Spotlight on: Quinn Rooney, 2023 Nikon Photo of the Year winner
By Tatenda Chikwakukire
When the Matildas had Australians on the edge of their seats during their quarter-finals match against France, Quinn Rooney captured the ultimate image of victory as the players celebrated a blocked penalty kick.
Quinn shares the details behind the winning photo, his industry inspirations, and valuable tips for aspiring photographers.
What was your initial reaction to the news that you won the Nikon Photo of The Year?
For me, it was a shock — obviously, a very welcome surprise. I guess going into it, I was just hoping to make it as a finalist in the Sports category. I hadn’t even considered winning Photo of the Year. I was at home at the time, and I actually got a message from some friends when they announced the fourth category. And so [I knew I was] a finalist in the Sports category. I checked my phone a bit later…other messages, and I’m like, “ what, what’s what’s happened?” and then someone sent me a tweet saying I’d won.
What made you want to submit that specific photograph?
I visualise that moment, a lot of households, people doing the exact same thing at that moment — people jumping out of their seats, and celebrating. I think it’s an image of our hope that a lot of people can relate to… the whole of Australia was behind the Matildas and the intensity of going to the penalties… all on the edge of their seats, and celebrating every moment. And I just like the shape and the range of the real emotion, and all the athletes’ faces.
Can you share the story behind capturing this particular moment?
That penalty shootout is probably one of the craziest moments- there are not too many other sports, where there’s so much going on in that one moment. I’m lucky that I’m working in a team and we had three photographers. It’s at that one moment, your brain is working overtime on where to point your camera… that goal you want to cover, there’s the goalie trying to save, and then you’ve got both teams’ reactions… There’s just so much going on. You’re constantly looking in four different directions.
‘Matilda Joy’ highlights a moment of celebration from female soccer players as they play in a packed stadium full of fans… Do you think images like this play a role in promoting and celebrating female athletes?
I think it definitely does. It shows the athletes and how good they are and the passion they’ve got, but I guess I don’t want to say my image promoted it as much as I think the credit needs to go to the athletes themselves. They did so much in promoting themselves, the way they handled themselves, the passion they showed and their athleticism. The whole country got behind them.
Everywhere I went, everyone was asking, ‘you’re going to shoot the Matildas’ game, wow, you’re so lucky!’ The whole country was just so behind them… The picture demonstrates how the athletes are and their passion.
Over your career, you have covered the Olympic Games, Australian Open, Fifa World Cups and many more… How do you handle the pressure of capturing images at such important events?
You get nervous, but that’s a good thing. You want those moments when you’re on the edge of your seat and something big and important is going to happen. I guess the way I handle it is, just prepare the best you can. You make sure you’re there early, you check all your equipment, you’re researching the news angles and try to work out where… the players’ families might be or where the team is because often they’ll turn that way and celebrate.
You’re trying to prepare for all the what ifs in which things might go. But at the end of the day, what I love about sports photography is the unpredictability of it — it’s a split second. You don’t know what’s going to happen. So you’ve just gotta try and prepare for everything. Just read, read the play and sense the moment and hope you’re in the right place.
Does your extensive experience in the industry make it easier for you to ‘map’ out your photographs?
I think experience definitely helps. When you’ve done it a few times, you sort of predict what’s going to happen, but you never know. I mean, when things don’t go to plan, that’s usually the best picture, because it’s not organised, and it’s just the raw emotion… And I also find, as much as we build up and get nervous, often those bigger finals, or the Olympics or an AFL Grand Final, when you get to the end of it, they’re actually easier because the athletes themselves are trying that 5 or 10% more than they usually would. So in some ways the pictures are easier because the athletes are just giving that little bit more because it means so much to them, but you try and block out the pressure, but that’s it — just go with the moment.
You started your career in the 1990s and have photographed an array of images since then… Can you narrow down a photograph you are most proud of?
It’s a hard question. I think the pictures that stand out to me have got a story behind them… they’re the most memorable ones. One of my first photographs I got was a motorbike crash at Phillip Island. In the couple of years before that, I was working there doing all the corporate marquees and shooting over the crowd and the boards and the people enjoying themselves.
And it wasn’t what I wanted to be shooting, I wanted to be shooting the action. But what it did was, it gave me the opportunity to get to know the track and see where people photograph from and gave me the knowledge to know what to do when I got my chance.
When I did get my chance, I sort of knew which corners to be at which time and I was lucky enough to get a crash picture. It made me realize that doing that stuff I didn’t actually enjoy was worth it in the end.
How has photography changed for you since the 90s?
The cameras are so advanced now and almost take out some of the skill involved. But it definitely helps us and means we don’t miss as much. The biggest thing now is, because of the digital age, there’s so much pressure to get photos out as quickly as we can. The biggest challenge these days is filing pictures — when to stop looking through the camera and then go to your computer and file the pictures. You know, there’s been many pictures missed because you’re trying to get pictures out before deadlines, or for the web — things like that.
