Natalya Stone
Invasion.European Starlings were introduced to New York's Central Park in the 1890's and have since populated most areas of North America, competing with native species. They have made themselves quite comfortable living aside with the American Bison/Buffalo, native to North America.
Lewis Burnett
Into the Light .A graceful underwater ballet is performed as a Manta ray feeds in the plankton rich waters off the Ningaloo Reef. These majestic rays show true curiosity and intelligence when approached and are a true privilege to swim with.
Emilie Ledwidge
The Value of Shark Fin. The endangered leopard shark swimming through the waters of the Ningaloo Reef. It is a sad realisation when an animal as harmless and as beautiful as the leopard shark is being driven to extinction because their fins are being sold in the shark finning industry. Shark fins are more valuable on a shark than off.
Diana Fernie
The Maze. A small reef fish sits in a hard coral probably waiting for food to float past. There are a lot of perfect hard corals in Cuba which create a wonderful texture and colour palette.
Brad Fleet
Hope amongst the ashes.A young joey Koala sits in a burnt tree after the fire moved through the central part of Kangaroo Island, South Australia. There is not a green gum tree in sight. The nearest is kilometres away which is most likely too far for it to walk. Without fresh gum leaves the joey will not survive. How it survived the fire in the first place is a miracle. It is probably where the miracle ends.
Diana Fernie
American Salty. The mangroves of Jardine de la Reina, Cuba are home to American crocodiles. These powerful animals are unpredictable and I have no idea why I got in the water with it! My camera was my protection. More aggressive when there are more than one, we were warned from the boat when another was approaching. An amazing experience and I would do it again.
Naomi Rose
Blending In. A dusky whaler on the Ningaloo Reef slowly swims through a tightly packed ball of bait fish, trying to blend in and not scare them with sudden movements. It was fascinating behaviour to watch as I have seen them many times torpedo through the ball trying to catch the fish by surprise.
GEOFF HYDE
MR PUDGY.This pink, pudgy fellow, about 1mm in size, is one type of springtail, a diverse group of six-legged animals related to the insects. It was photographed in situ in the damp soil at the base of a pine tree in Centennial Park, Sydney. Living deeper in the soil than some springtail species, they have only rudimentary eyes.
Darren Weinert
Firesky. Taken during the Australian bushfires. The sky is orange with the glow from flames and smoke.
Jake Wilton
Rise of the Humpback. A humpback whale rises out of the Indian Ocean into the early sun's morning glow. The Western Australian humpback whales are the worlds largest and best recovered population of whales from the not too distant days of whaling in the early to mid 20th century. Shot with a telephoto lens on a scenic helicopter flight at first light off the coast of Western Australia.
MATT KRUMINS
AFRICAN WILD DOGS. Photographed on the northern boarder of Kruger National Park in South Africa these rare African Wild Dogs had just torn apart a nayala. With faces stained with blood and the feast all but gone they began to chase and play almost celebrating the kill.
Larisa Conman
Narooma Rush. Taken in the waters off Montague Island it appeared to be seal rush hour, they shot by in every direction leaving streams of bubbles in their wake , dashing to the surface and circling below me. Being amongst these playful animals was exhilarating.
Judy Powell
Freedom at the Falls. I just love the Iceland ponies in Iceland and was privileged to be in the right spot at the right moment with camera in hand when I got this shot. I took this photograph at Skogafoss Falls, along the south coast of Iceland.
James Smart
RHINO STARE. While over in South Africa doing conservation work with LEO Africa. This southern white rhino was drinking from a watering hole then eventually turned around looking directly towards me, proving a nice portrait.
Vanessa Mignon
Dancing humpbacks.Every year, humpback whales migrate to Tonga in order to give birth in the warm waters. During that time, it is possible to swim with them. Its important to be calm and respectful when approaching them, to ensure we dont disturb them. One day we encountered this beautiful mother and calf. They would move slowly, always staying close to each other in what seemed to be a graceful underwater ballet.
Alex Kydd
Golden Medusa.The Papuan jellyfish (Mastigias papua), nicknamed the Golden Medusa, photographed at night in a jellyfish lake in Raja Ampat, West Papua Regency, Indonesia.
