Finalists in the annual Nikon Walkley Awards have been announced
By Mike O'Connor | 18 October 2023
The finalists in the annual Nikon Walkley Awards have been announced, alongside two category winners, in the annual celebration of Australia's best photojournalism.
The 2023 Nikon Photo of the Year Prize was awarded to Quinn Rooney for his image Matilda Joy. Rooney is an Australia-based staff photographer with Getty Images, and his image shows the Matildas celebrating after goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold stopped one of France’s penalty shots in the Quarter Final match.
Matilda Joy by Quinn Rooney. Australian players celebrate as goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold stops France’s penalty shot by Eve Perisset in the penalty shoot out during the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Quarter Final match between Australia and France at Brisbane Stadium.
The Walkley judges used the term “jubo” – a newsroom abbreviation for the images of jubilation that editors look for after a sporting victory.
“It’s a moment that encapsulates the spirit of the country. The eyes on it, the emotion we have invested into it. It’s the peak of action, a global moment. Of all the Matildas’ celebration jubo photos, that one really nailed it. It includes many of the key players on the team, caught in a perfect moment. Poetry in motion.”
Eddie Jim, Fighting Not Sinking: One of the elders on the remote Kioa Island in Fiji, Lotomau Fiafia was born in 1952 on the island and has lived his whole life there. He and his ten-year-old grandson John swim in the bay almost every day. In this photo they are standing where the shoreline used to be when Lotomau was young, but the sea level now is up to his chest.
Also announced was the winner of the Nikon Portrait Prize, awarded to Eddie Jim, of The Age, for his shot Fighting Not Sinking.
Jim’s portrait shows the impact of climate change on remote communities such as those on the Fijian island of Kioa, population 500. Lotomau Fiafia has seen first hand the encroachment of the shoreline onto the land he grew up on.
“In capturing this image of Lotomau and his grandson John, I wanted to document and share the impact of climate change in a powerful way, making it more relatable and understandable to a wider audience. Their presence serves as a visual anchor to the reality of the situation, as well as a testament to the knowledge being passed down through generations. The tranquil water was flat like a mirror and their faces were perfectly lit by the early morning light, drawing attention to the message they convey,” Jim said.
The judges said, “This is a technically excellent environmental portrait. It would have been so easy for Eddie Jim to take it completely out of the water, but he’s also gone under the water. This image tells a story, and says everything it needs to say.
When the old man was standing there as a little boy, he would have been above water. There’s a generational theme, a metaphor, and it’s a well-executed shot. He’s a master of light. It’s a cracker.”
You can see all the finalists in the 68th Walkley Awards below, or in person at the State Library of NSW from October 21 to January 21, 2024.
All Walkley Award winners will be announced at a gala dinner in Sydney on Thursday November 23.
68th Walkley Photography Award finalists
Finalist: Jason South, The Age, ‘Pictures of the Year’. “I’m Not Leaving”: Graham Baldwin, 71, lived with calf-high water throughout his house for days after flooding in Echuca East.Finalist: Jake Nowakowski, Herald Sun,Sunday Herald Sun and The Daily Telegraph, ‘Jake Nowakowski’. Yes: Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews takes to the stage at a Labor Party function at the Village Green Hotel to celebrate winning a third term in government in the 2022 State Election.Finalist: Diego Fedele, Getty Images and Ms. Magazine, ‘Eastern Ukraine Portfolio’. Wooden crosses mark a mass burial site where people were interred during the Russian occupation of Izium. On September 15, 2022, Ukrainian forces discovered the site containing at least 440 bodies in a section of the Izium cemetery, in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region.Finalist: Justin McManus, The Age and The Sunday Age, ‘Leaving the Land of Plenty’. The Last Sheep: Effie Tsagalidis tends the last of her sheep before they are sold.FEATURE/PHOTOGRAPHIC ESSAY. Finalist: Matthew Abbott, The New York Times and The Washington Post, ‘As China Expands Pacific Reach, a Tug-of-War for Island Nations Ensues’. Solomon Islanders gather to observe the Solomons Scouts and Coastwatchers memorial service at Unity Square to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal. The USS Oakland is in the background.Finalist: Darrian Traynor, Getty Images, ‘A Dark Day’. Melbourne City goalkeeper Tom Glover, shocked and bleeding, is escorted from the pitch by teammates.Finalist: Dean Sewell, Oculi and Guardian Australia, ‘Return to Uluru – The Repatriation of Yukun’. An emotional Abraham Poulson, great grandson and nephew of Yukun, carries his ancestor’s remains to the ceremony.NEWS PHOTOGRAPHY, Finalist: Ian Munro, The West Australian, ‘Banksia Hill Riot’. Special operations group officers storm the roof of Banksia Hill Juvenile Detention Centre near Perth, bringing an end to 14 hours of chaos after the youths set fire to accommodation, armed themselves with weapons and climbed onto the roof. The inmate in this picture is a youth and cannot be identified. The face has been blurred and the T-shirt colour changed.Finalist: David Gray, AFP, ‘Moments in Sport’. Golden Kiss: Spain’s Salma Paralluelo kisses her medal as she lies on her back amongst confetti talking on her phone, after Spain defeated England 1-0 in the final of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup at Sydney’s Stadium Australia.OSPORT PHOTOGRAPHY, Finalist: Robert Cianflone, Getty Images and Daily Telegraph, ‘Just Another Day’. That’s gonna hurt: Mario Suryo Aji of Indonesia, rider of the #64 Honda Team Asia Honda, crashes out of the Moto3 World Championship race during the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.Finalist: Jason South, The Age, ‘Water, Water, Everywhere’. Making the Best of It: After most of the suburb is evacuated due to flooding the sun returns and a spot of tanning and paddling is the order of the day in South Shepparton.
