Annette Ruzicka, The first rangers (Portrait (ATEP 2017))

These are aboriginal rangers from all corners of Australia. What they have in common is they all recently had their land handed back to them through the government’s Native Title process and have been recognised as traditional owners. With that brings social, cultural and environmental opportunities to become rangers. By taking on these roles, they care for their land, some seeing it for the first time or for the elders, it's a return to country after many years of living in communities. The passion for their ancestral lands and determination to rehabilitate it makes experiencing these wild places all the richer.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.