Recently, the 2019 Australian Physical Geography Photography Competition announced the winning photographers and works. These works stand out from more than 2,000 works, let's take a look at it together!
Overall winner: Death of the fin whale
Fin whales are often found in this part of Western Australia, however, a stranded fin whale is rare. The fin whale was found 5 metres from the coast and 100 metres from a residential area, and fishing boats and great white sharks were enjoying the feast before the bodies were removed by the researchers.
Cheynes Beach, Albany, Western Australia
Photo by Mat Beetson; Equipment: DJI Phantom 4 Pro
Animal Portrait Category Champion: Decorative Crab
Usually, decorative crabs cover aquatic creatures such as sponges and seaweed to camouflage themselves and avoid predators. It also makes them difficult to capture with a camera. However, the decorative crab named achaeus spinosus in the photo directly covers the stinging hydra-like creatures on its own to ward off potential predators.
Lembeh Strait, Sulawesi, Indonesia
Photo by Ross Gudgeon; Equipment: Canon EOS 7D Mark II.
Runner-up in the animal portrait group: The bride in the bath - termites
The storm finally broke the drought and created the conditions for the courtship flight of termites. Some of them are lucky, and some are the complete opposite. In the photo, only the winged termite, attracted by the reflective surface of the pond, fell into this beautiful trap and died peacefully and beautifully on the surface of the water.
Queensland, Australia
Photographed by Melissa Christi; Equipment: Nikon D610
Animal Behavior Group Champion: White-hot competition – humpback whales
The competition of male whales for females can last for hours, or even days. Male whales will show the female the bubble nets they spit out, the ability to swallow, and compete in loud sounds and jump to hit the waves.
Tonga, South Pacific
Photographed by Scott Portelli; Equipment: Canon EOS 1DX Mark II.
Animal Habitat Group Champion: Foot-like creatures where sea squirts coexist
While searching for a pygmy seahorse on a reef in West Papua, I happened to meet this little crustacean. It was only 0.5-1.0 centimeters long, and the male creature was sitting in the mouth of the sea squirt guarding the female and child inside.
Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia
Photographed by Richard Smith; Equipment: Nikon D800
Runner-up in the Animal Habitat Group: Spiders on ice – unknown species
A snowstorm throughout the night blew the Myrtle trees outside my holiday cottage. The next morning, after the snow stopped, I went out in search of my subject in the brilliant sunlight and came across this little spider on the ice.
Cradle Valley, Tasmania
Photographed by Raoul Slater; Equipment: Canon EOS 5D Mark II.
Plant Category Champion: Phantom of the Forest – Ghost Fungus
When it gets dark in the pine forests of the Bellalin Peninsula, the light show of ghost mushrooms begins. The light emitted by this mushroom attracts insects to help them disperse their spores.
Grove Marine, Victoria, Australia
Photographed by Marcia Riederer; Equipment: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
Plant Group Runner-up: Tasmanian Angiosperm (Richea pandanifolia)
This wild plant can only be seen on the island of Tasmania, and the Tasmanian angiosperm seems to glow at sunset.
Southwest National Park, Tasmania
Photographed by Jarrod Castaing; Equipment: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV.
Scenery Category Champion: Barron Falls
During the flood season, Barron Falls floods into the coastal plains below. The impact of nature's sheer power, intertwined with the deafening roar, became an unforgettable memory for me.
Barron Falls, Queensland
Photographed by Neil Pritchard; Equipment: Pentax X-5
Scenery Group Runner-up: Through the Water Curtain
A small waterfall water curtain in the Great Western Mountains
Great Western Mountains, Tasmania
Photographed by Nick Monk; Equipment: Nikon D800
Black and white photography champion: Texture - bean dot nude eel
When I saw the amazing combination of bean-spotted nude-breasted eel and deformed brain coral, it was as if a voice was shouting in my head: "Take a black and white photo!" ”。
Banda Sea
Photographed by Tracey Jennings; Equipment: Nikon D850
Junior Champion: In the Dark
It's the most amazing lightning bolt I've ever seen. In terms of composition, I decided to add a person standing at the water's edge holding an umbrella as a balance point for the picture.
Fingor Bay, New South Wales
Photographed by Floyd Mallon; Equipment: Canon EOS 5D Mark III.
Youth Runner-up: Under the Thorns – Alligator
I met this needle mole on my way home from the Murray River, and it hid its head. I knew it wasn't going to stick out, so I took a close-up of it with thorns.
Near Blancheton, South Australia
Photographed by Isaac Wilson; Equipment: Nikon Coolpix B700
Endangered Species Category Champion: Curious Encounter – Morton Water Monitor Lizard
The Morton water monitor lizard is a very curious animal. It came to me in a swaggering manner, curiously observing its own shadow in my shot, while not far from him there was another pair of courtship water dragons, and here he looked at his own shadow, alas, pitiful.
Adelaide River, Northern Territory
Photo by Etienne Littlefair; Equipment: Olympus OMD EM-1 Mark II.
Runner-up in the Endangered Species Group: Hold on – Grey-headed Flying Fox
On extremely hot nights, grey-headed foxes plunge their bellies into the river and drink a cup while combing their wet hairs. The grey-headed fox bat in the picture is also carrying her baby, and when it approached the surface of the water, it almost dropped its own child into it, but fortunately it managed to catch it.
Torrance River, Adelaide, South Australia
Photographed by Neil Edwards; Equipment: Canon EOS 7D Mark II.
After reading this, do you feel that the gap between you and them is only in the equipment?