A striking image of Victoria’s Lake Tyrrell under the night sky has taken out top honours in the 2024 Ecological Society of Australia annual photography competition.

As always, the quality of entries this year was high, but the 2024 judging panel were unanimous in awarding Best Image to Rob Embury for ‘Stargazer – Reflections of Tyrille‘. This image also took out the People’s Choice Award.

A prize for the Best Ecological Caption was won by Ella Cathcart-van Weeren for her description of wetlands in Kakadu National Park: 

“Ephemeral wetlands like this billabong in Kakadu National Park (the lands of Bininj and Mungguy people) are alive. The air vibrates with the movement of millions of dragonflies, birds and frogs call in endless cannons, and the threat of an unseen crocodile lurks in the back of your mind…” 

• The best image by a student or early career ecologist went to Murray Kelman for his image ‘Take a Bow‘. This is the second year in a row that Murray has been awarded this prize. 

Category winners included:

• Niches and Hollows: Terrestrial Australian Fauna – Murray Kelman, ‘Take a Bow’
• Beneath Southern Skies: Unique Australian Landscapes – Rob Embury, ‘Stargazer – Reflections of Lake Tyrille’
• Water World: Coastal, Marine and Freshwater Fauna of Australia – Peter Salt, ‘The Bubbleblower’
• Branching Out: Native Australian Fauna – Hugh Percival, ‘Red Dragon’
• Outstanding in the Field: Ecologists in Action – Tracy Lyten, ‘A Partnership for the Planet’

All the finalists can be found below (click on an image to enlarge it). A gallery of shortlisted images can be found here.

The 2024 judging panel included award-winning photographers Christian Spencer, Alex Pike and Claire Greenwell.

Overall Winner AND People’s Choice

ROB EMBURY – ‘Stargazer – Reflections of Lake Tyrille’

Best Image by a Student/Early Career Ecologist

MURRAY KELMAN – ‘Take a Bow’

CATEGORY WINNERS

Water World: Coastal, Marine and Freshwater Fauna of Australia

1st place
PETER SALT – ‘The Bubbleblower‘

2nd place
MARCIA RIEDERER – ‘Supper is Served’

Highly Commended
MURRAY KELMAN – ‘On the Edge’

Highly Commended
ANGUS CLEARY – ‘Streamwalker’

Niches and Hollows: Terrestrial Australian Fauna

1st place
MURRAY KELMAN – ‘Take a Bow’

2nd place
DAVID FLACK – ‘Zombie Apocalypse‘

Highly Commended
ROBIN SINCLAIR – ‘Unusual Housemates’

Highly Commended
DAVID FLACK – ‘Jewel in the Crown’

Beneath Southern Skies: Unique Australian Landscapes

1st Place
ROB EMBURY – ‘Stargazer – Reflections of Lake Tyrille‘

2nd Place
NICK FITZGERALD – ‘laymanika Sunset‘

Highly Commended
DOMINIC RUEFENACHT – ‘Tempest Over Timeless Peaks‘

Branching Out: Native Australian Flora

1st place
HUGH PERCIVAL – ‘Red Dragon’

2nd place
JOHN VAN DER HEUL – ‘The Golden Forest’

Highly Commended
NICK FITZGERALD – ‘Misty Morning Heathland’

Highly Commended
HUGH PERCIVAL – ‘Bird Orchid Fluorescence’

Out Standing in the Field: Ecologists in Action

1st place
TRACY LYTEN– ‘A Partnership for the Planet’

2nd place
CELINA CACHO– ‘The Exodus: Capturing Threatened Microbats’

HIGHLY COMMENDED
ELODIE CAMPRASSE– ‘Advancing Marine Science One Transect at a Time’

HIGHLY COMMENDED
MURRAY KELMAN– ‘Where Are My Bats?’