The Mono Awards 2023 presented by SanDisk: Winners announced

By Mike O'Connor | 14 September 2023

We’re delighted and honoured to present the winners of The Mono Awards 2023 presented by SanDisk.

Now in its fifth year, the annual competition continues to draw the cream of the crop of our region’s black and white photographers.

This year, a wonderfully camouflaged leopard photographed in India by Tony Sernack, a cleverly composed street photograph by Tebani Slade, and a ‘simple but complex’ image of a grass tree by Mark Ditcham, have shared honours in the competition, which saw photographers compete for $12,000 in cash and prizes across three categories, People, Places and Animals.

Animals category winner, Tony Sernack, Now you see me. The photograph was taken in Jawai in Rajasthan. This place is famous for its leopards who live in peaceful co-existence with the local shepherds, the Rabari.There are around 50 leopards living in amongst the quite spectacular granite hills that rise from the plain. Leopards are usually hard to see in most habitats. Your chances in Jawai are far better, although they are most often seen sunning themselves high up amongst the boulders, surveying their territory.This female was the first leopard we saw on this trip. Whenever you see a rare wild animal, it is a thrill. While I got to photograph a number of other leopards over the next few days, this image is one of my favourites, seeing her serenely and beautifully blending into the rockface.
Animals category winner, Tony Sernack, Now you see me. The photograph was taken in Jawai in Rajasthan. This place is famous for its leopards who live in peaceful co-existence with the local shepherds, the Rabari. There are around 50 leopards living in amongst the quite spectacular granite hills that rise from the plain. Leopards are usually hard to see in most habitats. Your chances in Jawai are far better, although they are most often seen sunning themselves high up amongst the boulders, surveying their territory. This female was the first leopard we saw on this trip. Whenever you see a rare wild animal, it is a thrill. While I got to photograph a number of other leopards over the next few days, this image is one of my favourites, seeing her serenely and beautifully blending into the rockface.
People category Winner, Tebani Slade. When I captured this shot I was living in Spain in the coastal town of Sitges. I would often walk along the beachfront promenade late in the afternoons with my camera. On this day, I came across this man who was throwing bubbles to entertain children while their parents sat and watched.There’s something magical about bubbles - they bring so much joy. As the children danced and jumped to try and pop the bubbles, I wanted to capture a shot just like this. It was simply a matter of waiting for the right juxtaposition. It was a bleak and dull day, making it perfect for a black and white image.
People category Winner, Tebani Slade. When I captured this shot I was living in Spain in the coastal town of Sitges. I would often walk along the beachfront promenade late in the afternoons with my camera. On this day, I came across this man who was throwing bubbles to entertain children while their parents sat and watched.There’s something magical about bubbles - they bring so much joy. As the children danced and jumped to try and pop the bubbles, I wanted to capture a shot just like this. It was simply a matter of waiting for the right juxtaposition. It was a bleak and dull day, making it perfect for a black and white image.
Places category winner, Mark Ditcham, Holding. This shot was taken during a sunrise shoot in a strip of remnant bushland amongst farming properties just east of Geraldton in Western Australia.  This particular area is full of Grass Trees (Xanthorrhoea spp), one of my favourite subjects to photograph. These trees are full of character and I like to hunt for ones with a human semblance. I found this dead and broken-down tree in a previously unexplored area of the bushland and was instantly drawn to its shape and form. The coppery colours of the internal structure of the trunk were beautiful, but I knew that processing it as a black and white image would be far more compelling.
Places category winner, Mark Ditcham, Holding. This shot was taken during a sunrise shoot in a strip of remnant bushland amongst farming properties just east of Geraldton in Western Australia.  This particular area is full of Grass Trees (Xanthorrhoea spp), one of my favourite subjects to photograph. These trees are full of character and I like to hunt for ones with a human semblance. I found this dead and broken-down tree in a previously unexplored area of the bushland and was instantly drawn to its shape and form. The coppery colours of the internal structure of the trunk were beautiful, but I knew that processing it as a black and white image would be far more compelling.

More than 4,000 images were entered in the competition this year. 

We’re hugely grateful to our star-studded judging panel, made up of Anthony McKee, Dan Rule, Justine Ellis, Alex Cearns OAM, Andrea Bruce, Chris Budgeon, Meg Hewitt, Jay Collier, Matt Palmer, William Long, Mike Langford and Jackie Ranken, who had the challenging task of choosing our winners this year.

We also want to thank our amazing sponsors SanDisk Professional, without which we couldn’t run The Mono Awards. Your support is greatly appreciated. 

The winners, runners-up and top 40 images in each of the three categories are published in the October/November issue of Australian Photography mag. It should be in newsstands and letterboxes next week.

The October-November 2023 issue of Australian Photography features the Top 40 images from each category of The Mono Awards.
The October-November 2023 issue of Australian Photography features the Top 40 images from each category of The Mono Awards.

From Friday, People's choice voting will kickoff on The Mono Awards Facebook page. This is your chance to vote for your favourite images, so make sure you vote for yours. 

