Queenslander named Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year
31 August 2020
Hosted by the South Australian Museum, the winners of the annual Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year competition have recently been announced. An image of a fire in Mount Barney National Park by Ben Blanche has taken out top honours. The photograph beat 1795 other entries. The Queensland photographer, who’s been shooting for over 20 years, captured the image in November after a lightning strike hit the extremely dry national park, located about 120km south-west of Brisbane. Named the Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year, Blanche’s prize includes $10,000 and a Coral Expeditions holiday.
Overall winner (originally Landscape): BORDER FIRE MT BARNEY, Ben Blanche. "A fire caused by a lightning strike in November, in the extremely dry Mount Barney National Park, burned uncontrollably for several weeks. It slowly marched over the peak of Mt Barney as it moved around the border area of Queensland and New South Wales."
“The fire was rather slow moving and took some hours to move across the mountain, luckily I had a local telling me what the fire conditions were like leading up to the day so I could plan,” Blanche said. “I got to the location with ample time before the sun had gone down so I could form a rough idea of when the balance of fire and ambient light would be right,” he explained.
2020 competition judges
Michael Aw – wildlife photographer, explorer, and conservationist.
Drew Hopper – Australian documentary and editorial photographer.
Georgina Steytler – nature photographer with a passion for birds, ethics, and conservation.
The judges said: “This image not only skilfully captures a landscape, it captures a defining moment in the modern history of Australian nature. Its raw beauty is confronting, as it documents the energy and scale of the recent bushfire crisis. In the wave of flames snaking across the mountain we see the true scale of the fire, and for every burning tree that we see, we imagine the shrubs, the vines, the insects, the marsupials and the birds that we can’t.”
Ms Chrissie Goldrick, Editor-in-Chief, Australian Geographic said: “Each year we get an opportunity to see the wild world presented from new viewpoints and with fresh interpretations of familiar subjects and themes. The entry period for this year’s contest spanned a catastrophic bushfire season in Australia. The scale of the devastation was unprecedented and the toll on native wildlife heartbreaking. It’s a context that’s reflected in this year’s winning image and one that’s likely to influence how we view the photographs presented here, which so artfully demonstrate both the magnificence and the fragility of the natural realm that we hold so precious.”
Category winners and runners-up
The winner and runners-up of the ten categories appear below.
Animal Portrait
Winner: Leopard Anemone, Richard Robinson (NZ)
Winner: Leopard Anemone, Richard Robinson (NZ). A leopard anemone floats into the deep blue, one of 15–20 species that had detached from the reef and were drifting – a migration presumably part of their life cycle. These anemones generally inhabit black coral and gorgonian fans on deep reefs out of recreational diving range.
Runner-up: Wyulda, Matt Clancy (VIC)
Runner-up: Wyulda, Matt Clancy (VIC). Emerging upon nightfall from their rocky lairs, the shy and solitary scaly-tailed possums (known as yilangal by the Wunambal Gaambera people of remote north-western Australia) hang from their specialised prehensile tail to reach food and forage throughout the structurally complex monsoon forest and vine-thicket habitat.
Animal Behaviour
Winner: A Fever of Cownose Rays, Alex Kydd (WA)
Winner: A Fever of Cownose Rays, Alex Kydd (WA). A fever of cownose rays encountered on the Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia. The rays were in a writhing mass, moving throughout the water column – possibly demonstrating mating or courting behaviour. This was a once-in-a-lifetime encounter with a rarely seen species.
Runner-up: Spawning Jewel Anemones, Richard Robinson (NZ)
Runner-up: Spawning Jewel Anemones, Richard Robinson (NZ). A female colony of jewel anemones release eggs into the water. This synchronised mass spawning is believed to occur twice annually in New Zealand. The colour of jewel anemones varies between colonies, rather than individuals, from pink, brown, fluorescent green, yellow and apricot. The different colour varieties were once thought to be distinct species.
Animal Habitat
Winner:Storm Dragon, Jari Cornelis (WA)
Winner: Storm Dragon, Jari Cornelis (WA). We were rushing to get to camp before the storm hit when we encountered this central bearded dragon, an iconic representative of the reptiles of central Australia. I could not forego the opportunity to capture this impressive animal with the ominous scene unfolding in the distance.
Runner-up: Firestorm, Raoul Slater (QLD)
Runner-up: Firestorm, Raoul Slater (QLD). A Top End burnoff attracted a swirling cloud of fork-tailed kites. With a whoop I dived into the conflagration. The autofocus wouldn’t work in the heat-shimmer so I approximated with the distance ring. A kite flew close enough to smell burning feathers. Hang on! That was my hair on fire!
Botanical
Winner: Enchanted Forest, Kevin De Vree (Belgium)
Winner: Enchanted Forest, Kevin De Vree (Belgium). Lamington National Park is a fairytale forest teeming with waterfalls, gigantic old trees and wildlife. Taking in all this magical beauty, I wondered when the ancient trees would start talking and if the fairies would appear. To me, this fungi stairway captures the magic of this century-old, semi- tropical forest.
