Winners of The Mono Awards 2022, presented by SanDisk, revealed!

By Marc Gafen | 22 August 2022

An emotive portrait captured with available light, an unusual in-camera multiple exposure, and a whimsical interaction between two birds have shared the honours in The Mono Awards 2022, presented by SanDisk Professional.

Now in its fourth year, The Mono Awards 2022 featured a prize pool of more than $13,500, including $10,000 cash, thanks to the major sponsor, SanDisk Professional, and supporting sponsors Kudos Cameras and Midland Insurance Brokers. The competition is Australia and New Zealand's biggest competition dedicated to the art of monochrome and black-and-white photography.

People category winner, Marty by Karen Waller. — © Karen Waller. *Marty*. Winner, People category. "My portrait of Marty was captured on the front veranda at his home in Adelaide. It is a place where he often spends time watching the world pass by and connecting with his community. Meeting Marty happened by chance, and I sensed that he would be an intriguing portrait subject. When I captured his portrait, he shared the story of his life and was very open with me. This portrait captures a moment in our conversation, as Marty recounts a tragic story of personal loss. He was unapologetically emotional when sharing his story. In that moment, it was simply about documenting the emotion as it unfolded. My aim in this portrait of Marty is to reveal his humanity and vulnerability which may counter our immediate perception of who he is."

Photographers were invited to enter any of the three categories – Animals, People, Places – and this year top honours went to Steve Nicholls, Karen Waller, and Tebani Slade, in each of the categories, respectively.

This year was also the biggest in the competition’s history, with the total number of images entered eclipsing last year.

Places category winner, Tebani Slade, Matera 2. Matera 2. — © Tebani Slade. *Matera 2*. Winner, Places category. "This image was taken in the town of Matera in southern Italy. It is claimed to be the third oldest continually inhabited settlement in the world. It has been home to someone for at least 9,000 years. There are many layers to this ancient town and I wanted to show that. So, I made an in-camera multiple exposure of four images to create this photo."

The competition was judged by a panel of 12 respected professional photographers, chosen for their expertise in black-and-white photography.

This year, the star-studded panel comprised Adrian Cook, William Long, Lynton Crabb, Sophie Howarth, Jackie Ranken, Mike Langford, Alex Cearns OAM, Anthony McKee, Marley Morgan, Jayne Mclean, Michele Mossop, and Matt Palmer. You can read their full bios at themonoawards.com.au.

Animals category winner, Steve Nicholls. Pelican on the Defensive. — © Steve Nicholls. *Pelican on the Defensive*. Winner, Animals category. "As the afternoon came to a close at Woodman Point in Western Australia, this pelican stood alone on a large rock overlooking a small rocky pool. I positioned myself low to make sure the pelican rose completely above the horizon line, and stopped down my lens to bring focus to the industrial buildings on the other side of the bay. With all the elements in place, I had to wait for something interesting to bring the image to life. A small group of seagulls arrived on the scene, and one began harassing the pelican. As the gull flew in the pelican raised its beak to fend it off, and I clicked the shutter."

Long-time judge William Long described the experience of judging the competition as a real honour. “There was incredible diversity and immense quality in the submissions to The Mono Awards this year,” he said.

Competitions like this simply aren’t possible without the support of generous sponsors, and to SanDisk Professional, Kudos Cameras, and Midland Insurance Brokers a huge thank you. You support is greatly appreciated.

Finally, and most importantly, a huge thank you to everyone who entered The Mono Awards 2022, and for helping to make the competition such a huge success. In a year when we saw more images entered in the competition than ever before, it’s clear that black and white remains a hugely important and exciting medium for photographers in Australasia.

To learn more about the 2023 edition of the competition, head to themonoawards.com.au.