Local photographer Nic van Oudtshoorn was recognised with Highly Commended Awards for two of his photographs in the 2025 Australian Photography magazine ‘Mono Awards’ competition.

“I love black and white photos,” says van Oudtshoorn.

“It is the earliest form of photography, yet even in today’s world of colour, it can produce photos with amazing impact.”

Starting out from humble beginnings as a cadet journalist in South Africa for an afternoon newspaper, van Oudtshoorn’s love of photography was inspired from taking photos for his stories when there wasn’t a photographer available.

“I then transitioned into basically a photojournalist where I did both photography and reporting simultaneously,” he said.

“I found that really gave me the opportunity to express both in words and in photography.”

Sharing stories that have spanned across his illustrious career, van Oudtshoorn explained the many facets of being a photojournalist.

“When you’re doing active journalism, you’re covering things like a riot and you’re covering police actions,” van Oudtshoorn said.

“Obviously you take pictures as fast as you can because there’s the fleeting moment when things happen.”

Explaining the patience that is required when doing wildlife photography would leave many reaching for something to do to pass the time.

“When you’re doing things like wildlife photography, you must be willing to go and sit at a waterhole for six to seven hours waiting for something to happen because animals come at their own pace,” he said.

“But you have to be ready all the time because, again, Henri Cartier-Bresson coined that phrase ‘the decisive moment’.

“That’s what you are really looking for.”

Having transitioned and evolved from film to digital, van Oudtshoorn explains the double-edged sword that hobbyists and professionals experience with photography.

“I think it’s tremendous that people have an opportunity now to just take a phone out of their pocket and they can record a moment,” van Oudtshoorn said.

“They see a sunset or they can see a bird landing with a frog in its mouth – you can capture that moment.

“I think it’s progression and also, of course, a lot of people don’t realise [what] their phones can do these days – and the level of quality.”

Dedicating his profession to passing on knowledge, van Oudtshoorn teaches the unwritten components of photography such as “the eye”.

“In fact, phones are so good, they can really do all the technical things for you,” he said

Approaching Storm Photo: Nic van Oudtshoorn

“But if you don’t have the eye to see, [which] is one of the big things I teach, when I teach photography.”

Another component of photojournalism is the importance of a caption, which van Oudtshoorn encourages aspiring photojournalists to purchase a copy of the National Geographic magazine.

“They [National Geographic] employ people specially just to write captions,” he said.

“Most of us [photojournalists], when we write a caption, we look at the picture and then we write down what we see.

“You shouldn’t have to do that – viewer can see the picture. You have to write a caption that takes the picture, the viewer beyond that.”

Just last year, van Oudtshoorn entered an international photography competition named reFocus Awards - World Photo Annual where he won the Photographer of the Year for a series of photos taken through a microscope. 

The two images van Oudtshoorn received the Highly Commended Awards for were ‘Approaching storm’, which he describes as “a raptor racing to safety across a tempestuous sky in Jamberoo” and ‘What do you want’ which “captures a confrontation between Silver Gulls at the Kiama waterfront”.

Having worked for over 50 years as a journalist and a photographer, van Oudtshoorn has lived in Australia for the past 46 years and teaches photography at WEA Illawarra, St George & Sutherland Community College and Sydney Community College.

What do you want Photo: Nic van Oudtshoorn