Dazzling displays from the Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year

‘Chasing the Aurora Australis’ by Jiayuan Liang: Aurora Australis and the Milky Way above the Southern Ocean.

The South Australian Museum has released its shortlist for the 2023 Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year.

Open to all, the competition asks for the best wildlife and landscape photos taken in Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica and New Guinea regions.

This year, the museum had 2,182 entries from 550 photographers, and has narrowed this down to a shortlist of 95, representing 10 different categories.

“From cute creatures and captivating celestial skies, to unflinching scenes that capture the reality of humanity’s impact on nature, the 2023 shortlist showcases a wide variety of images that illustrate the beauty, fragility and power of our natural world,” says Justine van Mourik, acting director of the South Australian Museum.

The winners will be announced on 24 August 2023, and the exhibition will be open to the public at the South Australian Museum from 26 August until 29 October.

In the meantime, here are some of Cosmos’ favourite entries.

Two kangaroos fighting — ‘Talk to the hand’ by Asher Allison: eastern grey kangaroos at Kosciuszko National Park, New South Wales.

Hairy ghost pipefish swimming — ‘Hairy Harry’ by John Magee: a hairy ghost pipefish at Hastings Reef, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland.

Blue fairywren surrounded by pale brown plants — ‘Blue Spot’ by Sputnik: a white-winged fairywren at the Arid Lands Botanic Garden, Port Augusta, South Australia.

Lightbox emergency exit sign with silhouette of spider clear inside, picture of running person on sign appears to be fleeing spider — ‘Emergency exit – run, a giant spider!’ by Doug Gimesy: at the Conservation Ecology Centre, Cape Otway, Victoria.

Monochrome photo of gecko camouflaging against granite — ‘Granite’ by Damien Esquerré: the granite leaf-tailed gecko at Girraween National Park, Queensland.

Cockatoo sitting on tree — ‘Newly Fledged’ by Angela Robertson-Buchanan: the critically endangered Baudin’s Black Cockatoo at Denmark, Western Australia.

Sharks underwater with double rainbow visible above — ‘Somewhere Under the Rainbow’ by David Robinson: Galapagos sharks at Lord Howe Island.

Honey possum hanging off banksia leaves — ‘Hang time’ by Nathan Watson: a honey possum on a scarlet banksia at Cheynes Beach, Western Australia.

Boab tree underneath starscape — ‘Dancing in the Moonlight’ by Paul Harrison: the Kimberley, Western Australia.

Person picking up a coral inside a water tank — ‘Testing Thermal Limits’ by Justin Gilligan: Dr Kate Quigley, who investigates ways to improve the resilience of hard corals at the Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Queensland.

Wattlebird singing on bush — ‘Hear Me Roar’ by Lily Gubbin: wattlebird at Uraidla, South Australia.

The Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year competition is produced by the South Australian Museum.

The fully gallery can be viewed here.

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