An image by Quinn Rooney, an Australia-based staff photographer with Getty Images, has been selected as this year’s Nikon Photo of the Year Prize in the 2023 Walkley Photography Awards.
Matilda Joy: Australian players celebrate as goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold stops France’s penalty shot by Eve Perisset in the penalty shoot out during the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Quarter Final match between Australia and France at Brisbane Stadium.
The image captures the excitement of the players after goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold stopped one of France’s penalty shots in the Quarter Final match. The 2023 Walkley Photography Judges kept using the term “jubo” – a newsroom abbreviation for the images of jubilation that editors look for after a sporting victory. According to the judges: “It’s a moment that encapsulates the spirit of the country. The eyes on it, the emotion we have invested into it. It’s the peak of action, a global moment. Of all the Matildas’ celebration ‘jubo’ photos, that one really nailed it. It includes many of the key players on the team, caught in a perfect moment. Poetry in motion.”
An image by photographer, Dean Sewell, who works for Oculi and Guardian Australia, that depicted the family of Pitjantjatjara man, Yukun, as they laid him to rest 90 years after his death was nominated in the news photography category.
Click here to view other images that were finalists in this year’s competition.
