Aussie winner crowned in Nature Conservancy's Oceania Photo Contest

Australian photographer Daniel Sly has won the grand prize at The Nature Conservancy's 2024 Oceania Nature Photography Competition for his portrait of a "pregnant seahorse." Judges praised his work as an "incredible homage" to nature. Sly also won first place in the water category of the competition.

Photographer Duncan Macfarlane captured a scene from an underwater vantage point of surfer Shane Dorian passing through a school of Australian salmon at Margaret River in Western Australia. Macfarlane stated, "Surfers have a stronger connection to nature and its systems, as their 'playground' relies on water and the coast. Even during my time shooting, I've seen the degradation of oceans around the world, from pollution to changing weather patterns." He finds it heartening to witness unique moments where humans and the environment coexist so harmoniously.

Photographer Peter Harlow captured a bird's-eye view of the white cliffs in inland New South Wales. The small town is known for its opal mining. Steven Genesin captured the ancient rock formations of Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park shrouded in thick fog during a trip to Central Australia in 2022. New Zealand photographer Crystal Richardson took this photo as part of her personal project to "capture the often-overlooked beauty of tiny ecosystems to raise awareness of their importance."

Chin Kang Chia discovered this scene on the Hinau Track in Kaikoura, New Zealand. He said that white objects, such as mushrooms, are "difficult" to capture due to lighting issues. "I relied on natural light to showcase the subtle beauty of these plain objects," the photographer said. Caitlin Germanis captured this photo in her backyard in Waimauku, Auckland, New Zealand, on a dewy morning. Germanis said the photo was the result of "testing a new camera" and "trying different subjects."

While diving in the early morning at Bare Island in Botany Bay, Sydney, Daniel Sly encountered a pregnant seahorse seeking shelter in a clump of anemones. Sly said, "To capture the subtle movement of the anemones while keeping the seahorse in focus, I opted for a slightly longer shutter speed. This slightly blurred the subtle movement of the water, creating a sense of the underwater environment." Aayushi Khillan photographed a scene of a natural gorge in Karijini National Park in Western Australia. "I love the way water carves its way through the rocks," the photographer said.

Peter McGee encountered an "unusually large" group of jellyfish in Cabbage Tree Bay, New South Wales. "This split-screen image captures the jellyfish with the headland of Shelly Beach in the background," McGee said. Michael S. Martin won first place in the land category for his shot of a burned landscape in Kakadu, Northern Territory. Hamish Ashton took this photo in Gisborne, New Zealand. Ashton said, "I was walking along the beach looking for inspiration but the weather wasn't great. I remembered seeing a YouTube video before where they had the same problem, so they said to look down for detail. So I did and found these ‘trees’ in the sand. Then it was just about finding the right angle to make them 3D."

Australian photographer Justin Tan captured this scene in French Polynesia, "where the clouds meet the mountains in the magnificent landscape of Moorea Island." Scott Portelli won the climate category award with this photo of an icefall. Portelli said, "Ice shelves stretch for hundreds of kilometers along the high Arctic landscape. The jagged, perfectly sculpted edges show the sheer scale of the protruding ice." Darren Wassell photographed a rocky coastal scene at Kings Beach in Caloundra, Queensland. Wassell said, "I love storm season, witnessing the power and beauty of nature, she never disappoints."

Bailee Burton photographed the view of Lake Fairlie in New Zealand. Burton said, "For a lake used to irrigate local farms, it was shocking to see the devastation caused by a threatening drought in such a short period of time." Xiaoping Lin captured a scene of egrets preying on barramundi in the port city of Xiamen, China. The photographer said, "The barramundi opened its mouth wide and leaped out of the water." In an extraordinary display of agility, this bee-eater caught a dragonfly in mid-flight before quickly perching on a nearby branch. Naidu Kumapatla encountered this scene at Lake Gwelup in Western Australia.

Stuart Attwood photographed this mallard duck foraging on the Avon River in Christchurch, New Zealand. "The water was shallow, and it was searching under the bridge," the photographer said.