Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year winners annonced

An image of a humpback whale carcass and circling sharks on the ocean floor in Coral Bay, Western Australia, has taken out top honours winning the Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year competition. The winning image, Nature’s Prey, comes from WA-based photographer Ashlee Jansen, and shows the remains of a whale that died while making the annual migration north along the Ningaloo Reef.

Open to images captured in Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica, and the New Guinea region, this year the competition received 2,443 entries – the most in its history.

“Tour boats had been watching the young whale for days as it slowly moved through the bay, appearing sicker and slower with more shark bites over its body day after day,” Jansen said of the photograph that was captured in July 2021.

“Friends had spotted an oil slick on the surface caused by the fallen whale. As they got closer, they were hit by the distinct smell and knew that they had found the location of the carcass resting on the ocean floor,” she says.

“Excited to share their find, I rushed out to their location and jumped in the water to find the skeleton of the young humpback whale laying still on the ocean floor. Surrounding the bare bones were several different species of well-fed sharks.”

Reflecting on her win Jansen stated: “I have always looked at this competition and award so highly, so to be selected as the winner out of so many talented photographers, some of who I have looked up to and have inspired me over my career, is absolutely incredible.”

As Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year, Jansen receives a cash prize of $10,000 and a travel prize from Coral Expeditions.

Mr Brian Oldman, Director of the South Australian Museum, said: “Ms Jansen’s photograph beautifully depicts the circle of life and the intense reality of the animal food chain - that every living animal is food for another. “Remarkable and thought-provoking photographs like Ms Jansen’s are what make us so proud to produce this competition and resulting exhibition each year.”

The 2022 judging panel

• Nicky Catley - Managing Photo Editor at Australian Geographic with over 20 years’ experience in Australia and the UK on major media mastheads and magazines.
• Doug Gimesy - Award-winning professional conservation and wildlife photojournalist with a focus on Australian issues.
• Professor Charlie Huveneers - Director of the Flinders University Marine and Coastal Research Consortium with over 15 years’ experience in shark and ray ecology.

Winners and runners-up

Animals in Nature

Urban Animals

Botanical

Landscape 

Threatened Species (vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered species)

Monochrome

Our Impact (depicting human impact on nature)

Astrophotography

Portfolio Prize 

Junior (photographers under 18 years of age)

The South Australian Museum will stage an exhibition featuring all the competiion finalists until Sunday 30 October 2022, while the Australian Museum in Sydney will also host the exhibition from Saturday 17 September until Sunday 11 December 2022. Tickets are available via the Museum’s website.

For further information and to view the full gallery, follow this link.

 

Get more stories like this delivered
free to your inbox. Sign up here.