2020
Border Fire Mt Barney
Ben Blanche
A fire caused by a lightning strike in November, in the extremely dry Mount Barney National Park, burned uncontrollably for several weeks. It slowly marched over the peak of Mt Barney as it moved around the border area of Queensland and New South Wales.
2021
Leafy Night
Scott Portelli
In the temperate waters of the southern parts of Australia, a unique wonder lies hidden, camouflaged by nature, an evolutionary chameleon of the ocean. Leafy sea dragons inhabit shallow reefs and seagrass meadows. They use their environment to camouflage themselves and avoid predators and this is a key component to their survival.
2022
Nature’s Prey
Ashlee Jansen
A humpback whale carcass found on the ocean floor, stripped clean of its flesh by surrounding sharks. This sub-adult whale died while making the annual migration north along the Ningaloo Reef. A harsh act of Mother Nature but an important part of the natural ecosystem.
2023
My Country Burns
Samuel Markham
Nothing can prepare someone for being straight in the line of a pyrocumulonimbus firestorm with a built-in flashover and temperatures exceeding 1000°C. While protecting my home on New Year’s Eve 2019, daylight turned into darkness with 40m-plus flames. Image taken 20 minutes after the fire front had passed.
2024
Bubble-net
Scott Portelli
As part of a sailing expedition down to Antarctica, I spent a month photographing the unique wildlife across this icy realm. Our vessel approached feeding humpbacks displaying bubble-net feeding. With snow falling and changing visibility, I captured the moment when two humpbacks emerged feeding through a collaborative bubble-net.