An image depicting the instant an entire nation held its breath has won this year’s prestigious Australian Life photography competition.
Penalty Shootout by Henry Paul was selected from 28 finalists, a mix of amateurs and professionals, to win the $10,000 cash prize.
A wedding party captivated by last year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup quarter final, where the Matildas beat France in an epic penalty shootout, was perfectly captured in the image.
The winner was announced on Friday 2 August at the launch of the outdoor Australian Life exhibition.
“A big congratulations to Henry Paul, and all the finalists whose work is now being displayed against the backdrop of Customs House,” said Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore AO.
“These captivating images demonstrate the beauty, diversity and spirit of this incredible country. It is always an extremely difficult task to pick a single winner in this competition and 2024 was no different.”
“Australian Life lets artists from a range of backgrounds showcase and share their experience of our nation with visitors, residents and workers across Sydney,” said the Lord Mayor.
For the first time this year, all finalists will have their images showcased across the city centre on large digital screens from 5.00pm to 6.00am during the first two weeks of the exhibition.
Among the Australian Life finalists were the eight entrants of the new teenage category, which was open to 12 to 17 year-olds. The first-place winner from the teenage entrants was Amalia Tawa for Sumyta, taking home $2,000 in cash and an OM System professional pack worth around $2,500.
Little Sydney Lives was open to young photographers aged 5 to 12 years-old. Massimo Moraro Tabbò won the competition with the image Brother at work, taken in the city centre. Ruby Menzies was the runner up with the image Bored in the car.
“Little Sydney Lives is a truly delightful part of this event and I want to give a heartfelt congratulations to our winner, runner up and the rest of the finalists.” said the Lord Mayor.
The winner and runner up both receive an OM System prize pack worth around $1,300.
“These exhibitions, at Customs House Library and Customs House Square, are an inspiration to any budding photographer or creative and this exhibition is a fantastic part of our Art & About program,” said the Lord Mayor.
Winners of the photography competitions were selected by a panel of judges including Australian Life 2023 winner Sam Ferris, photographer Chris Frape, documentary photographer Sandy Edwards and OM ambassador and travel photographer Matt Horspool.
Mr Horspool said while it was a tough job to select a winner, judges ultimately came back to the central theme of the competition: Australian Life. “The winning image perfectly encapsulated raw and unscripted emotion at a time when the whole of Australia was watching,” he said.
“We all agreed that if a time capsule was opened 100 years from now, and this image represented 2024, it would be a true snapshot of a positive and uniting moment that stopped a nation,” said Mr Horspool.
A gallery of all Australian Life finalist images can be viewed online, with an option to vote for a people’s choice winner. The photographer with the most popular image in the exhibition will take home an OM System prize worth $5,400.
The Australian Life and Little Sydney Lives exhibitions will run until 25 August 2024, at Customs House Square and Customs House Library, respectively. For more information on all the Australian Life and Little Sydney Lives winners and finalists, visit: www.artandabout.com.au for details.
Images: Penalty Shootout by Henry Paul | Sumyta by Amalia Tawa | Brother at Work by Massimo Moraro Tabbò