The 2024 Nature Conservancy Oceania Photo Contest debuted with an overwhelming response, drawing nearly 2,000 stunning entries from photographers across the Oceania region. These extraordinary images spanned various categories, each telling a unique story about the natural world.
From breathtaking landscapes to intimate wildlife moments, the winners showcased not only exceptional technical skill but also a profound ability to convey powerful narratives. These photographs captured moments that inspire awe, provoke thought, and remind us of the delicate beauty of our planet. The contest highlights the incredible talent in Oceania and the importance of visual storytelling in raising awareness for conservation efforts.
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#1. Grand Prize Winner: "Pot-bellied Seahorse Portrait" by Daniel Sly, Australia
"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."
#2. First Place, People & Nature: "Salmon Surfer" by Duncan Macfarlane, Australia
"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."
#3. Second Place, People & Nature: "Island Universe" by Peter Harlow, Australia
"This photograph was captured in April 2024 from the air over White Cliffs, in outback New South Wales – famous for its opal mining."
#4. Third Place, People & Nature: "Into the Unknown" by Steven Genesin, Australia
"On a trip to Central Australia in July2022 a dense fog descended on the ancient rock formations in Uluru-KataTjuta National Park."
#5. First Place, Plants & Fungi: "Beneath the Glow" by Crystal Richardson, New Zealand
"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."
#6. Second Place, Plants & Fungi: "White" by Chin Kang Chia, New Zealand
"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."
#7. Third Place, Plants & Fungi: "Lacy Lichen" by Caitlin Germanis, New Zealand
"Taken on a dewy morning in our back garden testing out the new camera and experimenting with different subjects."
#8. Second Place, Water: "Vad" by Aayushi Khillan, Australia
"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."
#9. Third Place, Water: "Jelly blubber split" by Peter McGee, Australia
"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."
#10. First Place, Lands: "Where there’s Smoke" by Michael S. Martin, Australia
"…there’s food. Kakadu, Northern Territory burn-off. Irresistible to the Kytes."
#11. Second Place, Lands: "Sand forest" by Hamish Ashton, New Zealand
"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."
#12. Third Place, Lands: "Time stands still" by Justin Tan, Australia
"Where the clouds meet the mountains in Mo’orea’s stunning landscape."
#13. First Place, Climate: "Ice falls" by Scott Portelli, Australia
"The iceshelf extends for hundreds of kilometres along the high arctic landscape. The jagged perfectly sculptured edges show the sheer magnitude of ice protruding."
#14. Second Place, Climate: "The Beast" by Darren Wassell, Australia
"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."
#15. Third Place, Climate: "Opuha" by Bailee Barton, New Zealand
"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."
#16. First Place, Wildlife: "Roar of Anger" by Xiaoping Lin, Australia
"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."
#17. Second Place, Wildlife: "Toss of Life" by Naidu Kumapatla, Australia
"In an extraordinary display of agility, this Bee-Eater snatched a dragonfly mid-flight, then swiftly perched on a nearby branch."
#18. Third Place, Wildlife: "Duck Dive" by Stuart Attwood, New Zealand
"This mallard was hunting for food on the Avon River in Christchurch. The water was shallow and it was searching under a bridge."
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