A celebration of groundbreaking and thought provoking photography, the Head On Photo Festival returns to locations across Australia for 2025, with lots of South Asian photographers featured on the lineup for its awards and program.
Running until 30 November, the festival features over 100 exhibitions by more than 600 photographers at major venues including Bondi Beach, Bondi Pavilion and Paddington Reservoir Gardens. Though award winners have been announced, there’s still time to place votes for the people’s choice categories!
Exhibitions
Shot Stories – Soumyendra Saha, Bondi Beach
After 10 years of street photography, Saha presents an intimate look into daily life on India’s streets, depicting scenes of drama, humour, intrigue, mystery, and surrealism in Kolkata.
Award Nominees – Head on Exposure Awards
Asit Kumar Ghatak
Known for capturing the rituals of street life and colourful scenes of tradition, this photo has also been announced as a finalist for the Pure Street Photography Grant 2025 in Italy.
Raghuvamsh Chavali
‘Symphony of the Starling Birds’ juxtaposes the heavy, industrial weight of concrete buildings with the soaring lightness of birds, who often go unnoticed in our cities and must adapt to urban life.
Muhammad Amdad Hossain
In ‘Born Into Waste’ a young boy sits within a pile of plastic, a powerful statement on the effect of our over-consumption on third world nations from a leading Bangladeshi documentary photographer.
Award Nominees – Head on Landscape Awards
Shamani Surendran
A piece from her exhibition in London titled ‘The Last Bird Song’, Surendran reflects on environmental destruction through the motifs of leafless tree and birds floating away.
Award Nominees – Head on Portrait Awards
Kishore Das
This eclectic portrait is a departure from the colourful scenes Das has captured previously. A woman with a tribal face tattoo stares pointedly at the camera, encouraging reflection on the wisdom and power of tribal cultures.
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