Runner-up: Gondwanan Link, Nick Monk (TAS)
Runner-up: Gondwanan Link, Nick Monk (TAS). A time-weathered Nothofagus gunnii bush hugs the alpine rocks of the Cradle Mountain–Lake St Clair National Park, providing an ancient link of modern Tasmania to the super continent of Gondwana.
Landscape
Winner: Bolt on Stormy Ocean, Mat Beetson (WA)
Winner: Bolt on Stormy Ocean, Mat Beetson (WA). This aerial image was captured on the mudflats along the Dampier Peninsula in the Kimberley region. The huge, receding tides expose the silty, white sand of the creek beds and the remaining water cuts its path back out to sea, leaving behind some amazing patterns and colour.
Runner-up: The Main Range, Karl Strand (NSW)
Runner-up: The Main Range, Karl Strand (NSW). Last winter, my mate Adam and I hiked out into Kosciuszko National Park during 70km/h headwinds to camp for the night. The clouds swept across the sky like a time lapse right before your eyes. The dappled light painted the main range in glorious light and shadow, emphasising the contour of the land.
Monochrome
Winner: Phil’s World, Charles Davis (NSW)
Winner: Phil’s World, Charles Davis (NSW). The snow was deep after a week of storms, and grass close to the surface was hard to find. The world had little detail except for the dead, white, skeletal snow gums left over from the 2003 fires and the wombats. I took advantage of the white background to capture both subjects together.
Runner-up: Face Off, Andy Wingate (QLD)
Runner-up: Face Off, Andy Wingate (QLD). A solemn-looking grey anglerfish (aka frogfish) lays still, moving only its eyes as it lies in wait for its next unsuspecting meal to swim past. This is an expert hunter that walks, swims very little, and owns one of the fastest-moving set of jaws in the underwater world.
Junior (photographers under 18 years of age)
Winner: Graceful and Green, Tess Poyner (NSW)
Winner: Graceful and Green, Tess Poyner (NSW). I photographed this dainty tree frog whilst spotlighting in far north Queensland. I was lucky this petite frog caught my eye, as they’re hard to spot due to their size.
Runner-up: Scrub Python, Robert Irwin (NSW)
Runner-up: Scrub Python, Robert Irwin (NSW). While on a research expedition to the remote bush of Cape York, I spotted this scrub python coming down out of the canopy, probably looking for the best spot to sun. I climbed up onto its level and captured this photo just as it flicked out its tongue toward the camera.
Our Impact (depicting human impact on nature)
Winner: The Wreck of the Penguins, Richard Robinson (NZ)
Winner: The Wreck of the Penguins, Richard Robinson (NZ). Daniel Thomas from Massey University necropsies kororā from the 2017–18 die-off event, in which hundreds of birds washed up in the north of New Zealand. Most had succumbed to starvation. Such wrecks are not a new phenomenon — in 1974 almost 4000 penguins were found on Northland beaches. Some scientists are concerned wrecks will become more common as seas warm.
Runner-up: Don’t Forget to Check for Me, Doug Gimesy (VIC)
Runner-up: Don’t Forget to Check for Me, Doug Gimesy (VIC). This female brushtail possum – most likely killed by a car and moved to the side of the road – was later discovered to have a live joey in her pouch. Taken to a vet, the joey survived, but this shows the importance of always checking a dead marsupial’s pouch.
Threatened Species (threatened, rare, vulnerable or endangered species)
Winner: Tasmanian Devil, Jasmine Vink (QLD)
Winner: Tasmanian Devil, Jasmine Vink (QLD). Tasmanian devils were once common throughout Tasmania. A facial tumour has resulted in severe population declines throughout much of their range. The devils on Maria Island are an insurance population used to supplement the numbers and genetic diversity of other populations in Tasmania.
Runner-up: Facing Extinction, Kevin De Vree (Belgium)
Runner-up: Facing Extinction, Kevin De Vree (Belgium). Seeing these majestic animals in the wild is a humbling experience, especially since humans are responsible for the challenges they face: illegal logging, the demand for bushmeat and a cruel pet trade. By taking this picture, I wanted to capture what would be lost if we don’t protect them.
Portfolio Prize (best portfolio of six or more images)
Ethan Mann (QLD)
Winner: Ethan Mann (QLD). Each afternoon, this male Blue-banded Bee returns to his chosen twig, and clings to it with his mandibles. He shakes his abdomen and legs, and eventually tucks them in to settle in for an evening rest before the next day of foraging and searching for a mate.Winner: Ethan Mann (QLD). I came across this near-threatened cascade tree frog while out wandering a very dry creek. This species inhabits rocky, forest streams of south-east Queensland and north-east New South Wales, and their call, “weeeeek kik kik” can be heard throughout spring and summer.Winner: Ethan Mann (QLD). This coastal carpet python has taken up residence in my dad’s shed. This built habitat provides warm tin to bask against, nooks and crannies to take refuge in, and an abundance of rodents as prey.
The South Australian Museum is hosting a public exhibition featuring all finalists until Sunday 15 November. The Australian Museum in Sydney will also host the exhibition as part of their grand opening later this year.
