Michael Coyne (photographer)

Michael Coyne is an Australian photojournalist. He has traveled extensively and photographed subjects including conflict, refugees and indigenous communities. Coyne's work is held in the collections of the National Gallery of Victoria, Australian War Memorial and Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. In 2001, he received the Centenary Medal from the Australian Government.



Photojournalism
In 1985, Coyne was on assignment in post revolutionary Iran. News Ltd journalist Suzanne Clarke wrote that "Coyne says he is not drawn to war seeking adventure and adrenalin. "I am more interested in the people. I am not interested in the soldiers. . . but in how the people are coping.""

Academia
He obtained his doctorate through publication, "A Life in Documentary Practice".

Dr Coyne is a Senior Fellow at Australia's Photography Studies College, and previously was granted the title of adjunct professor at RMIT in Melbourne in 2003.

Plays about Coyne
Coyne's life has been documented in writer Graeme Pitts' plays, Tour of Duty and Second Spring – a Letter To My Daughter, which explore some of the tensions and apprehensions experienced by him in relation to his work as a photojournalist.

Books by Coyne

 * Tour of Duty - East Timor. Melbourne: Australia-East Timor Association, 2002. With an essay by Graham Pitts. ISBN 0-9752450-2-3.
 * No Cheap Shots. 2006.
 * Tour of Duty - East Timor. Melbourne: Australia-East Timor Association, 2002. With an essay by Graham Pitts. ISBN 0-9752450-2-3.
 * No Cheap Shots. 2006.
 * No Cheap Shots. 2006.
 * No Cheap Shots. 2006.

Books with contributions by Coyne

 * The Jew called Jesus
 * War – A South Collection #1 (T&G)
 * War – A South Collection #1 (T&G)
 * War – A South Collection #1 (T&G)

Awards

 * 2001: Centenary Medal from the Australian Government in recognition of his contribution to "Australian society and photography"

Collections
Coyne's work is held in the following permanent collections:
 * National Gallery of Victoria: seven of Coyne's Iran images
 * Australian War Memorial: images from Coyne's Iran project
 * Monash Gallery of Art
 * Museum of Fine Arts, Houston: 1 print (as of 18 April 2023)

Exhibitions

 * Mont Blanc Gallery, Hong Kong, 2001. The exhibition also included a lecture on photjournalism and a performance of "Second Spring".
 * The Daylesford Foto Biennelle, 2005, featured 30 of Coyne's images, with more than 100 also being presented on screen.
 * New Guinea on Mobile, 2013
 * Villages – Hearing the Grass Grow, Tafe Sydney Institute of Photography, 2012
 * Insiders & outsiders, Alison Stieven-Taylor, Brian Cassey, Mouneb Taim, Giles Clarke, 2022
 * Paper Tigers, Delmar Gallery, Victoria Street, Ashfield NSW, Australia, 2022