National Nature Photography Competition - Winners Announced

Winning images from the annual Ecology in Action Photo Competition have been announced.

“2021 was another challenging year for many,” said competition judge Alan Kwok.

“For ecologists, strict lockdown meant that field and even lab work were but dreams. But those who were able made the most of it, and through their photography again reminded us of what we were missing – discovery, awe, wonder, and a peak in our curiosities,” he said.

“Many of them were also timely reminders of the power of nature in a stressful time – of relaxation, warmth, and calm.”

“We had a particularly wonderful response to our Beauty in the Beast category, and it was truly wonderful to see some of the smaller animals in all their glory. From pretty animals to fascinating behaviours, this was a lovely reminder of the other 99 per cent,” he said.

Overall Winner

JARRAD BARNES – ‘Hunter and Hunted’

Runner Up

KRISTIAN BELL – ‘Camp Intruder’

Niches and Hollows: Adaptive Behaviour and Australian Biodiversity

1st place
KRISTIAN BELL – ‘Camp Intruder’
We parked our research vehicles at the foot of a dunefield as a storm passed through camp. After a minute of exploring the surrounding area we spotted a number of diurnal lizards sleeping on branches as well as this beautiful smooth knob-tailed gecko (Nephrurus levis) just getting up for the night.

2nd place

ANGUS CLEARY – ‘In the wake of catastrophe – post-fire repopulation’

A pair of Tyler’s Tree frogs (Litoria tyleri) in amplexus on a charred branch in some fire-ravaged rainforest on the South Coast of NSW, taken a year after the catastrophic bushfire season of 2019/20.

3rd place

KRISTIAN BELL – ‘Plagued by Misconception’

This beautiful animal native to Australia is a long-haired rat (Rattus villosissimus). Its ability to rapidly reproduce and expand its population following infrequent heavy rains explains its alternative common name – the plague rat. The vilification of rodents in Australia started in early explorer days when Burke and Wills, dying of starvation, refused to eat this plentiful animal. Sadly, attitudes have changed very little even to this day.

Highly Commended

KRISTIAN BELL – ‘Duel at Dawn’

MARCIA RIEDERER – ‘The Pink Flannel Flower’

Beneath Southern Skies: Unique Australian Landscapes

1st place
KRISTIAN BELL – ‘Secret Falls’
A truly stunning waterfall buried deep in the Otways. To access this site requires a high level of fitness, determination and climbing ropes. Because of the difficulty in getting here, this spot is seldom visited, which is just as well given the delicate nature of the vegetation and steep, erosion-prone banks that form this striking little canyon.

2nd place

TREVOR RIX – ‘Fur Forest’

We found these moss and lichen covered wattle trees on the southern slopes of Devils Peak, with Mt Coree in the distance. I have never seen anything like this in the ACT region which is more known for being rather dry, these slopes seem to hold significant water, with the lower slopes home to some fantastic fungi.

3rd place

TIM SALT – ‘Menindee Lakes at Twilight’

Menindee Lakes are already stunning, but captured at just the right moment and they’re truly sublime.

Beauty in the Beast: Australian Invertebrates

1st place
JARRAD BARNES – ‘Hunter and Hunted’
We tend to think of spiders as the apex predators of the invertebrate world, so it can be easy to forget that there are other animals perfectly well-adapted to a predatory invertebrate lifestyle. Perhaps some of the most iconic of these are the praying mantises, and here we see just how formidable they can be. I initially spotted this as spider eyeshine in the spinifex, but upon closer inspection it turned out to be the final remains of approximately half a wolf spider (Family Lycosidae) in the intimidating raptorial forearms of a praying mantis, midway through its meal for the night.

2nd place

CAMERON BAKER – ‘Found my cricket bat’

A giant king cricket (Anostostoma australasiae) feeding on the discarded remains of a fruit bat. Seeing this has certainly made me think twice before putting my hands near one of these crickets again!

3rd place

THÉOTIME COLIN – ‘Chippy’

I was looking for invasive blue millipedes near a creek of the Megalong Valley when I found this gigantic Christmas beetle larva. Christmas beetles have evolved these large mandibules to chew on wood, and although they might look scary they will not bite as long as they don’t feel threatened. I knew I had only a few seconds to take a picture of the larva before it would bury itself. Unfortunately, I thought, the lens that was attached to my camera was the high magnification one that I generally only use to capture photos of small ants and sometimes mites. I tried anyway, but framing was difficult as the head of the insect filled most of the sensor. I finally got this shot, placing the large darkened mandibules at the center of the picture. Within a few seconds, the beetle had started to dig through the wood again and fully disappeared.

Highly Commended

THÉOTIME COLIN – ‘Soft’

KAWINWIT KITTIPALAWATTANAPOL – ‘Hanging out’

Out Standing in the Field: Ecologists in Action

1st place
MATTHEW BRUN – ‘Dusky hopping mouse release’
Dusky hopping mice are the prettiest of the Notomys family and are a pleasure to capture and release in the Strzelecki desert where dingoes act as a guardian for the species persisting into the future. Volunteer Rachel Yamamoto is releasing a ‘hopper’ here and was excited to finally see some macro-organisms since she has mainly studied microorganisms in her education. The region has seen some recent rains that have started to bring the desert back to life after a four year rainfall deficit which will hopefully bring the numbers of native species in the region back up to a boom.

2nd place

SHUBHAM CHHAJED – ‘Tension in the Tubes’

A young plant ecologist measuring the water status of a leaf before it starts photosynthesizing. The water potential measurement done using the pressure chamber seen in the image measures the tension under which the water is the leaf is currently at. The image was taken at 5 AM (before sunrise).

3rd place

ADI ZWEIFLER – ‘Marine Ecology’

PhD student, Adi Zweifler, is using a diving PAM to measure the effective photosynthesis yield of an Acropora coral in-situ. This is part of Adi’s PhD project, studying the turbid coral reefs of Exmouth Gulf.

Highly Commended

CHRIS POCKNEE – ‘Bettong Release’

SARAH WAHJUDI – ‘Touch Identification’

Australian Flora Foundation Prize for the Best Image of Australia Flora

MARCIA RIEDERER – ‘The Pink Flannel Flower’

The Pink Flannel flowers (Actinotus Forsythii) are a rare and beautiful sight. The seeds can lay dormant on the ground for years, waiting for a special combination of conditions for their emergence: fire followed by spring rainfall. The disastrous bushfires of early 2020 that burnt 80% of the Blue Mountains National Park created the perfect conditions for Pink Flannel flowers to bloom. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity, as it can take about 50 years for the flowers to come back.