About ten minutes’ walk down Macquarie Street from the Sistine Chapel: Revelations exhibit in the forecourt of St Mary’s Cathedral is one of artistic treasures of Sydney, the NSW State Library.
Not only are the grand steps up to the imposing marble columns an introduction to classical architecture, the Melocco Brothers mosaics of the Abel Tasman map of Australia in the foyer render the new world in the artistic techniques of the old. The vast reading room with its domed ceiling and shelves upon shelves of books is a monument to scholarship.
This year marks the library’s 200th anniversary. To mark the occasion, it is hosting a number of fascinating exhibits. One of them is the World Press Photo Exhibition 2026. This year’s winners were chosen by an independent jury of 31 professionals from around the world. They reviewed more than 57,376 photographs entered by 3,747 photographers from 141 countries.
Photojournalism can be a tough gig. Photographers are like paramedics – and they run to the same tragedies. “If it bleeds, it leads,” is an iron law in the media. Wars, violence, natural disasters, gross injustice, and car smashes go straight to the front page or the first story on TV news broadcasts.
This is reflected in the selection of World Press Photos on display. The winning photo, by American photographer Carol Guzy, is a heavily cropped shot of an illegal migrant being arrested by ICE agents as his daughters grab helplessly at his shirt. It is visceral and politically charged. No wonder she has won four Pulitzer Prizes for her work.
The first runner-up was a terrifying image of a mountain of men clambering over a truck bringing humanitarian aid into Gaza. In the distance, behind the desperate Palestinians grabbing whatever they can, are mounds of rubble from bombed out buildings. The photographer, Saber Nuraldin, works for EPA. Photojournalism is a dangerous profession in Gaza. More than 200 journalists have been killed there since the war began in October 2023.
Two Australian journalists featured among this year’s winners. Edwina Pickles of The Sydney Morning Herald, captured an image of a police officer bent over in grief after the Bondi terror attack. In the distance, covered with sheets on the footpath, are the bodies of the bodies of Boris and Sofia Gurman. The image captures the tragedy of the day perfectly without parading the bloody horror of the terrorist attack.
The other Australian, Matthew Abbott, won an award for images he shot for the New York Times as illustrations for an essay on dolphin hunters in a tiny settlement in the Solomon Islands. It links dying traditional practices, economic change, climate change, and the inexorable pull of international markets on an isolated village.
G.K. Chesterton once said that Original Sin was the only Christian doctrine which could be empirically proven by reading the morning newspaper. In some respects, the World Press Photo winners confirm his quip. Most of the winners depicted tragedy.
But not all.
One fascinating collection depicted an all-female team competing in Tbourida, a Moroccan equestrian tradition dating back to the 16th century. Troupes of costumed riders gallop in unison, firing ancient muskets in a choreographed performance of ancient cavalry military parades. Photographer Chantal Pinzi captures the girls’ courage and skill and the beauty of their desert horses.
But for me, the best was an exhilarating photo essay by Aaron Favila. He works for Associated Press in the Philippines. When Typhoon Wipha hit the Philippines in July 2025, the historic Barasoain Church in Bulacan province was inundated. A young couple refused to cancel their wedding and carried on as if the church were not knee-deep in water.
The images are both hilarious and touching. The bride waits outside the huge church doors with the train of her gown forming a huge jellyfish-like circle in the green floodwaters. The groomsmen standing knee-deep in water. The happy couple kissing in the entrance surrounded by their friends as the floodwaters fill the nave of the church.
For the photographer it was a story about true love and climate change, two topics which are seldom linked.
If you are interested in checking these and the other 40-plus entries in the World Press Photo Exhibition, be quick. It’s free, but it ends on 19 July.
