Photo Contest

2024 Oceania Photo Contest Winners

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The Nature Conservancy is proud to announce the winners of our 2024 contest.

Roar of Anger Egret fishing, meeting such a large Elops saurus, unable to eat, leaving a regretful look. The Elops saurus opened its mouth wide and rushed out of the seawater. © Xiaoping Lin / 2024 TNC Oceania Photo Contest

The inaugural 2024 Oceania Photo Contest saw close to 2,000 incredible entries submitted from photographers across the Oceania region.

Each image, across every category, brought something remarkable and unique, showcasing not just technical expertise but a deep understanding of storytelling and the moments that truly make us stop and think.

 

Grand Prize Winner

Daniel Sly, Australia

Pot-bellied Seahorse Portrait During an early morning dive at Bare Island in Sydney’s Botany Bay, we encountered a Pot-bellied Seahorse seeking shelter in the centre of a cluster of sea tulips. © Daniel Sly / 2024 TNC Oceania Photo Contest


People & Nature

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First Place, People & Nature

Duncan Macfarlane, Australia

Salmon Surfer One of the worlds best surfers, Shane Dorian surfing around Margaret River, WA, Australia. Shot from underwater through a School of Australian Salmon. Surfers have a more intimate connection to nature and its systems as it relies on the water and coast for their playground. Even in my time shooting I've seen a degradation of the oceans around the world from pollution to changing weather patterns. It's nice to see a unique moment of man/environment coexisting so beautifully. © Duncan Macfarlane / 2024 TNC Oceania Photo Contest

Second Place, People & Nature

Peter Harlow, Australia

Island Universe This photograph was captured in April 2024 from the air over White Cliffs, in outback New South Wales - famous for its opal mining. © Peter Harlow / 2024 TNC Oceania Photo Contest

Third Place, People & Nature

Steven Genesin, Australia

Into the Unknown On a trip to Central Australia in July2022 a dense fog descended on the ancient rock formations in Uluru-KataTjuta National Park. © Steven Genesin / 2024 TNC Oceania Photo Contest

 


PLants & Fungi

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First Place, Plants & Fungi

Crystal Richardson, New Zealand

Beneath the Glow Taken as part of an ongoing personal project to photograph the beauty in tiny ecosystems that often go unseen to spread more awareness of their importance. © Crystal Richardson / 2024 TNC Oceania Photo Contest

Second Place, Plants & Fungi

Chin Kang Chia, New Zealand

White Being white typically means you will be overlooked in most cases when you're a mushroom. Photographing white subject matters like these Marasmius mushrooms are challenging as lightings could prove tricky specially when I am relying on natural light to bring out the subtle beauty of these bland objects. © Chin Kang Chia / 2024 TNC Oceania Photo Contest

Third Place, Plants & Fungi

Caitlin Germanis, New Zealand

Lacy Lichen Taken on a dewy morning in our back garden testing out the new camera and experimenting with different subjects. © Caitlin Germanis / 2024 TNC Oceania Photo Contest

 


Water

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First Place, Water

Daniel Sly, Australia

Pot-bellied Seahorse Portrait During an early morning dive at Bare Island in Sydney’s Botany Bay, we encountered a Pot-bellied Seahorse seeking shelter in the centre of a cluster of sea tulips. © Daniel Sly / 2024 TNC Oceania Photo Contest

Second Place, Water

Aayushi Khillan, Australia

Vad This means wild, untamed, uncontrolled, unregulated. This is a natural Gorge found in Karijini National Park. I love the way the water has carved a way through the rocks. © Aayushi Khillan / 2024 TNC Oceania Photo Contest

Third Place, Water

Peter McGee, Australia

Jelly blubber split An unusually large group (smack) of jellyfish were in Cabbage Tree Bay. This split image captures the jelly blubbers with Shelly Beach Headland in the background. © Peter McGee/2024 TNC Oceania Photo Contest

 


Lands

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First Place, Lands

Michael S. Martin, Australia

Where there's Smoke ...there's food. Kakadu, Northern Territory burn-off. Irresistible to the Kytes. © Michael S. Martin / 2024 TNC Oceania Photo Contest

Second Place, Lands

Hamish Ashton, New Zealand

Sand forest September 2024. I was walking down the beach looking for something inspirational and the weather wasn't playing ball. I them remembered a You Tube video I watched. They were having the same problem so they said look down and look for detail. So I did and found these 'trees' in the sand. It was then getting the angle right so they became 3D. © Hamish Ashton / 2024 TNC Oceania Photo Contest

Third Place, Lands

Justin Tan, Australia

Time stands still Where the clouds meet the mountains in Mo’orea’s stunning landscape. © Justin Tan / 2024 TNC Oceania Photo Contest

 


climate

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First Place, Climate

Scott Portelli, Australia

Ice falls The iceshelf extends for hundreds of kilometres along the high arctic landscape. The jagged perfectly sculptured edges show the sheer magnitude of ice protruding. © Scott Portelli / 2024 TNC Oceania Photo Contest

The iceshelf extends for hundreds of kilometres along the high arctic landscape. The jagged perfectly sculptured edges show the sheer magnitude of ice protruding into the ocean. As temperatures increase, the rate of glacial melt increases causing dramatic raging waterfalls to drain into the ocean. The impacts will be felt almost immediately for life in the Arctic.

Second Place, Climate

Darren Wassell, Australia

The Beast I love storm season and witnessing the power and beauty of Mother Nature, she never disappoints. This was taken from the rocky shores at Kings Beach and was the only strike. © Darren Wassell / 2024 TNC Oceania Photo Contest

Third Place, Climate

Bailee Barton, New Zealand

Opuha For a Lake used for irrigating our local farms it was a shock to see the damage the threatening drought had achieved in such a small duration of time. © Bailee Barton / 2024 TNC Oceania Photo Contest

 


Wildlife

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First Place, Wildlife

Xiaoping Lin, Australia

Roar of Anger Egret fishing, meeting such a large Elops saurus, unable to eat, leaving a regretful look. The Elops saurus opened its mouth wide and rushed out of the seawater. © Xiaoping Lin / 2024 TNC Oceania Photo Contest

Egret fishing, meeting such a large Elops saurus, unable to eat, leaving a regretful look. The Elops saurus opened its mouth wide and rushed out of the seawater, emitting a roar of resistance towards the egret's fishing. Protecting the biodiversity of the Earth requires every human being to work together to protect the environment and live in harmony. Taken in Xiamen, China


Second Place, Wildlife

Naidu Kumapatla, Australia

Toss of Life In an extraordinary display of agility, this Bee-Eater snatched a dragonfly mid-flight, then swiftly perched on a nearby branch. © Naidu Kumapatla /2024 TNC Oceania Photo Contest

In an extraordinary display of agility, this Bee-Eater snatched a dragonfly mid-flight, then swiftly perched on a nearby branch. Holding its prey firmly, the bird struck the dragonfly against the branch, a swift manoeuvre to ensure it was subdued before tossing it up and swallowing it whole. Capturing this precise and powerful moment showcases the wonders of nature’s instincts and survival skills.


Third Place, Wildlife

Stuart Attwood, New Zealand

Duck Dive This mallard was hunting for food on the Avon River in Christchurch. The water was shallow and it was searching under a bridge. © Stuart Attwood / 2024 TNC Oceania Photo Contest

This mallard was hunting for food on the Avon River in Christchurch. The water was shallow and it was searching under a bridge.