Bushfire image wins Australian National Award at the Sony World Photography Awards

10 March 2020

Adam Stevenson has been revealed as the Australian National Award winner for the Sony World Photography Awards 2020. The National Awards program awards one photographer from each of the 63 countries in the program. As the National Award winner, Stevenson receives a Sony alpha 7R IV camera body and 24-70 f/2.8 GM lens.

© Adam Stevenson.
© Adam Stevenson. "This image was taken with my iPhone X close to my home at Wallabi Point, New South Wales, Australia, after devastating bushfires swept through the area. As I watched the sun set through the smoke a kookaburra appeared and allowed me to walk right up to it. We shared a moment, watching the sun fade behind the apocalyptic scene… he was laughing."

Stevenson was anonymously selected by judges for his image, There’s Nothing To Laugh About, which was entered into the Natural World category of the Open competition. Of the image, Stevenson said: “My photo is very personal, having survived some horrible fires in my town, and has gone viral online since posting on social media in November 2019. [The bushfires were] just 50m from my home, which we almost lost due to the fires.”

Over 345,000 images were submitted to the Sony World Photography Awards 2020 competition and over 190,000 entered the Open competition.

cph-newsletter
Get more stories like this delivered
free to your inbox. Sign up here.