Buddhika Jayasekara
Creator of a universe.This little spider was weaving his web just above the waterline of our little pond. The beautiful web is a masterpiece of this skillful artist which looked to me line a small universe.
Jake Wilton
A Mother's Love. A Mother and calf dugong delicately keep touch with each other as they feed and relax off the coast of Western Australia. Dugong calves stay with their mothers for up to 2 years creating a very strong bond between the two. Dugong populations continue to decline around the world due to human impacts. This young one will be key to ensure the future of the species.
Lewis Burnett
Manta Trio . Watching this graceful courtship dance twist and turn beneath me will always be one of my fondest memories from the Ningaloo Reef. Swirling, banking and flipping like a strange aquatic combination of fighter jet and ballet dancer these Manta Rays sure put on a show!
Bridgette Gower
Mantis in the rain.On a rainforest walk, my friend and I came across this beautiful Giant Rainforest Mantis. After taking a few shots, we decided to keep walking and have our picnic. Not long after lunch, the sky opened up and we were drenched with a sudden downpour. We came back to the same spot and I found the mantis again, this time completely covered in raindrops. This is the result.
Colin Chan
There are some sights that make me think Spring is coming....... like seeing a grey fantail zip through the emerging cherry blossoms
Talia Greis
Harlequin. Two Cuttlefish perform a spectacular mating ritual, which eventuates in a violent and gripping finale. They lock arms and complete the act, as another suitable candidate lingers in the background.
Susan Rajska
Fever. A fever of cow nose rays swimming through an aquatic reserve near the heart of Sydney. The conditions that day were far from those that the heart desires and the visibility underwater was not ideal and at the very end, when we decided to finish the dive, magic happened.
Emilie Ledwidge
Manta Ray Meal Time. With a large abundance of micro organisms around, manta rays congregate in high density areas to feed. While there may be a healthy number of manta rays in certain locations such as here on the Ningaloo Reef, their populations are unfortunately still in decline worldwide.
Jay Seeney
Icelandic Horses. This shot was a chance encounter as we were travelling along a backroad in Iceland, I had a split second to grab my camera and capture one of my absolute favourite moments in time.
Rachelle Mackintosh
The Sentinel. A young humpback whale rises out of the water to keep a watchful eye on the boaties who are watching her. Snapped off Bondi, NSW, in August 2020.
Alex Kydd
Falling Through Space. A freediver falls through a huge mass of moon jellies in Raja Ampat, West Papua Regency, Indonesia. The jellies were found congregating in huge numbers coinciding with the full moon. A rare event that the locals had not seen previously.
Larisa Conman
The Rising. This whale calf gradually became more confident to venture away from the safety of it's out of frame mother. I captured it gracefully rising to the surface from the deep where its mother waited. The moment was so beautiful. The light reflected from its light underbelly in contrast to the deep blue surrounds.
Louise Nott
A mother's watchful eye. A female gloomy octopus, Octopus tetricus guarding her eggs. She will not eat for months and meticulously cares for her young by gently pumping water across the eggs to oxygenate them and keep them clean
Naidu KUMPATLA
Tossing The Turtle. Laughing Kookaburra tossing his/her catch, a South Western Snake-Necked Turtle, Western Australia
Brad Fleet
Koala of the Bushfire.A koala in search for fresh food and water rests in a burning tree near Vivvone Bay the morning after the fire ripped across the southern coast of Kangaroo Island. Over 30'000 Koalas lost their lives on Kangaroo Island due to the bushfires. Across Australia the World Wildlife Fund estimates over 1 billion animals perished or were displaced during the Black Summer.
Naomi Rose
Playtime. Two individuals of a remaining population of only 12,000 Australian Sea Lions play right in front of me while keeping a cautious eye.
Naomi Rose
Vulnerable Giants. A cloudy day on the Ningaloo Reef, WA, still yields special opportunities if you're in the right place at the right time. On this day the water was crystal blue and the whale shark was slowly swimming right under the surface.
