Innholdsfortegnelse for Photographer of Year 2025 i Australian Photography

As the dust settles on Photographer of the Year for another year, I always take time to remind myself that behind every image in these pages sits a real person, a real story and all the complex emotions that come with putting your work out into the world. Some of you will be holding this issue while riding the high of a category placing or a coveted commendation. Others might be quietly feeling the disappointment of missing out. And somewhere in the middle sits the vast majority of entrants, proud of what they created and still wishing it had gone a little further. The highs are high, and well, the lows can be pretty low. Because there’s no getting around it: entering a photo competition is daunting. You’re pitting your…

The win caps a hugely successful 2025 for the New Zealand-born photographer, who captured the winning series south of Townsville. After stumbling upon the reduction burn while driving home one evening, he grabbed his camera and set out to document it not just in a traditional landscape photography way, but with a real photojournalistic approach. For our judges, the series showcased everything that makes a great series truly powerful. “Jason brought together many of the skills we would apply to professional images,” said judge Anthony McKee. “The photographs inspire a level wariness in us, but they manage to capture a mysterious beauty at the same time.” Photographer of the Year, now in its 13th year, challenges photographers in the major categories to shoot four images that work together as a…

WINNER PEOPLE LODI PERTOVT lodipertovtphotography.com THE FACES OF IRAQ BASED on the Gold Coast, Lodi Pertovt is a travel and portrait photographer who also teaches English Literature and Social Studies. He describes his powerful People category-winning series The Faces of Iraq as deeply personal. “Each photo captures small but significant details that tell the story of people who risk being forgotten or misunderstood,” he says. “A young Kurdish shepherd atop the mountain ranges of Northern Kurdistan, flashing a kind, almost cheeky grin as I took his photo. A Kurdish merchant in a night market near the city of Halabja, a place that endured one of history’s most horrific chemical bombings. A former soldier glancing back in his rear-view mirror, staring in disbelief as I sat in the back of his…

WINNER TRAVEL FIONA BOWRING @fionabg_ ACCIDENTAL MIRRORS CANBERRA-BASED photographer Fiona Bowring’s quirky series Accidental Mirrors is the result of a bunch of visits to galleries in Australia and the UK. The series includes a self-portrait taken with the help of a gallery bench and a self-timer. “Many travellers include art gallery visits in their holiday itineraries, and I do too,” she says. “Through accident or design, a surprising number of visitors end up mirroring the artworks they stop to admire. I can’t resist exploring and capturing these matches. When I do, I introduce myself and share the results with my subjects. It’s a lot of fun for me, and they enjoy it too!” For our judges, this unique series demonstrated how diverse the Travel category can be and showed that…

WINNER JUNIOR AARYAN DHAKAL SILENT GRACE SEVENTEEN-YEAR-OLD Alice Springs photographer Aaryan Dhakal has been shooting for nearly four years and credits the local landscapes and wildlife with shaping much of his work. “Photography began as a passing curiosity but quickly became a way to observe and preserve moments of stillness and character,” he says. His Junior category-winning image, Silent Grace, was inspired by an older pelican portrait that he felt “never quite felt complete”. “I was drawn to the balance of fragility and poise in these birds, but the challenge was in the light. I waited for that fleeting moment when the sun revealed every texture in the feathers. Among all the frames I captured, this one stood apart,” he recalls. “I chose Silent Grace as a title because it best…

WITH HELEN CARPENTER For those of us living and working on the land, time is measured less by calendars and more by the cycles of weather, crops and animals. Photography has become my way of recording these cycles: sheep in the yards, wheat ripening, golden canola or smoke drifting at dusk. Yet I often save these images and move on without revisiting them. But looking back at photographs like these are valuable. Basic, simple images can gain new resonance with time, and the opposite can happen too, as images I once thought strong lose their impact. This process of reflection helps me understand not only what was in front of the lens but how my eye has changed. It shows me how my approach to light, texture and composition has…

INSTA360 RELEASES FEATHERWEIGHT X4 AIR INSTA360 has introduced the X4 Air, a lightweight 8K 360-degree camera. Weighing 165g, it becomes the smallest and lightest 8K 360 model in the company’s X Series. “The X4 Air is about capturing life as it happens,” said Max Richer, Insta360’s VP of Marketing and Co-Founder. “It lets creators stay present while capturing everything around them.” The camera includes dual 1/1.8-inch sensors and updated processing that deliver 8K footage with improved detail and colour. A new AdaptiveTone exposure system analyses light from both lenses to help retain highlights and shadows. Active HDR is now supported up to 8K 30p. Portrait Mode aims for smoother skin tones, and noise-reduction improvements are designed to keep night footage clean. The X4 Air uses replaceable lenses with a protective…

