Kate Geraghty facts for kids

Kate Geraghty (born in 1972) is an Australian war photographer and photojournalist. She works for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Kate has won the Walkley Award five times.

Kate Geraghty's Photography Journey

Kate Geraghty began her photography career in 1997 at The Border Mail newspaper in Albury-Wodonga. She started by taking many photos of sports events. She once had 27 of her pictures in one newspaper edition. This often meant covering many games in one day, like driving 100 kilometers to photograph different sports.

In 1999, the newspaper would not send her to East Timor to cover the crisis. So, she used her holiday time to go there herself and take pictures. These photos were then published.

After that, Kate worked as a freelance photographer in Cambodia and Australia. She photographed the 2000 Summer Olympics. In 2001, she joined The Sydney Morning Herald. Her first big job there was to cover the 2002 Bali bombings. She described it as "one of the most shocking things I’ve ever seen."

In 2003, Kate Geraghty became the first woman photographer from Fairfax Media to cover a war. Her editor, Mike Bowers, sent her to photograph the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Some senior managers were worried about sending a woman to war. Kate responded by saying, "War has been a guy's game for decades and decades."

Since then, she has reported on many important events. These include the arrest of Amrozi bin Nurhasyim and Samudra in Jakarta. She also covered the 2009 Jakarta bombings. Kate photographed the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami in Aceh, Indonesia. She also covered Van Tuong Nguyen's execution in Singapore and the war in Lebanon.

How Kate Works

In 1999-2000, Kate Geraghty was with the Albury Border-Mail when Kosovo refugees were staying at nearby Bandiana barracks. This was her first time working with people who had suffered from war. She learned how to build trust with them. She spent time explaining her purpose and listening to their stories.

Kate worked for two years to get permission from Hamas to meet their leader, Khalid Mishal, in 2013. She believes it is a special chance to meet people and for them to trust her enough to share their stories. She says that everyone, whether a rebel or a boy hurt by conflict, deserves respect to tell their story.

Kate says she shoots with both eyes open. This means she doesn't just see what's in the camera's frame. She can also hear and smell what is happening around her.

Covering wars has changed her. She has had to overcome challenges from military officials, even from the Australian Defence Force. Kate has also embraced new ways of telling stories using multimedia platforms. This allows her to have full control over the story, working with a trusted journalist to edit and provide audio and visuals.

Achievements and Awards

Mike Bowers, her editor, has high praise for Kate Geraghty. He says "no one holds a candle to her." Kate photographed the arrival of asylum seekers on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea. There, she took a photo called "Asylum." This picture was a finalist for the News Photography Category in the Walkley Awards. She had already won Press Photographer of the Year twice before this. In 2009, she received the United Nations Association of Australia Media Peace award. Her work has also been shown at the King Street Gallery.

Gaza Flotilla Incident

In 2010, Kate Geraghty was on board the MV Samoud during the Gaza flotilla raid. She was with journalist Paul McGeough. She reported being Tasered by Israeli forces.

She photographed the Turkish ferry Mavi Marmara as Israeli forces boarded it. Another ship, the Challenger One, tried to outrun the Israeli zodiacs. This was to give Kate time to send her photographs. Australian officials later met them in Ela prison.

Awards List

• 2009 United Nations Association of Australia Media Peace award for photojournalism
• 2009 Press Photographer of the Year finalist
• 2007 Nikon Walkley Press Photographer of the year
• 2006 Nikon Walkley Press Photographer of the year