Photo Contest

2025 Oceania Photo Contest

A man with bolt cutters underwater trying to cut a chain off a wild whale's tail.

The Nature Conservancy are proud to announce the winners of the 2025 photo contest.

November 19, 2025

2025 Grand Prize: Tauhi A day I never imagined - we answered a call about an entangled humpback whale thrashing in distress. Arriving, we saw a heavy rusted chain cutting deep into her tail. Diving in, we worked carefully and silently to free her. © Miessa Grobbelaar / 2025 TNC Oceania Photo Contest

With over 3,500 photos submitted from across Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, the second year of the Oceania Photo Contest saw an 87% increase in entries!

We often think that art and science exist in separate vacuums, but this contest proves that notion wrong. These photographs capture the rich diversity of the plants, wildlife, lands and waters of Oceania (and beyond) - the very fabric that sustains communities, inspires culture, and makes this region such an important place to conserve and protect.

Grand Prize Winner

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A man with bolt cutters under water trying to cut a chain off a wild whale's tail. — Tauhi A day I never imagined - we answered a call about an entangled humpback whale thrashing in distress. Arriving, we saw a heavy rusted chain cutting deep into her tail. Diving in, we worked carefully and silently to free her. When the chain finally snapped, she paused and looked at us, as if saying thanks. It was a powerful, humbling moment, reminding me how deeply connected we are to the ocean and its creatures, and how much respect and care truly matters. © Meisa Grobbelaar

People & Nature

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1st Place, People & Nature

Meisa Grobbelaar, Australia

Two whales side by side leaping out of the water. — Tauhi A day I never imagined - we answered a call about an entangled humpback whale thrashing in distress. Arriving, we saw a heavy rusted chain cutting deep into her tail. Diving in, we worked carefully and silently to free her. When the chain finally snapped, she paused and looked at us, as if saying thanks. It was a powerful, humbling moment, reminding me how deeply connected we are to the ocean and its creatures, and how much respect and care truly matters. © Meisa Grobbelaar

2nd Place, People & Nature

Tony Stoddard, New Zealand

A Kiwi bird being cradled in a man's arms. — Return to the Wild I had the immense privilege of attending the pōwhiri at Mākara Village Hall. After the formal welcome, Capital Kiwi team members gently lifted two large kiwis from their boxes, offering a rare, intimate glimpse of these taonga before release into a 23,000-hectare sanctuary- reclaiming a home unseen for over 150 years. This photo of a precious manu being cradled speaks volumes, capturing the deep care, reverence, and hope behind every step of this remarkable return to the wild in our Capital City © Tony Stoddard

3rd Place, People & Nature

Tiana Reimann, Papua New Guinea

A boy snorkelling surrounded by a school of fish — School Boy While exploring the shallow waters, a school of curious yellowtail surrounded my cousin as he swam around the reef. Together, the fish find safety in numbers, a simple reminder of how together we are stronger. There is a message from all walks of nature. © Tiana Reimann

Plants & Fungi

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1st Place, Plants & Fungi

Nic Wooding, New Zealand

A close up of the underside of a mushroom with firefly-like lights around it. — Pluteus' Fireflies The endearing species - Pluteus Velutinornatus with it's velvety, mottled cap, almost animal like with lovely dark lined gills giving them so much dimension. I find myself greeting them with an audible " hello". A couple of days prior I'd found this one before opening, a fuzzy mound.. delighted to find it in immaculate condition on return, just catching the shifting sunlight through the forest. Holding domain over moss heads like tiny firefly. © Nic Wooding

2nd Place, Plants & Fungi

Benjamin Alldridge, Australia

Glowing green mushrooms — Galactic Ghost During the autumn months, Tasmania sees a brief explosion of a short-lived bioluminescent fungus, the so-called Ghost fungus (Omphalotus nidiformis) in secluded damp forest patches affixed to rotting trees. Owing to their typical low position hidden underneath forest canopies, a view out to the night sky is very rarely afforded, much less on clear nights ‚Äì making this view out to the crown jewel of the night sky, the galactic centre of the Milky Way, a truly once in a lifetime opportunity. © Benjamin Alldridge

