An evocative image of Sydney's Blue Mountains shrouded in mist has taken out the highest honours in The Landscape Awards 2023 presented by Eizo.
In addition, a moody and cinematic wave shot, and a quirky aerial from a grungy inner city skatepark have shared category honours in the competition, run for the first time in nearly a decade.
The Awards received more than 2,000 entries from photographers vying for a a prize pool worth more than $24,000.
In addition, the competition raised $10,000 for its charity partner the Australian Conservation Foundation.
Judged by an esteemed panel of professional photographers, the competition sought entries in one of three categories, Landscape, Seascape and Urban, and was open to photographers in Australia and New Zealand.
The overall winner and winner of the Landscape category is Sydney photographer Kathy Wallace who won the top prize with a timeless image that harks back to the origins of landscape photography in one of Australia’s most iconic locations.
Kathy's prize is an OM System OM-1, along with two lenses - an M-Zuiko 12-40mm f2.8 Pro and 40-50mm f4 Pro, valued at $6,327 thanks to sponsor OM System.
In addition, Kathy won an EIZO CS2731 monitor valued at $2,300 thanks to EIZO, a DJI Avata Pro View Combo drone system valued at $1,989 thanks to DJI and $2,000 cash for taking out the Landscape category.
In the Seascape category, Canberra aerial specialist Tim Burgess wowed the judges with a wave shot he says reminded him of the gritty and moody feel of Christopher Nolan film The Dark Knight.
Tim's prize is an EIZO CS2731 monitor and $2,000 cash.
And finally, in the Urban category, a chance conversation with friends led to Bunbury photographer Chris De Blank exploring her local skatepark from the air, presenting a rarely seen view of a unique city space.
Chris' prize is an EIZO CS2731 monitor and $2,000 cash.
The Top 20 entries in the three categories of the competition, along with judges’ comments on the winners and runners-up are published in the June/July 2023 issue of AP mag.
A huge thank you to the leading landscape photographers charged with the unenviable task of narrowing the shortlist down to the incredible shots you see here: Serena Dzenis, Candace Dyar, Anthony McKee, Matt Palmer, Will Patino, Jackie Ranken, Rachael Talibart, Joel Tjintjelaar and Steph Vella.
Award winners will be notified of their results by email later today. Further, the Top 20 entries in each category will be published online at The Landscape Awards next month.
Following this winners' announcement, People's Choice judging will begin this Friday.
This will be conducted on the Australian Photography Facebook page where the Top 20 from each category – Landscape, Seascape and Urban – will be listed. Anyone is welcome to vote for their favourite images, with voting open for approximately two weeks. The image with the most likes, in each category, will be named the People's Choice winner.
An enormous thanks to our sponsors Eizo, OM System, SanDisk Professional and DJI for their support of photographers in Australasia.
And finally, a huge thank you to all of you who entered the competition this year. We know many of you are passionate about great landscape photography, and the truly world-class work entered in the competition confirms it.
The 2024 competition will open for entries again in October 2023.