A portrait of a First Nations Elder, a gas crater burning in the Turkmen desert and a study of plastic reshaped into a wing have claimed the top prizes at the 2026 Head On Photo Awards. The results were announced as the Head On Photo Festival opened in Sydney, Australia.
Sylvia Liber, Liz Miller Kovacs and Fernanda Pedroso won the Portrait, Landscape and Exposure awards. Liber and Pedroso are Australian. Kovacs works from Germany.
Portrait winner at the head on photo awards
Queensland photographer Sylvia Liber won the Portrait Award with “The strength she stands in.” The image shows Aunty Lorraine, a Yuin/Gunai Kurnai Elder and senior Coomaditchie artist. She stands with composed confidence, and the absence of one breast is plainly visible.
Liber frames that absence as part of the portrait’s meaning. The picture honours Lorraine’s resilience, her dignity and her ongoing role as an Elder in her community.
Landscape and exposure winners
Germany-based Liz Miller Kovacs won the Landscape Award with “Gates of hell.” The photograph documents Turkmenistan’s Darvaza Gas Crater, a pit of fire that has burned for more than 50 years.
Kovacs travelled hundreds of kilometres through the Karakum Desert to reach the site.
Kovacs’s desert fire shows nature at its most dangerous. Photographer’s Lightning Strike Amid Fatal Mount Timpanogos Storm pairs a similar sense of drama with a storm.
Canberra-based Fernanda Pedroso took the Exposure Award with “Plastic metamorphosis: wings of our consumption.” Using long exposure and flash photography, she turns discarded plastic into what looks like a delicate wing. The image sets beauty against pollution and asks viewers to look twice at the material.
Moshe Rosenzveig OAM, founder and creative director of Head On Photo Festival, said the winners show how varied photography has become across the world.
“These are three very different photographs, but each has the ability to make us stop and look. They tell stories about people, places and the world around us, and show just how much can be communicated through a single image,” Rosenzveig said.
He also stressed the practical value of the competition. “The Awards are an important part of Head On. They give photographers from around the world an opportunity to have their work seen by new audiences, and we’re delighted to be showcasing this year’s winners and finalists as part of the Festival.”
About the festival
The awards form part of Head On Photo Festival 2026. The event brings together more than 700 photographers from over 30 countries, with 93 free exhibitions across Sydney and Australia.
Running from 6 to 29 November, the festival features work on conflict, migration, identity and Australian life. A program of artist talks, panels and workshops runs alongside the exhibitions.
Competitions like this reward photographers who capture cultural life. 2026 Leica Oskar Barnack Award Winners Revealed showcases another major prize for cultural moments.
For the three winners, the prize is an audience. For visitors, the festival offers a free chance to stop and look for a full month.
H/T petapixel.com
Frequently asked questions
Who won the Portrait Award at the 2026 Head On Photo Awards?
Queensland photographer Sylvia Liber won the Portrait Award with “The strength she stands in,” which shows Aunty Lorraine, a Yuin/Gunai Kurnai Elder and senior Coomaditchie artist. Liber frames the visible absence of one of Lorraine’s breasts as part of the portrait’s meaning, honouring her resilience, dignity and ongoing role as an Elder.
Where is the Darvaza Gas Crater and how long has it burned?
The Darvaza Gas Crater is in Turkmenistan, and it has been burning for more than 50 years. Germany-based Liz Miller Kovacs photographed it for her winning Landscape Award entry, “Gates of hell,” after travelling hundreds of kilometres through the Karakum Desert.
Who won the Exposure Award and how was the image made?
Canberra-based Fernanda Pedroso won the Exposure Award with “Plastic metamorphosis: wings of our consumption.” She used long exposure and flash photography to turn discarded plastic into what looks like a delicate wing, setting beauty against pollution.
When does the Head On Photo Festival 2026 run?
The Head On Photo Festival 2026 runs from 6 to 29 November. It features 93 free exhibitions across Sydney and Australia, along with artist talks, panels and workshops.
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