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PEOPLE
WINNER KAREN WALLER
Karen Waller is an Adelaide-based professional photographer with a background in visual art and painting. Her professional and personal work covers a variety of genres including portrait, commercial, landscape, and fine art. She says that finding the story and capturing the humanity of her portrait subject is key in her image-making.
As a member of the now defunct AIPP, she achieved the level of Master Photogra- pher, and won the title of AIPP SA Portrait Photographer of the Year four times. Over the years, Waller has also won a number of photographic awards. karenwaller.com.au
MARTY. My portrait of Marty was captured on his front veranda at his home in Ad- elaide. It is a place where he often spends time watching the world pass by and con- necting with his community. Meeting Marty happened by chance, and I sensed that he would be an intriguing portrait subject.
When I captured his portrait, he shared the story of his life and was very open with me. This portrait captures a moment in our conversation, as Marty recounts a tragic story of personal loss. He was unapologetically emotional when sharing his story. In that moment, it was simply about documenting the emotion as it unfolded. My aim in this portrait of Marty is to reveal his humanity and vulnerability which may counter our immediate perception of who he is.
WHAT THE JUDGES SAID
This image is emotive, intimate, and timeless. The photographer has not only crafted a beautifully lit portrait with superior technique that allows us to experience the contours and characteristics of this gentleman’s face, but they have torn through the outer shell of the subject to reveal something raw and painful beneath. The photograph expresses a pain that is usually subtle and buried deep, but will tap one on the shoulder in dark hours to remind the carrier that it is still there. Despite this emotional probing, the portrait is also dignified and soulful. Black and white has been chosen to amplify all the positive effects of this image and highlight texture and emotion. It is everything a black and white portrait aspires to be. Matt Palmer
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