Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year

Entries in the 2023 Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year competition have now closed. Entries were open from 3 November 2022 until 5pm ACDT Friday 27 January 2023.

Best of luck to all entrants.

The annual Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year competition calls on photographers from around the world to celebrate the fauna, flora and natural formations of the ANZANG bioregion comprising Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica and the New Guinea region. Submitted entries capture incredible moments in time, bearing witness to the unique beauty of the world around us.

The competition, owned and produced by the South Australian Museum, results in a stunning collection of images that provoke us to explore and understand the changing nature of our environment and appreciate the wonder that surrounds us while enriching our knowledge of this extraordinary region.

Congratulations to Overall Winner, Ashlee Jansen

A confronting photograph of a humpback whale carcass and circling sharks on the ocean floor in Coral Bay, Western Australia was named the winner of the 2022 Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year competition for 2022. ‘Nature’s Prey’ by Ashlee Jansen captures a harsh act of Mother Nature, but an important part of the natural ecosystem.

Based in Western Australia, Ms Jansen captured this winning shot in July 2021 after a sub-adult whale died while making the annual migration north along the Ningaloo Reef.

The judges were united in selecting this powerful image as the overall winner and praised Ms Jansen’s photography skills.

“The beauty of the image lies in its artful circular composition, seen in the curves of the whale’s skeletal ribs mirroring the patterns in the sand, keeping our eye within the frame moving between the living and the dead,” they said.  

Image: Nature's Prey, by Ashlee Jansen, Overall Winner 2022 Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year.