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Mick Tsikas

Biographical Notes from The Walkley Awards website for 2005

Photography: News Photography Winner

Mick Tsikas , AAP, "Bali Nine"

Few can forget the faces of the nine young Australians arrested in April in Bali with 11 kilograms of heroin between them - four were captured with the drug taped to their bodies as they waited in Denpasar airport for a flight bound for Sydney.

Tsikas was on the scene at their jail cell in the days following their arrest, capturing images of the isolation and anguish as the accused came to terms with their predicament. All nine face the death penalty.

Mick Tsikas joined The Sydney Morning Herald in 1995 as an imaging supervisor, after working in commercial, portrait and wedding photography. After travelling internationally, he returned to Australia in 2000 and worked as a casual photographer for The Daily Telegraph. In 2002, he began work at AAP as a casual photographer and is now on staff. Tsikas has covered major assignments such as presidential visits, drought and bushfire, with highlights including photographing Mark Latham's 2004 election campaign, the Boxing Day Tsunami in Aceh, Schapelle Corby and, of course, the Bali Nine. This is his first Walkley.

Judges' comments

For someone to produce five photographs of this quality is remarkable - every one is a front-page, stand-alone image. Tsikas has moved out and beaten the pack, demonstrating his talent for storytelling.