quilty. “‘It’s a Massacre’: Blast in Kabul Deepens Toll of a Long War”. Victims lie dead and severely wounded among fallen branches, crumpled cars and debris after the huge bomb was detonated only metres away, minutes earlier. Miraculously, some in this photograph survived.

SPORT PHOTOGRAPHY

  • Scott Barbour, Getty Images, “Sport 2017—2018”
  • Brett Costello, The Daily Telegraph, “No Limits”
  • Craig Golding, AAP, “Body of Work ”
© Scott Barbour, Getty Images, “Sport 2017–2018”. Richmond Win AFL Premiership: Richmond Tigers captain Trent Cotchin looks up as his team celebrates with the the 2017 AFL Premiership Cup, after beating the Adelaide in the Grand Final at the MCG.
© Scott Barbour. Richmond Win AFL Premiership: Richmond Tigers captain Trent Cotchin looks up as his team celebrates with the the 2017 AFL Premiership Cup, after beating the Adelaide in the Grand Final at the MCG.
© Brett Costello, The Daily Telegraph, “No Limits”. Blues Win: New South Wales Blues players celebrate after defeating Queensland in game two of the State of Origin series at ANZ Stadium, Sydney.
© Brett Costello. No Limits. Blues Win: New South Wales Blues players celebrate after defeating Queensland in game two of the State of Origin series at ANZ Stadium, Sydney.
© Craig Golding. AAP. “Body of Work. Lightning serve: Angelique Kerber of Germany smashes an ace down to Czech Republic’s Lucie Safarova as lightning strikes at the Sydney International Tennis Tournament at Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre.
© Craig Golding.Lightning serve: Angelique Kerber of Germany smashes an ace down to Czech Republic’s Lucie Safarova as lightning strikes at the Sydney International Tennis Tournament at Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre.

FEATURE/PHOTOGRAPHIC ESSAY

  • Jenny Evans,Getty Images, “Louth Races”
  • David Gray,Reuters Wider Image, “Drought From Above”
  • Chris Hopkins,SBS Online Documentaries, “My Name is Yunus”
© Jenny Evans. Getty Images. Louth Races. Young folk start off the day after the races with some hair of the dog at the Louth Racecourse campground.
© Jenny Evans. Louth Races. Young folk start off the day after the races
with some hair of the dog at the Louth Racecourse campground.
© David Gray, Reuters Wider Image, “Drought From Above”. Farmer Ash Whitney stands in the middle of a dried-up dam.
© David Gray. Drought From Above. Farmer Ash Whitney stands in the middle of a dried-up dam.
© Chris Hopkins. SBS Online Documentaries. “My Name is Yunus. Sacrifice: Mohamad Yunus helps members of the local Rohingya community carve a sacrificial cow as part of Eid al Adha. The meat will be shared amongst seven families.
© Chris Hopkins. Sacrifice: Mohamad Yunus helps members of the local Rohingya community
carve a sacrificial cow as part of Eid al Adha. The meat will be shared amongst seven families.

Winners in other categories

NIKON-WALKLEY PORTRAIT PRIZE

  • Winner: Sylvia Liber,Illawarra Mercury, “Trapped in the Wrong Body”
© Sylvia Liber. Illawarra Mercury. “Trapped in the Wrong Body”Nikon-Walkley Portrait Prize Winner. Sylvia Liber: “Charlotte and Aley are two people on very different journeys of self-discovery. After years of torment, they come together in a love that transcends gender. Charlotte describes herself as trans, agender with a hint of girl, while Aley identifies as a transgender female who was assigned male at birth.”
© Sylvia Liber. “Charlotte and Aley are two people on very different journeys of self-discovery. After years of torment, they come together in a love that transcends gender. Charlotte describes herself as trans, agender with a hint of girl, while Aley identifies as a transgender female who was assigned male at birth.”

NIKON-WALKLEY COMMUNITY/REGIONAL PRIZE

  • Winner: Sylvia Liber, Illawarra Mercury, “Sea of Emotions”
© Sylvia Liber, Illawarra Mercury, “Sea of Emotions”. Winner – Nikon-Walkley Community / Regional Prize. Deep Love for Dance: Brooke Macdonald and Olivia Mitchell have performed together for five years, and choreographed a dance to be performed by 24 students from Kiama High School at the 2018 South Coast Dance Festival. Photographed in the ocean, their every move was challenged by the pull of the current, cold water temperature and the weight of their dresses.
© Sylvia Liber. Deep Love for Dance: Brooke Macdonald and Olivia Mitchell have performed together for five years, and choreographed a dance to be performed by 24 students from Kiama High School at the 2018 South Coast Dance Festival. Photographed in the ocean, their every move was challenged by the pull of the current, cold water temperature and the weight of their dresses.

NIKON-WALKLEY CONTEMPORARY AUSTRALIAN DAILY LIFE PRIZE

  • Winner: Matthew Abbott,ABC Online, “Not a farmer's wife”
Nikon-Walkley Contemporary Australian Daily Life Prize Winner. © Matthew Abbott, ABC Online, “Not a farmer’s wife. Stephanie Coombes, 29, (centre) with other station workers sharing breakfast and coffee before sunrise. The team of workers sleep, work, eat and even party together; the life builds close relationships and a feeling of camaraderie some compare to the army, due to the intensity of the work and the isolation.
© Matthew Abbott. Stephanie Coombes, 29, (centre) with other station workers sharing breakfast and coffee before sunrise. The team of workers sleep, work, eat and even party together; the life builds close relationships and a feeling of camaraderie some compare to the army, due to the intensity of the work and the isolation.

NIKON-WALKLEY PHOTO OF THE YEAR PRIZE

  • Winner: Lukas Coch, AAP, “Linda Burney Airborne”
© Lukas Coch. AAP. , “Linda Burney Airborne. ”Nikon-Walkley Photo of the Year Prize Winner. Liberal MP Warren Entsch lifts up Labor MP Linda Burney as they celebrate the passing of the Marriage Amendment Bill in the House of Representatives at Parliament House in Canberra, December 7 2017.
© Lukas Coch. Liberal MP Warren Entsch lifts up Labor MP Linda Burney as they celebrate the passing of the Marriage Amendment Bill in the House of Representatives at Parliament House in Canberra, 7 December, 2017.

The finalists’ photographs will be toured around the nation in a series of free public exhibitions and is currently on display at the State Library of NSW and and will be on display at the ABC in Brisbane from 18 October.

The judges

  • Neil Bennett, picture editor, News Corp Australia
  • Carly Earl, picture editor, Guardian Australia
  • Ross Eason, photographer
  • Sam Mooy, picture editor, AAP
  • Renee Nowytarger, photographer

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