Lukas Coch has been named the winner of the 2018 Nikon-Walkley Photo of the Year Prize for “Linda Burney Airborne”. It’s a news image rich in emotion and deeper significance, as described by photographer Lukas Coch: “For Burney it was a bittersweet moment—her son, who was gay, had died just six weeks before. For all of those who campaigned so hard for so many years, it was both a happy day and a day far too long in coming.”
All finalists detailed below were announced tonight at the State Library of New South Wales.
You can view the finalists’ hero images in The Walkley Magazine online here.
Winners will be announced 22 November at the 63rd Annual Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism.
NIKON-WALKLEY PRESS PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
- Matthew Abbott, The New York Times, Oculi, ABC and The Australian
- Dean Lewins, NBCnews.com, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Guardian, The Australian and Time
- Andrew Quilty, The New York Times, Human Rights Watch, National Geographic Magazine, Politic and The Guardian
NEWS PHOTOGRAPHY
- Lukas Coch, AAP, “Linda Burney Airborne”
- Jenny Evans, Getty Images and The Daily Telegraph, “Life Saver”
- Andrew Quilty, The New York Times, “‘It’s a Massacre’: Blast in Kabul Deepens Toll of a Long War”
SPORT PHOTOGRAPHY
- Scott Barbour, Getty Images, “Sport 2017—2018”
- Brett Costello, The Daily Telegraph, “No Limits”
- Craig Golding, AAP, “Body of Work ”
FEATURE/PHOTOGRAPHIC ESSAY
- Jenny Evans, Getty Images, “Louth Races”
- David Gray, Reuters Wider Image, “Drought From Above”
- Chris Hopkins, SBS Online Documentaries, “My Name is Yunus”
Winners are also announced for four photography prizes.
NIKON-WALKLEY PORTRAIT PRIZE
- Winner: Sylvia Liber, Illawarra Mercury, “Desire for Change”
NIKON-WALKLEY COMMUNITY/REGIONAL PRIZE
- Winner: Sylvia Liber, Illawarra Mercury, “Sea of Emotions”
NIKON-WALKLEY CONTEMPORARY AUSTRALIAN DAILY LIFE PRIZE
- Winner: Matthew Abbott, ABC Online, “Not a farmer’s wife”
NIKON-WALKLEY PHOTO OF THE YEAR PRIZE
- Winner: Lukas Coch, AAP, “Linda Burney Airborne”
The finalists’ photographs will be toured around the nation in a series of free public exhibitions and is currently on display at the State Library of NSW and opening the ABC in Brisbane on Thursday 18 October.
The Walkleys thank Nikon for its support of the photography awards and prizes. And thanks to the judges:
- Neil Bennett, picture editor, News Corp Australia
- Carly Earl, picture editor, Guardian Australia
- Ross Eason, photographer
- Sam Mooy, picture editor, AAP
- Renee Nowytarger, photographer
To view more information on the finalists, visit The Walkley Magazine on Medium. Click here to view all finalist photos on Apple News.
DOCUMENTARY AWARD SHORTLIST ANNOUNCED
Three outstanding documentaries have been shortlisted for the Walkley Documentary Award.
They are:
- Myanmar’s Killing Fields, Evan Williams, Eve Lucas and Georgina Davies, Dateline, SBS
- The Song Keepers, Naina Sen, Rachel Clements, and Trisha Morton-Thomas, Brindle Films, Indigo Productions and NITV
- Trump/Russia, Four Corners Trump/Russia team, Four Corners, ABC TV
All three films will be screened free for the public at the State Library of NSW on Tuesday 16 October. RSVPs are essential.
Thanks to the Documentary Award judges:
- Rebecca Barry, filmmaker
- Ross Coulthart, senior journalist
- Helen Dalley, senior journalist
- Quentin Dempster, chair, Walkley Documentary Award
- Paige Livingston, filmmaker, Optimistic Films
- Ivan O’Mahoney, executive producer, In-Films
- Mark Willacy, senior journalist, ABC
The awards will be broadcast live on the Sky News Extra Foxtel channel 604, from 8pm AEDT and live-streamed on walkleys.com.
For media enquiries, including requests to reprint finalists’ photos online or in print, contact Clare Fletcher, communications manager, Walkley Foundation, clare.fletcher@walkleys.com or +61 432 616 810.
