The winners of the 2024 Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year competition have been announced with an image taken from a drone of two humpback whales cooperating to hunt a school of fish taking home the $6,800 (10,000 AUD) prize.
The competition is produced by the South Australian Museum and aims to showcase the best wildlife and landscape photographs taken across Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica, and New Guinea bioregions.
Overall Winner
‘Bubble-net’ by Scott Portelli. ‘Captured during a sailing expedition to Antarctica last year, bubble-net feeding is a cooperative hunting strategy used by humpback whales. As the whales surround a school of small fish, they make a team effort to disorient and corral the fish into a ‘net’ of bubbles. One whale will sound a call, at which point they’ll all swim up, with opened mouths, to feed on the trapped fish.’
Animals in Nature
‘Emperor’s Rule’ by Wayne Sorensen. Category winner. ‘A lone emperor penguin on the fast ice in Antarctica’s far southern reaches of the Ross Sea. ‘We encountered this magnificent bird as it emerged from the water, pausing to preen its feathers. The conditions were extreme, with snow swirling around in 50-knot winds and -20°C temperature.’‘Dawn Departure’ by Justin Gilligan. Category runner-up. A flesh-footed shearwater soars through endemic kentia palms on Lord Howe Island, New South Wales, at sunrise on its way to forage at sea for its fledgling. A weak flash was placed facing the rear of the departing bird, and images were only created once the bird had departed clear of the palms.
Aerial
‘Angel Wings’ by Tim Burgess. Category winner. ‘Every year, humpback whales migrate south in shallow waters along the east coast of Australia, a spectacle that never ceases to amaze me. While watching this juvenile humpback joyfully breaching from a distance, it created the most incredible unearthly shape of angel wings as it crashed back into the Pacific.’‘White Egret’ by Charles Davis. Category runner-up. ‘Flying over the vast mudflats of the Cambridge Gulf, I was looking for crocs or jabiru, not egrets. Set among such amazing tidal patterns, this egret was too hard to overlook.’
Astrophotography
‘Rainbow Valley – Valley of the Stars’ by Brody Gamble. Category winner. ‘The sandstone bluffs of Rainbow Valley, or Wurre as it is known to the Arrernte people, are mesmerising under starlight. Laying on red sand under clear skies, I attempted my first ever star trail image and I’m proud of how I was able to represent this sacred place.’‘Aura’ by Jose Luis Cantabrana Garcia. Category runner-up. ‘On my recent trip to New Zealand, I was lucky enough to witness a spectacular sight: a moon halo caused by moonlight passing through ice crystals in the atmosphere.’
Threatened Species
‘Teen Spirit’ by Richard Robinson. Category winner. ‘Juvenile sea lions enjoy a stream at the head of Port Ross. Such hideaways are out of reach of sharks, allowing the young animals to develop their swimming skills without fear. Once they’re adept in the water, young male sea lions frequently swim all the way to the New Zealand mainland, a distance of at least 500 kilometres.’‘Shrieking Carnaby’ by Nathan Watson. Category runner-up. ‘A female Carnaby black cockatoo, or Ngoorlark, lets out a distinctive shriek as she flies to perch on a roadside fence. The sunrise backlight enhances her beauty and emphasises why this endangered species has been revered as a totem bird by the Noongar people for many thousands of years.’
Our Impact
‘Unseen 22’ by Matthew Bagley. Category winner. ‘Unseen 22 combines science and nature in a captivating series of photographs that reveal the discarded ocean debris that has been reclaimed by Mother Nature.’‘Tailings Dam’ by David Dahlenburg. Category runner-up. ‘Tailings dams hold the remnants of waste products from mining. The striking forms and colours are a reminder of the long-lasting legacy of mining.’
Landscape
‘Aurum’ by Benjamin Alldridge. Category winner. ‘Tanglefoot, deciduous beech, fagus – whatever name you give it, it’s Australia’s only cold-weather deciduous species. Every year, they go from waxy green to fiery reds. Sometimes, if you’re exceptionally lucky, you get to catch them in their fiery turn, under a blanket of snow.’‘Sideralis Symphonia’ by Jose Luis Cantabrana Garcia. Category runner-up. Motukiekie Beach, Aotearoa New Zealand.
Macro
‘Symmetry of Lurking’ by Adam Javorčík. Category winner. ‘Spiders of the genus Deinopis have the largest simple eyes of any arthropod. Their photoreceptors are 2,000 times more sensitive to light than those of humans. Relying on their well-developed eyesight, they have developed an unusual hunting strategy. They cast their webs at prey that passes or flies underneath them.’‘A window to the underworld’ by Jakub Hodáň. Category runner-up. Spider webs in Queensland.
Monochromne
‘Light through the darkness’ by Beth Baker. Category winner. Shot in Dharug Country, Blue Mountains National Park, New South Wales.‘Inspection’ by Charles Davis. Category runner-up. ‘The Bremer Canyon is a meeting place for most of the ocean’s most terrifying creatures. These orcas gather in great numbers to hunt tuna, great white sharks, giant squid and even other larger whales. Hanging over the edge of the boat in five-metre swell, I dunked my camera into the water as these young orcas swam beneath the boat.’
An exhibition of the competition is on at the South Australian Museum in Adelaide from Saturday 31 August until Sunday 3 November 2024. All of the winners and finalists can be viewed on the South Australian Museum website.
Denial of responsibility! Todays Chronic is an automatic aggregator of the all world’s media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials, please contact us by email – todayschronic.com. The content will be deleted within 24 hours.