OVERALL WINNER AND WINNER LANDSCAPE JASON KEELER @eye_kaptured REDUCTION BURN JASON Keeler’s dynamic and evocative Photographer of the Year winning series wowed our judges by doing one thing all great imagery must do – put the viewer right into the action. New Zealand-born and now based in Queensland, Keeler has previously been recognised in our sister competition, The Landscape Awards. The predominantly self-taught photographer has continued to refine his eye since that earlier win. For Reduction Burn, Keeler focused on a subject familiar to many Australians. “Travelling home late one evening, I was lucky to come across a reduction burn,” he explains. “I pulled up, grabbed my camera and tripod, and jumped out as the Rural Fire team monitored the burn. My jandals and feet were quickly blackened as I got…

WINNER AERIAL LUKE MACKENZIE @imlukemackenzie LENÇÓIS MARANHENSES 34-YEAR-OLD Gold Coast photographer Luke Mackenzie loves seeking out remote locations, and in recent years he has enjoyed sharing these little-known places through his photography. For his Aerial category-winning series  Lençóis Maranhenses, he flew above the UNESCO-listed national park in northern Brazil, a landscape he says was unlike anything he had seen before. Although partly a desert environment, the valleys between the dunes fill with freshwater lagoons during the rainy season, held in place by the impermeable rock beneath. “It’s a natural wonder that forms and disappears within a few months each year, and photographing it relies heavily on imagination, because you’re seeing it differently to the person beside you,” he says. The shifting shapes, patterns and coloured lagoons offered endless possibilities, and…

WINNER SINGLE SHOT MICHAEL MCSORLEY AK NORTHERN beaches photographer Michael McSorley tells us that despite spending many years photographing for personal satisfaction, his entry into the 2025 edition of Photographer of the Year marks his first foray into formal exhibition or competition. He describes his winning work as drawing inspiration from masters like Max Dupain, and there are echoes of his iconic work Sunbaker in his image AK, captured on Ilford HP5 Plus film. “This is my first nude image, but instead of a dune it was a suite at the Shangri La,” McSorley says. “I wanted to contrast and complement the simple beauty of the female form against the equally beautiful Harbour and ‘that’ building. It’s about love.” “Jørn Utzon said that the Opera House is his expression of…

PENELOPE ROBERTSHAW Bondi surfer EDITOR’S COMMENT Penelope Robertshaw says this shot from inside the Bondi Pavilion at Bondi Beach was captured during a light rainfall. “This surfer gifted me with a striking foreground subject for the beach and headland beyond,” she says. What we liked about Penelope’s image was how she not only captured a busy beach setting, but also drew our attention to the young surfer surveying the scene, presumably before heading down to the water. There is a hint of apprehension in her expression perhaps, but also a quiet confidence. That mix of emotion adds depth to the moment and brings something different to the frame. TECHNICAL DETAILS Nikon Z7 II, NIKKOR Z 24 mm f/1.8 S lens. 1/800s @f10, ISO 640. LLEYTON MUNDT Brighton sand EDITOR’S COMMENT…

WINNER ANIMALS & NATURE JOHN PETERS @johnpeters_photography JUMPERS OF AUS REMARKABLY, John Peters tells us he only began macro photography in January, and since then, his interest and knowledge in spiders has greatly grown. “They are so much more than just ‘a body with legs’, but instead they each have their own unique characteristics which give them personality,” he says. “When I show people my images, almost always they ask me, ‘what’s the trick to keeping them so still?’ The reality is there is no trick at all, as the greatest challenge I have faced is patience, as jumping spiders do not stay still!” Peters says he’ll often spend hours with a single jumper to get the shot he is looking for. “After 500–1000 shots I should have one good…

WINNER BLACK & WHITE ANDREW TAN @andrew._.tan UNDER COVER BASED in Melbourne, Andrew Tan’s winning Black and White series was captured during a photo walk in the city on a wet, wintery June day. “The assignment was ‘umbrellas’, but the low-light conditions inspired me to take a different approach,” he says. Using a slow shutter speed of around one second, made possible by the dark skies, he aimed to capture the movement and energy of umbrellas navigating the rain-soaked streets. The black and white treatment transformed the images into something otherworldly, with motion blur and stark contrasts creating an abstract, almost dreamlike quality. “It’s not every day you shoot umbrellas at one-second exposures in natural light,” he notes. The result was a creative and moody approach that impressed the judges…

WINNER CREATIVE SUE JOY DANCING IN WATER SUE Joy began her photography journey about fifteen years ago, and it has since become a major part of her life, in all its wonderful forms. “I enjoy many styles for the sake of variety, though the creative genre remains one of my favourites,” she says. Her Creative category-winning image Dancing in Water captivated the judges with its sheer beauty. Submerged floral photography comes with many considerations, from equipment and lighting to the mediums used and all the small details in between. “The choice of flowers is also important, as some don’t work as well as others,” Joy explains. “I grew the flowers featured in this image specifically for the project. Be prepared for a few failed attempts, but when you finally capture an…