When did you know sport photography was for you?
I’ve always been into sports. I guess growing up I wanted to be an athlete. But that didn’t happen. My two passions are photography and sport, so it was an easy choice to combine my two passions. And as I said, I love that unpredictability of, you’ve got a split second to capture that moment. And I tried to read the play and predict what’s happening and get involved in the atmosphere of sport.
What is the most challenging aspect of sports photography?
To be honest, for me it’s probably the work-life balance involved. It consumes a lot of your life, particularly your weekends. So I’m away a lot. And then weekends, I’m very busy. When everyone else is catching up socially, or [going to] parties or… the kids’ sport …everything else is on, I’m at my busiest… so that’s probably the hardest thing with the job. You’ve got to love it. Because you just, it’s not a 9-to-5, 40-hour week. You’re very involved.
How do you find new and unique ways to shoot images?
I get a buzz from capturing that moment… sometimes you’ve just got to pinch yourself… for example, being out there in Brisbane for that quarter-final match, people would pay hundreds of dollars to be where I was, and you’re sitting there sometimes in the moment, saying ‘this is just unbelievable to be at’. It’s quite easy to stay passionate. There are always great, great things to shoot. I look forward to it. Every weekend shooting sport, you never know what’s going to happen.
You’re always looking for something different or a unique angle, or how light works. I think too, what’s great about my job is I get to go to so many different venues, and I’m not shooting at the same stadium every weekend. So usually, every weekend, I’m sort of, you know, at a different venue for a different sport. There are always different challenges, so that always keeps me going. I think you’re always looking for like — you know, swimming photography, I do a lot of underwater photography, and finding angles from catwalks in stadiums and just to try and find a unique angle that makes the viewer stop and look into the picture and say, ‘how have they got that picture?’ I guess if I can achieve that, then I’ve done my job.
Are there any photographers who have inspired you?
Once I finished school, I studied photography. And I spent my last year specializing in sports. So I got to tag along with a sports photographer who sort of showed me the ropes. His name was David Callow. So he obviously inspired me. I think I’m very lucky to work for Getty Images. I’m sort of surrounded by the best photographers in the world. I don’t have to do too much to be inspired by some of my colleagues.
Early days, I think Adam Pretty when I first started at Getty, I sort of had a mentor — Mark Dadswell- as well, he really inspired me and showed me the ropes. When I get the opportunity to do the Olympics and things…It’s one of the things I love the most is I get to work with my other colleagues around the world, just picking up little different tips and tricks and how they handle and prepare for different sports. I think the best thing about doing the Olympics is that you come back as a better photographer from learning from those guys.
What is one piece of advice you would give to aspiring photographers?
I would say the biggest thing is just keep shooting, just go out and shoot as much as you can, and really get to know your camera. Put it in manual and really get to know how the camera works. If it’s in auto, it’s doing all the work for you. So I’d recommend putting a camera in manual and just going out and shooting things and then critiquing your work.
A lot of the best up-and-coming photographers that I see on the scene these days, you’ll see them at events often just shooting for themselves… it’s a hard job, it’s hard to break into, you’ve really got to have that passion. And you can say that the young ones that are coming through
that, they’re just there every week shooting and honing their craft. So that’d be my biggest thing. Whether it’s local sport, you know, amateur sport professionals, just go out and shoot, keep looking at your work. Now with digital cameras you can instantly see results and see, what’s working, what’s not working.
How do you separate yourself from the pack as an up-and-coming photographer?
Ah, that’s a hard one, I often get asked this. I mean, it’s a great job so not many people leave. You’ve got to really work for it. Because it’s not just easy to walk in there, you’ve got to be really passionate.
It’s a hard thing to say to people, because a big drawback is the equipment. You’ve got to have that initial outlay, especially for sport, to go out and hire or purchase a long lens to be able to shoot sport. But it’s a matter of shooting and just keep working and waiting for that opportunity. I know, when I was starting, it was probably five or six years of shooting sports on the weekend and doing other jobs during the week just to keep some money in the pocket. Just keep fueling the passion until, one day I think someone was sick one weekend, and I got a last minute call up to do a job. So yeah, just persevere.
Additional thoughts
For me, this image it sort of hopefully sums up that whole ride that Australia went on with the Matildas and just the emotion that they brought, and everyone followed. I just find it hard to be impartial. Because for me, when I think of that moment… I couldn’t hear my camera taking photos. It felt like the ground was shaking from the crowd. At the time, it was just one of those moments where I thought, I’ve never experienced something like this. I said, when I saw the picture, I can sort of imagine people in their lounge rooms, watching the telly jumping out of their chairs, doing the same thing, fist pumping the air just like the players!
‘Matilda Joy’ is currently on display at the State Library of NSW as part of the Nikon-Walkley Photography exhibition.
The Walkley Awards will be held on November 23, 2023 in Sydney.
