Head On Photo Awards winners annouced
Winners of the 2020 Head On Photo Awards were recently announced across three categories: Portrait, Landscape, and Student. This year, the competition attracted thousands of entries from photographers in 61 countries. The competition is judged anonymously by a panel of internationally recognised photographers, editors, and leading industry professionals. The annual awards offer a prize pool of $70,000 to professional and amateur photographers.
The winner of the highly covered Portrait award went to Fiona Wolf-Symeonides for her image, The gift, RHW 2020. Marcia Macmillan was named overall winner in the Landscape category, and Joel Parkinson took out the Student category.
Exhibitions featuring the winners and finalist works for each category will also be presented online as part of the 2020 Head On(line) Photo Festival. Running from 1 – 17 May, the digital festival features 110 exhibitions by leading international and local photographers from around the globe alongside a public program of over 80 artist talks, panel discussions, and webinars, led by internationally renowned photographers and industry professionals, stretching five continents.
To see the 2020 Head On Photo Award finalist exhibitions and for more information, head to the festival website.
Portrait category
Overall winner
2020 Portrait Prize - Overall winner. © Fiona Wolf-Symeonides. The gift, RHW 2020 captures a modern family story of a girl born by a warrior woman to two loving dads, with the love and support of a wonderful family around them. Australian runner-up 2020 Portrait Prize - Australian runner-up. © Jon Frank. Yuendumu, Northern Territory, 2019 . Captured during Frank's year living and working with the Warlpiri people in the Northern Territory. International runner-up 2020 Portrait Prize - International runner-up. © Jouk Oosterhof. Egbert. A portrait of a toddler that draws on an old technique used for long exposures where children were held by their parents who were covered in decorative fabrics, to keep them in place and prevent blurry pictures. Landscape category Overall winner 2020 Landscape Prize - Overall winner. © Marcia Macmillan. Whimsical warrior . Macmillan, who caught the moment her daughter, a quintessential farm girl who likes to dress up, ran towards a huge dust storm. A fragile, yet fearless nine-year-old, challenging mother nature to unleash herself in all her fury. Australian runner-up 2020 Landscape Prize - Australian runner-up. © Nick Moir. Run documents firefighters escaping the intense heat of the Green Wattle Creek fire in Orangeville during the devastating 2019/20 Australian bushfire season. International runner-up 2020 Landscape Prize - International runner-up. © Paul Carruthers. Cheddar Gorge - Horseshoe Bend . A five-minute night-time exposure of the famous limestone gorge, once voted one of the seven wonders of Britain. Student category Overall winner 2020 Student Prize - Overall winner. © Joel Parkinson. Within Without. "I have lived a life of certitude and ease; whose rhythms and indulgences were equally predictable and enjoyable. Yet, upon the approach of adulthood, I have inhabited an unstable terrain between childhood and adulthood. To me, this portrait illustrates the last vestiges of my innocence and the ever-growing maturity and individuality before the arrival of adulthood. Perhaps that is what adulthood means: a farewell to the familiar and a welcoming of the unknown." Australian runner-up 2020 Student Prize - Runner-up. © Alice Tasker. Bagel. "Self portrait sitting in a local park. I wanted to capture who I am in my quiet moments. My nickname is Bagel." International runner-up 2020 Student Prize - Third place. © Lewis Dobbin. Snow trails . Three hikers in Switzerland trek through the barren snow-filled landscape, highlighting the sheer inferiority we have to nature. Furthermore, the multitudinous footsteps scattered over the landscape present the lasting effect of humanity upon an untouched landscape, as seen via the intricate patterns moulded by wind and temperature. The figures whilst inconspicuous add a Judges for Head On 2020
Adam Ferguson (US/AU), Photographer
Carla Susanne Erdmann (DE), Editor, Freelance journalist & writer
Charles McKean (AU), Photography educator and photographer
Ellie Waterhouse (AU), Director, Lucida Learning
Erik Vroons (NL), Editor-at-Large GUP
Irina Chmyreva (RU), Art Director, PhotoVisa
Renée C. Byer (US), Photo and video journalist, The Sacramento Bee
Whitney C. Johnson (US), VP Visuals and Immersive Experiences, National Geographic
Moshe Rosenzveig OAM, Creative Director, Head On Photo Festival
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