28 finalists revealed in $10,000 Australian Life annual competition

14 August 2021

A total of 28 images have been selected as finalists to be featured in the annual Australian Life photography competition which offers a first prize of $10,000. Organised by the City of Sydney, and part of their year-round Art & About program, images by the finalists are typically exhibited in Sydney's Hyde Park from mid-September, however, COVID-19 lockdown restrictions might see the exhibition appear online only.

© Drew Hopper. Unbearable Loss. Visitors to the koala hospital are able to watch the care and attention given to koalas. Here, an admission is checked by clinical director Cheyne Flanagan (pictured right), Scott Castle assistant clinical director, and volunteer Susanne Schueter. This image was part of a commission for Australian Geographic.
Vote for this image to win the people's choice award.
Listen to an audio description about this image and hear Sandy Edwards, Australian Life curator, share some background about the photographer and image.
Location: Port Macquarie, NSW — © Drew Hopper. *Unbearable Loss*. Visitors to the koala hospital (Port Macquarie, NSW) are able to watch the care and attention given to koalas. Here, an admission is checked by clinical director Cheyne Flanagan (pictured right), Scott Castle assistant clinical director, and volunteer Susanne Schueter.
This image was part of a commission for *Australian Geographic.*

A panel of judges, including National Geographic photographer Michaela Skovranova and Magnum Photo Agency member Trent Parke selected the 28 finalist images.

“The variety of images we’ve received really demonstrate the wonderful diversity of Australia’s landscapes and communities – and of the fabulous creativity of so many Australians,” Lord Mayor Clover Moore said. “Each of the 28 finalists has captured a beautiful image, each portraying a unique story from many different walks of life. And each one, going beyond the famous and iconic to reveal more about what makes Australia the nation it is today.”

© Matthew Abbott. Women's Bush Footy. Once a year, teams all over Central Australia travel to participate in the annual Papunya Carnival. They travel extreme distances on hazardous dirt roads to make the pilgrimage.
This year 12 women's teams participated – it’s only the second year of women's competition, which started spontaneously after borrowing the men's jerseys.
Vote for this image to win the people's choice award.
Listen to an audio description about this image and hear Sandy Edwards, Australian Life curator, share some background about the photographer and image.
Location: Papunya, NT — © Matthew Abbott. Women's Bush Footy. Once a year, teams all over Central Australia travel to participate in the annual Papunya Carnival in the Northern Territory. They travel extreme distances on hazardous dirt roads to make the pilgrimage. This year 12 women's teams participated – it’s only the second year of women's competition, which started spontaneously after borrowing the men's jerseys.

The 28 finalist images, and the stories behind each photograph, will feature in the Australian Life online gallery, curated by photographer Sandy Edwards. The winner will be announced on 16 September.

For the first time, the public can vote in the People’s Choice award, with a $5,000 Olympus photography pack up for grabs.

The finalists

Adam Hollingworth

Caitlin Withers

David Cossini

Don Arnold

Drew Hopper

Elise Derwin

Georgia Brogan

Ingetje Tadros

James Brickwood

Jasmine Poole & Chris Sewell

Jeremy Piper

Jessica Ngo

Lidia D’Opera

Linda Maclean

Lucy Knox

Lyndal Irons

Matthew Abbott

Mridula Amin

Nicholas Plevcak

Paul Blackmore

Robyn MacRae

Rusty Crawshaw

Ryan Stuart

Sam Ferris

Sari Sutton

Shelley Reis

Stephen Dupont

Wesley Boney

© Shelley Reis. A Day In The Life Of A Summer Holiday II.
In the summer of 2021, we travelled to an old holiday cabin in Lemon Tree Passage for our annual family holiday where I documented the activities of my 6-year-old daughter, 9-year-old son and my partner as they began unwinding from the challenging year that was 2020. — © Shelley Reis. *A Day in the Life of a Summer Holiday II*. "In the summer of 2021, we travelled to an old holiday cabin in Lemon Tree Passage for our annual family holiday where I documented the activities of my 6-year-old daughter, 9-year-old son, and my partner as they began unwinding from the challenging year that was 2020.

© Stephen Dupont. The Caravan. The skeletal remains of a burnt-out caravan is all that is left on friend John Corker's Rocky Hall (NSW) property following the devastating 2020 black summer bushfires. — © Stephen Dupont. *The Caravan.* The skeletal remains of a burnt-out caravan is all that is left on friend John Corker's Rocky Hall (NSW) property following the devastating 2020 black summer bushfires.

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