Nest of Silk by Oliver Lacey
The Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year Exhibition is on at the South Australian Museum from Saturday 31 August until 5 January 2025.
Currently in its 21st year, the competition celebrates the natural heritage of Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica and New Guinea through photography.
See nature up close through stunning images by professional, emerging and junior photographers who have shown impeccable timing, patience, artistry and technique to capture incredible moments in time.
This breathtaking exhibition allows us to witness the unique beauty of the flora, fauna and landscapes of our own backyard and the world around us. This year’s exhibition also features the new aerial photography category, taking viewers to new and exciting heights.
This year’s competition drew 1856 entries from 442 photographers across 12 countries in its search for the best wildlife and landscape photographs taken across the Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica and New Guinea bioregions.
Winning Entries
This year’s Overall Winner is Scott Portelli whose stunning drone image of two humpback whales ‘bubble-net feeding’ has scooped the top prize in the 2024 Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year competition at the South Australian Museum. The winning shot was captured by Portelli as part of a sailing expedition to Antarctica last year. Portelli was on a small 60-foot yacht when he took the winning image.
“There was one day where the weather was shifting between overcast and snowing. I sat and watched these whales bubble-netting for about six hours, but trying to capture that moment when they break the surface came down to persistence and timing.”
Portelli heads up a high-calibre field of 10 category winners and 91 finalists. Among the other winners, South Australia’s David Dahlenburg won the Portfolio category, in which photographers enter a group of six images with a shared theme.
His photo series, Grotesque Beauty, depicts tailings dams used to store byproducts of mining operations, located from South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula to the Far North. Dahlenburg works at a Barossa wine company by day but captured the images while flying for fun in a light aeroplane.
“Tailings dams have a sinister beauty—the colours are extraordinary,” Dahlenburg said. “They often contain waste materials, such as toxic chemicals and heavy metals, which can harm birdlife and groundwater. It’s estimated that there are about 18,000 tailings dams around the world.”
Of the imagery, this year’s judges, Chrissie Goldrick, Petra Leary and Andrew Meares, said:
“This series of photographs addresses human impact on the environment, depicting a terrible beauty that is the often-unseen reality of mining.”
The other categories in the competition are Animals in Nature, Aerial, Macro, Landscape, Threatened Species, Monochrome, Our Impact, and Astrophotography. There is also a People’s Choice prize, voted by visitors to the exhibition, and a Junior category for budding photographers aged under 18.
Adelaide’s Maya Hughes, 14, won the Junior category for her picture of a pelican’s delicate head and neck feathers at South Australia’s Encounter Bay.
“If I can inspire an appreciation and love of the natural world, conservation will follow,” Hughes said.
Click here for further information and to view the winners, runners-up and finalists.
The exhibition is open to the public at the South Australian Museum from Saturday 31 August until Sunday 5 January 2025
Tickets: General admission: $11 | Concession: $9 | Museum Member and Under 12s: FREE
CLICK HERE TO BOOK TICKETS
The Worlds Only Alpine Parrot by Jack Hinz
The Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year competition is produced by the South Australian Museum.
Family by Charlie Macpherson Smith
For more information and all enquiries please visit the South Australian Museum website
What: 2024 Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year Exhibition
When: Saturday 31 August 2024 until Sunday 5 January 2025
Where: South Australian Museum | North Terrace, Adelaide
Who: All ages
At Play & Go Adelaide we make every effort to provide accurate information to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication. We recommend confirming times, dates and details directly before making any plans as details may be subject to change.
Image Source: supplied
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