Aussies lauded at Nature Conservancy’s 2022 Global Photo Contest

4 October 2022

The Nature Conservancy’s 2022 Global Photo Contest attracted a record 100,000-plus entries from photographers in 196 countries across the six categories. Many of the images entered serve as stark reminders of the critical importance of conservation effort that help all living things thrive together.

The overall winner this year was Li Ping with an aerial view of a lonely highway in Tibet, bordered on each side by gullies extending outward in the shape of a tree. In order to capture the image, Ping slept in a roadside parking lot overnight to get his early morning shot.

© Li Ping. Grand Prize winner. On either side of a highway, gullies formed by rainwater erosion span out like a tree in Tibet, an autonomous region in southwest China. To capture this image, photographer Li Ping slept alone in a roadside parking lot overnight before using a drone in the early morning hours to photograph this natural landscape.

Australian photographer Callie Chee took out top honours in the Plants and Fungi category for her photograph of ghost mushrooms in NSW’s Southern Highlands. Nicknamed ghost mushrooms due to their eerie green glow, the scientific name of the bioluminescent mushrooms is Omphalotus Nidiformis. Callie Chee said that the glow is very much visible to the naked eyes in complete darkness. “Finding them and photographing them can be challenging as they grow and glow for only a few weeks in a year,” Chee said.

© Callie Chee. First Place - Plants and Fungi.
Ghost Mushrooms. Nicknamed ghost mushrooms due to its eerie green glow, the scientific names of these bioluminescent mushrooms are Omphalotus Nidiformis. The glow is very much visible to the naked eyes in complete darkness. They are found in certain forests in Australia. Finding them and photographing them can be challenging as they grow and glow for only a few weeks in a year. — © Callie Chee. First Place - Plants and Fungi. *Ghost Mushrooms.* Nicknamed ghost mushrooms due to its eerie green glow, the scientific names of these bioluminescent mushrooms are Omphalotus Nidiformis. The glow is very much visible to the naked eyes in complete darkness. They are found in certain forests in Australia. Finding them and photographing them can be challenging as they grow and glow for only a few weeks in a year.

“Callie’s wonderful picture is a reminder of the ephemerality of beauty and how lucky we are in Australia to live surrounded by it,” said Alison Rowe, Managing Director for The Nature Conservancy Australia. “It is also an invitation for all to reflect on the fragility of nature and the role we can play in preserving her.”

© Dasun Nirmala Malaarachchi. Honorable Mention - Water. Bluewater, golden sand, white foam mixed with bright sunlight paints gorgeous design under the Sea Cliff Bridge in NSW, Australia.

Winning images were selected by a panel of judges that included renowned conservation photographer Ami Vitale and Coyote Peterson, host of YouTube’s Brave Wilderness. “The diversity of images from around the world gave a glimpse into our fragile planet and all the life that inhabits it,” said judge Ami Vitale. “The contest itself was a mesmerizing odyssey and we are left with a profound message of how interconnected all of us are and what it means to our own survival to intermingle with wildness.”

Another Australian photographer recognized in this year’s competition was Dasun N. Malaarachchi, awarded an honourable mention in the Water category. “The combination of colours and patterns caught my eye,” said D. Malaarachchi. “Bluewater, golden sand, white foam mixed with bright sunlight painted a gorgeous design under the Sea Cliff Bridge.”

© Shafeeq Mulla. An Unforgiving kingdom. A leopard known as Olimba carries the carcass of a female vervet monkey with its baby still hanging on for dear life. Picture taken in South luangwa national park in Zambia
“The diversity of images from around the world gave a glimpse into our fragile planet and all the life that inhabits it.The contest itself was a mesmerizing odyssey — © Shafeeq Mulla. An Unforgiving kingdom. A leopard known as Olimba carries the carcass of a female vervet monkey with its baby still hanging on for dear life. Picture taken in South luangwa national park in Zambia “The diversity of images from around the world gave a glimpse into our fragile planet and all the life that inhabits it.The contest itself was a mesmerizing odyssey

Category winners

© Sandesh Kadur. First Place - Climate. Lizards and Windmills. A vibrant fan-throated Lizard (Sarada superba) stands guard over his territory. This lizard was photographed in the Chalkewadi plateau in Satara district, India, which is the site of one of the largest wind farms in this region. Researchers believe that that windmills may affect predator behavior giving a chance for these tiny lizards to thrive in this rocky plateau. — © Sandesh Kadur. First Place - Climate. *Lizards and Windmills*. A vibrant fan-throated Lizard (Sarada superba) stands guard over his territory. This lizard was photographed in the Chalkewadi plateau in Satara district, India, which is the site of one of the largest wind farms in this region. Researchers believe that that windmills may affect predator behavior giving a chance for these tiny lizards to thrive in this rocky plateau.

