Backyard moment wins big

Carly Goldsmith's black-and-white photo of her two children playing in their garden won the People category at the 2026 Mono Awards, an annual competition celebrating monochromatic imagery.

Shadow cast the spell

As the sun dropped lower, it cast a defined shadow across the fence. Goldsmith realized later the ordinary moment held far more emotional weight than she'd recognized when taking it.

“It carried more emotional weight than I had realized at the time”

Competition drew thousands

The Mono Awards, hosted by Australian Photography and Capture magazines, attracted over three thousand entries from Australia, New Zealand and beyond, celebrating the world's best black-and-white imagery.

Humor wins Places category

Andy Zakeli from New South Wales won the Places category for a quirky shot at Sydney's Gadigal Station, where he made the subject appear headless using metro signage to create visual interest.

“I like trying to add humor or strange elements to my photos purely to create interest for the viewer”

Rays swirl in Mexico

Brooke Pyke from Western Australia won the Animals category with a dramatic shot of mobula rays swirling in Baja, Mexico, using white sand to contrast the rays' shapes against a glowing backdrop.

“With marine life, you never know what you might see, and that's part of the magic”

Color removal reveals emotion

Goldsmith said removing color captures emotion and nostalgia in a poignant way, and knowing the judges felt something too gave her joy.

“Removing color captures emotion and nostalgia in a very poignant way”

Winners receive cash and storage

Each of the three category winners received twenty-five hundred Australian dollars, approximately eighteen hundred US dollars or thirteen hundred British pounds, plus an eight terabyte Synology NAS storage device.