GEOFF HYDE
MICRO-FOREST.A slender springtail, about 2mm long, photographed in the field. It was on a moist, fallen log festooned with green hornworts. This is a focus stack, of 3 shots, taken while the springtail paused for some personal grooming. Typically they never stop moving, searching for a snack of slime moulds or rotting vegetation. Species: Entomobrya termetophila. Location: Centennial Park, Sydney.
KIM Jorja Petersen
The Oldest Spirit Bear. Ma'Ah is the oldest Spirit Bear in British Columbia, Canada. There are approximately 150 Spirit Bears in the world today who inhabit a very small section of the Great Bear Rainforest. I was very fortunate to be able to photograph her in her natural habitat.
Kristian Laine
World's Only Pink Manta Ray Inspector Clouseau . I thought my strobes were broken when I captured this rare pink manta ray at The Great Barrier Reef. For few hours after the encounter I almost deleted all my photos of this male manta who was in a manta mating train with 6 other mantas only to discover moments later that I had captured the worlds rarest manta and a sighting of it that is considered to be same as seeing an unicorn.
Matt Horspool
Raw Power.During this Humpback Whale encounter, I dove down to 8m to capture an image of a mother and her calf at face level. I could see something moving behind me and I quickly turned to see this enormous male escort powering straight at me. As I ducked, the whale's right pectoral fin glided past my head, much to the shock of my friend (bottom corner).
Muhammed Berjaoui
ERNIE THE ECHIDNA. I stumbled across this little fellow, known to the locals as Ernie the Echidna. I spent over an hour laying flat on the ground beside him, watching his every move. I would take small, shallow breaths to avoid scaring him and I think I ended up with something like 50 photos, this one being my favourite.
Rachelle Mackintosh
Inflight entertainment. A baby humpback whale takes flight in right between Sydney Heads at the entrance of Sydney Harbour. It's unusual manoeuvre (created by a technique called "porpoising") gives it the appearance of a plane in flight.
Brad Hedgman
Wary Eye. This young leopard was keeping an eye on us in Sabi Sands, part of the greater Kruger National Park. We spotted her while out on an evening game drive.
Katrina McDonnell
Wink. I find the nictitating membrane fascinating. Out of the couple of hundred photos that I've taken of captive Tawny Frogmouths in studio workshops, this is the only time I've managed to capture the membrane partway across the eye. I was particularly surprised to see the thick black band on the edge.
Toni Moran
Galah Explosion. I was sneaking up on a flock of Galahs feeding in a field when 2 Black Kites flew overhead. This was the result!
Bonobos Portrait 3
The Bonobo Connection. The Bonobo shares with human, 98.7% DNA. They Bonobo are known to be peaceful non-human primates, and can work out differences.
MATT KRUMINS
Closer to Mum. A rain-soaked baby orangutan clings to mum at Camp Leaky in the jungles of Borneo. Relaxed and safe glued to mums side, this baby was fixated on our little group watching from a distance.
Robert Heilbrunn
Where's Wally. Viewing 500,000 King Penguins at St Andrews Bay South Georgia is an assault on the senses - the sight , the cacophony of sound, and .. don't forget the smell
DONNA CREBBIN
The Voice.He calls to his Mob, always on alert to keep them safe. The Wild Brumby Stallion is not alone in his call, there are many advocating for the heritage status of these wild horses of Australia
Yeuk Huen Isabel Ma
Head Held High - A portrait of the Laughing Kookaburra. The iconic Australian bird, a Laughing Kookaburra, looking up and looking hopeful and strong, whilst standing on a branch. Hope and strength are definitely what everyone needs in 2020!
Larisa Conman
Just Below. Captured in the coral gardens of Lady Elliot Island I was amazed at how close to the surface all these fish were swimming together, light rays streamed below them.
Julie Pallant
Bath-time Osprey-style. It is not often that you get to share an Ospreys bath-time. He obviously enjoyed his bubble bath in the surf. For over 30 mins he frolicked in the waves, while a nearby fisherman and I watched on with amusement.
Matthew Peter Cheel
MOTHERLY LOVE.A mother Zebra shows her young colt some love in the South African western cape breeze. Perhaps even protecting her from her father!