© Florian Ledoux. Honorable Mention - Climate. Two worlds. Aerial view of two different types of ice in winter. On the right side, the well-established fast ice, a solid environment for the bears, on the left, the open water refreezing after a storm took away the ice. Sea ice being less thick than it used to be it is being more affected by the seasonal winter storm, easily breaking apart. — © Florian Ledoux. Honorable Mention - Climate. *Two worlds*. Aerial view of two different types of ice in winter. On the right side, the well-established fast ice, a solid environment for the bears, on the left, the open water refreezing after a storm took away the ice. Sea ice being less thick than it used to be it is being more affected by the seasonal winter storm, easily breaking apart.

© Francisco Javier Munuera González. First Place - Landscape. Slope of Mount ADI, in Navarra, Spain. "We ascended through the forest immersed in fog, and when we reached the top for a few minutes in which the fog cleared we could enjoy the gales caused by the low temperatures."

© Hendy Wicaksono. Second Place - Landscape. Mystical Bromo. Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park (TNBTS) is one of the 10 priority tourist destinations in Indonesia. Bromo tourism can be a coveted tour for many people because this mountainous landscape that stretches around 50,276.3 hectares will greatly spoil the views of tourists with the splendor of Mount Bromo. — © Hendy Wicaksono. Second Place - Landscape. *Mystical Bromo.* Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park (TNBTS) is one of the 10 priority tourist destinations in Indonesia. Bromo tourism can be a coveted tour for many people because this mountainous landscape that stretches around 50,276.3 hectares will greatly spoil the views of tourists with the splendor of Mount Bromo.

© Janusz Jurek. First Place - People and Nature. Rest. — © Janusz Jurek. First Place - People and Nature. *Rest*. "The photo was taken in Greece. In the beginning, I wanted to photograph the sea landscape, as everyone does, only turned 180 degrees. What I saw turned out to be more interesting. A huge factory broke into the sea, taking the beach away from restful people. A simple, ordinary scene is very symbolic for me. Industry pushes people off the ground. It pushes more and more. We are taking more and more."

© Giovani Cordioli. Honorable Mention - People and Nature. "I was at Varadero beach, Cuba when I saw this huge cloud coming, then I ran to the room and brought my camera to capture it. With a lot of lightning I took some shots of this amazing storm. In the original photo I captured the exact moment when the lightning strikes the sea, without using long exposure features in daylight. That’s it!"

© Kristin Wright. First Place - Water. Braided River. Brightly colored sediment paints the Icelandic landscape as at flows towards the ocean. The glacial river, Þjórsá, is the longest river in Iceland, originating at Hofsjökull glacier and meandering 230km to the Atlantic Ocean. The aerial perspective provided by a small airplane, reveals the bright and varied colored sediment tracing the river’s path towards the ocean.

© Anup Shah. First Place - Wildlife. Morani and Friend. Maasai Mara, Kenya. Nov. 2021. The sun breaks free of the horizon. There is a hint of a faint breeze. Otherwise, a pure stillness reigns. Then, a taut impala stares fixedly. Two moving objects. The lion on the right is distinctly older than its youthful companion. The old guy is one of the Four Musketeers that ruled Mara long time ago. Ruthlessly. And now, Morani has re-appeared out of nowhere. — © Anup Shah. First Place - Wildlife. *Morani and Friend*. Maasai Mara, Kenya. Nov. 2021. The sun breaks free of the horizon. There is a hint of a faint breeze. Otherwise, a pure stillness reigns. Then, a taut impala stares fixedly. Two moving objects. The lion on the right is distinctly older than its youthful companion. The old guy is one of the Four Musketeers that ruled Mara long time ago. Ruthlessly. And now, Morani has re-appeared out of nowhere.

You can view all the winning images at the competition website.

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