Capturing our sporting legends on camera

In the lead-up to the 2024 Olympic Games, join us for a discussion featuring a panel of distinguished sports photojournalists who skilfully capture the best sporting moments. Hosted by Cassie Trotter Spencer, our panel will include insights from David Gray, Tracey Nearmy and Cameron Spencer as they delve into the captivating world of sports photography.

Our distinguished panel of photographers will share their experiences and favourite photographs, offering a glimpse into the thrilling moments frozen in time on the field. From the intensity of competitive clashes to the raw emotion of victory and defeat, each image tells a compelling story about our favourite sporting legends.

Presented in partnership with the Walkley Foundation, and held association with the Library’s exhibitions Shot and Nikon-Walkley Press.

Cassie Trotter Spencer (host) brings two decades of experience in the media industry, spanning radio, television, and photography. As the Senior Director of Editorial for Getty Images Asia Pacific, Cassie collaborates with a team of editors and photographers to provide high-quality news, sports, and entertainment imagery to global media subscribers. Originally from Canada, Cassie relocated to Sydney in 2010 after her work in Press Operations and Photography for the Vancouver Olympics. She has worked in press and media relations in three US presidential campaigns and as part of the Getty Images Sport team at four Olympic Games. Cassie is the co-founder of Australian Women in Photography (AUSWIP), an organisation dedicated to supporting female and non-binary creatives in the photography industry. She holds a degree in Journalism from Howard University in Washington DC.

David Gray began his career as a cadet photographer at The Australian newspaper in 1989, working in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra, specialising in domestic sports coverage. He then joined the Reuters News Agency in 1995, where he extensively covered news and sporting events in Asia, the South Pacific region, North and South America, Europe and Africa. In 2003, Gray was appointed Chief Photographer Australia/The Pacific, until 2007 when he moved to Beijing, China, as a Specialist Photographer. In China he travelled to more than 20 provinces, covering news and sporting events that included civil unrest in Xinjiang and Tibet, the Sichuan earthquake and assignments in North Korea. In April 2009, he spent two months in Sri Lanka to oversee coverage for the ending of the 25-year civil war between government troops and the Tamil Tigers.

Gray has also covered six Summer Olympic Games and four Winter Olympic Games, more than 25 Australian Open tennis tournaments, over a dozen World Cup tournaments for football, cricket and rugby, plus numerous world athletics and swimming championships. He also organised photo coverage of the 2010 Asian Games in China, two Commonwealth Games, a world swimming championship, and a cricket and rugby World Cup. He moved back to Australia in 2013, covering news and sport in the Australia and Asia Pacific region. In 2019, he became a freelance photographer, working for such clients as The New York Times, Getty Images, Bloomberg, AAP, SailGP and the AELTC Wimbledon Tennis Championships, until July 2023, when he joined the Agence France Presse (AFP) news agency in Sydney. His awards and accolades include 2019 World Press Photo Sport Singles category 2nd Prize, 2022 World Sports Photo Award — Overall Winner, 2022 WISDON Cricket Photograph of the Year, Australian Journalism Walkley Awards in photography — Winner in 1998, 2008 and 2021, 2005 The IFRA Asia Media Awards — First in SPORTS and NEWS categories.

Australian photographer and videographer Tracey Nearmy has worked for numerous publications throughout Australia and overseas over the past 20 years. She graduated from the Queensland College of Art (Grifith University) with a Bachelor’s Degree in Photojournalism, and has received national recognition for her work in Cross Projections, the Reportage Photojournalism Festival and at the Walkley Slide Nights. She is currently based in Canberra working with the Australian National University team, and specialises in editorial and sports, as well as works with clients in the disability sector and NGO’s. Tracey is a member of Australian photojournalism collective AUSWIP. In 2012, she won the Head On Portrait Prize and has exhibited in group and solo exhibitions throughout her career.

Cameron Spencer is an award-winning Chief Photographer at Getty Images in Sydney, Australia. In 1999 Cameron attained a bachelor’s degree in visual communication majoring in photography, his career began working as an assistant and freelance photographer. In 2002 Cameron started working at Getty Images in Sydney as a Picture Desk editor then Assignments Editor and, after many weekends being mentored by several senior Getty Images photographers and industry leaders, in 2004 the self-confessed sports fanatic became a staff photographer specialising in photographing sport and portraiture.

Over the past two decades, Cameron has covered major events including eight Olympic Games, four Commonwealth Games, five Rugby World Cups, two Asian Beach Games, two New Zealand Winter Games, two IAAF World Athletics Championships, the FIFA World Cup in South Africa and Brazil and International Cricket including the ICC One Day World Cup and multiple Ashes test series. Cameron’s work is regularly published in newspapers, magazines and online around the world. Publications include The Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian, The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, The Times, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Inside Sport and Sports Illustrated. His awards and accolades include: 2015 Picture of the Year International 72nd — Sports Photographer of the Year 1st Place; 2015 NPPA Best of Photojournalism — Sports Photojournalist of the Year 1st Place; 2014, 2016 and 2022 Australian Media Alliance Walkley Awards — Sports Photography Winner; 2017 World Press Photo — Sports Singles 2nd Place; 2017 NPPA Best of Photojournalism — Rio Olympics Single Picture 1st Place; 2021 World Sports Photography Awards — Best Sports Image of the Past 25 Years Silver Award; 2021 World Sports Photography Awards — Best Athletics Picture of the Past 25 Years Gold Award.


Image credit: Cameron Spencer / Getty Images