Ritchie was nominated for his series on The Giants during this year's Perth International Arts Festival, Cottesloe beach art at the 2015 Sculpture by the Sea and an action shot of West Coast Fever netballers.
Fellow long-time Community Newspaper Group photographers Jon Hewson and Martin Kennealey were also nominated.
"Feedback from the panel of judges suggests that this has been the most competitive awards for daily and weekend newspapers for a very long time," The Newspaper Works chief executive Mark Hollands said.
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READ NOWWinners will be announced on September 11.