Canopy Awards – Meet the Judges

Steve has been photographing Australia on land, from the air, and underwater for over 56 years. He is a passionate photographer, naturalist, author, educator, public speaker, and publisher, connecting people, especially children, to nature, through his expressive, inspirational, life-enhancing images of Australia’s unique wildlife, flora, and landscapes.

He is a champion of protecting wildlife and the natural environment and promoting the natural history of Australian ecosystems. During the last 50 years, the public has connected with Steve’s work through more than 2500 publications and public speaking events across Australia.

Steve’s ability to interpret complex stories into meaningful imagery is one of his hallmarks. This ability with the camera, along with his deep personal connections with nature, put him in the perfect position to be part of the team searching for the winning images in the 2022 Canopy Awards.

Visit Steve’s website for more information, or connect with him on Instagram and/or Facebook.

WAYNE QUILLIAM A.Professor and Photographer

A.Professor Wayne Quilliam is one of Australia’s most respected and sought-after Aboriginal artists. With more than 250 International exhibitions, his work transcends the visual realm of contemporary storytelling as he shares the world’s oldest living culture through spiritualised photography.

With more than 30 years experience working in rural, remote and urban communities throughout Australia and Internationally his understanding of cultural protocols is unparalleled, his commitment to the positive promotion of his people unwavering.

His position as an A.Professor at RMIT allows him to influence future generations in the diversity of Aboriginal Australia whilst his international workshops and lectures with Indigenous people throughout the world are shaping future partnerships.

Wayne’s most recent book, “Culture is Life” is a modern, photographic celebration of the diversity of Indigenous Australians.

Visit Wayne’s website for more information, or connect with him on Instagram and/or Facebook.

JUERGEN FREUND Senior Fellow, International League of Conservation Photographers & STELLA FREUND Photo Story Producer and Documentary Filmmaker

Juergen’s aim as a wildlife photographer is to shoot pictures that tell stories that matter. A mechanical engineer by training, he started his career as an industrial photographer in Germany, acquired an underwater camera, went scuba-diving in the alpine lakes, and then discovered the marine environment. Since 1982, he has done underwater and nature photography, making much of his own equipment to suit his needs. Juergen’s work, on land and underwater, has been widely published all over the world. He has had solo exhibitions and has been a prize-winner in international competitions, including the British Natural History Museum’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year (a competition which he has subsequently judged).

Stella is a photo story producer and documentary filmmaker with a long list of books and films to her credit. She is the producer who works behind the scenes and lines the shots for Juergen in all their photography work. On an epic assignment for the World Wide Fund for Nature, Juergen and Stella embarked on a milestone photographic expedition traveling non-stop for 18-months through six Asia-Pacific countries of the Coral Triangle. They photographed nature, wildlife, and the many people living in the world’s most bio-diverse ecosystems. Their visually rich voyage culminated in a hefty tome “The Coral Triangle”, produced and written by Stella, published by the Asian Development Bank and WWF.

Visit their website for more information, or connect with them on Instagram and/or Facebook.