Finally, a huge thank you to you, our amazing entrants. Even after five years of running the competition, your work continues to excite and inspire us, showing that even with just black and white to work with, there are endless ways to work with mono.

We hope you enjoy our winners and finalists as much as we do.

Animals category, runner-up, Anthony Brown, Tails of the sea. This image was taken on a whale watching boat on the Gold Coast during a heat run. This is when males fight for the attention of a female. Here, two males were continuously breaching on top of each other. This particular shot was captured just after the first whale had breached and caused the huge splash. Simultaneously, the second whale raised its tail making it look like it had caused the huge splash. Of my thousands of whale breaching images I have taken over the years, this one instantly stood out. I feel it captures the raw power of the whales in that moment, and the moody skies make the texture of the water stand out too. Being on a boat in rough seas and nailing focus is difficult, but everything came together for this one. The original colour image was almost all black and white tones, which only added to the drama of the image.
Animals category, runner-up, Anthony Brown, Tails of the sea. This image was taken on a whale watching boat on the Gold Coast during a heat run. This is when males fight for the attention of a female. Here, two males were continuously breaching on top of each other. This particular shot was captured just after the first whale had breached and caused the huge splash. Simultaneously, the second whale raised its tail making it look like it had caused the huge splash. Of my thousands of whale breaching images I have taken over the years, this one instantly stood out. I feel it captures the raw power of the whales in that moment, and the moody skies make the texture of the water stand out too. Being on a boat in rough seas and nailing focus is difficult, but everything came together for this one. The original colour image was almost all black and white tones, which only added to the drama of the image.
Animals, 3rd place, Ashlee Jansen, Nature's Prey.
Animals, 3rd place, Ashlee Jansen, Nature's Prey.
Animals, fourth place, Lawrence Chan, Catch of the Day.
Animals, fourth place, Lawrence Chan, Catch of the Day.
Animals, fifth place, Rowan Dear, Depth Perception.
Animals, fifth place, Rowan Dear, Depth Perception.
People category runner-up, Jessica Hromas. Polly Cutmore. I first met Gomerio elder, leader and activist Maria Polly Cutmore in 2020, (affectionately called Polly) when I went to Moree to do a story on the Moree Baths and Swimming Pool for Guardian Australia. This image was taken at the back door of Polly's house. She was standing just inside and the light was soft and natural. I remember thinking her hair looked a bit like Marilyn Monroe's or a 50's beauty queen. Her beautiful dark skin contrasted so exquisitely with her fine light hair.
People category runner-up, Jessica Hromas. Polly Cutmore. I first met Gomerio elder, leader and activist Maria Polly Cutmore in 2020, (affectionately called Polly) when I went to Moree to do a story on the Moree Baths and Swimming Pool for Guardian Australia. This image was taken at the back door of Polly's house. She was standing just inside and the light was soft and natural. I remember thinking her hair looked a bit like Marilyn Monroe's or a 50's beauty queen. Her beautiful dark skin contrasted so exquisitely with her fine light hair.
People, third place, Jay Drew, 90.
People, third place, Jay Drew, 90.
People, fourth place, Claire Letitia Reynolds, Aunty Betty, Bundjalung Nation, NSW.
People, fourth place, Claire Letitia Reynolds, Aunty Betty, Bundjalung Nation, NSW.
People, fifth place, Lawrence Furzey, Owen Wright 'Swell'.
People, fifth place, Lawrence Furzey, Owen Wright 'Swell'.
Places category, runner-up, Janusz Molinski, Sunset silhouettes at Noosa Main Beach. My photograph of the silhouettes at sunset was captured whilst on holiday this year on the Sunshine Coast near Noosa Heads.Whilst approaching the Main Beach at Noosa late one afternoon, I was inspired by the filtered light streaming through the pandanus trees but more significantly, light sea mist forming over the beach that helped create an impressive layered back-lit visual snapshot of Australian beach life. There was an incredible array of people engaged with each other to the point that one can almost see the intensity of conversations people were having. Whilst the original colour version was already a lovely photograph, the black and white conversion accentuated the drama in the image creating the beautiful layered multi-toned silhouettes.
Places category, runner-up, Janusz Molinski, Sunset silhouettes at Noosa Main Beach. My photograph of the silhouettes at sunset was captured whilst on holiday this year on the Sunshine Coast near Noosa Heads.Whilst approaching the Main Beach at Noosa late one afternoon, I was inspired by the filtered light streaming through the pandanus trees but more significantly, light sea mist forming over the beach that helped create an impressive layered back-lit visual snapshot of Australian beach life. There was an incredible array of people engaged with each other to the point that one can almost see the intensity of conversations people were having. Whilst the original colour version was already a lovely photograph, the black and white conversion accentuated the drama in the image creating the beautiful layered multi-toned silhouettes.
Places, 3rd place, Adrian Donoghue, Light and Dark.
Places, 3rd place, Adrian Donoghue, Light and Dark.
Places, fourth place, Paul Evans, Centre Pivot.
Places, fourth place, Paul Evans, Centre Pivot.
Places, 5th place, Terry Daley, Fireworks Watchers.
Places, 5th place, Terry Daley, Fireworks Watchers.