3rd Place, Plants & Fungi

Chin Kang Chia, New Zealand

A brown mushroom shaped like a Witch's Hat — Witch's Hat Hocus Pocus! One of the Anderson Sisters' hat is lost in the woods. With the unappealing color, I almost haven't taken any shot of this specimen. The one and single shot taken turns out unexpectedly stunning. © Chin Kang Chia

Climate

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1st Place, Climate

Chen Kang, Australia

A flooded area where all the trees are gone. — The Collapse of Green This drone photography captures the forest fading under the weight of extremes. Floods and droughts have silenced the eucalyptus - some fallen, some standing like ghosts. Green life turns to grey, echoing the slow loss of balance in nature. © Cheng Kang

2nd Place, Climate

Chi Chan, Australia

An aerial shot of smoke stacks from a factory spewing smoke. — New Planet This is a drone photograph taken from the largest petrochemical /plastic production plant at Melbourne suburb Altona. Is this our new future planet? I would like to invite viewers to contemplate our current environmental crisis. © Chi Chen

3rd Place, Climate

Brooke Pyke, Australia

A scuba diver swimming over a coral reef that has turned white. — Bleached An unprecedented heatwave struck the coast of Western Australia during the summer of 2024-2025. We headed out to document the worst coral bleaching event ever recorded on the Ningaloo Reef. White skeletons of suffering corals swept far beyond what our eyes could see. An estimated 60-80% of our reef was bleaching before our eyes. © Brooke Pyke

Lands

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1st Place, Lands

Scott Portelli, Australia

The clear night skies in Winjana National park of Western Australia are incredible. The landscape is dramatic displaying the vibrant red rocks that overpower the landscape. — Winjana Gorge The clear night skies in Winjana National park of Western Australia are incredible. The landscape is dramatic displaying the vibrant red rocks that overpower the landscape. Looking south to the Polaris star, the night sky moves slowly from dusk to dawn. Capturing the essence of the Australian night sky took more than 600 photos to show the movement of light in the night sky. © Scott Portelli

2nd Place, Lands

Dylan Giannakopoulos, Australia

Captured during a once in a lifetime solar storm in May 2024, Lady Aurora danced over the waters of Flinders blowhole. — Aurora Australis Captured during a once in a lifetime solar storm in May 2024, Lady Aurora danced over the waters of Flinders blowhole. © Dylan Giannakopoulos

3rd Place, Lands

Olivia Wenztell, New Zealand

This photo was taken in Wilson Creek Canyon about an hour north of Wanaka, New Zealand. This canyon creates beautiful lighting conditions. — Nightfall This photo was taken in Wilson Creek Canyon about an hour north of Wanaka, New Zealand. This canyon creates beautiful lighting conditions and has water streaming down from all directions, so creates perfect conditions for these delicate photos. © Olivia Wentzell

Water

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1st Place, Water

Scott Portelli, Australia

An underwater shot of a penguin moving to the surface. — Rocket After feeding on swarms of krill beneath the Antarctic ocean, rafts of penguins return to the surface rocketing up from the depths leaving trails of bubbles resembling the jetstream of a plane. These bubbles act as a coat around the penguins, allowing them to reach speeds more than 20km an hour underwater, making them the fastest of any diving bird. Their stream-lined bodies and strong , ”flippers” allow them to dive more than 200 meters to feed on swarms of krill in the Antarctic depths. © Scott Portelli

2nd Place, Water

Benjamin Alldridge, Australia

An image of a tree hanging over the water's edge showing different colours of luminescence. — I C E P O P Would you believe me if I told you that in the natural world, it's unusual for things to not glow? Everything. You, me, flowers, rocks, your dog, your goldfish - even water. We call the living stuff that does it biofluoresence. This is how much of the natural world sees itself - awash in the most garish and self-indulgent colours, but our weak human eyes never get to experience it. Imagine if we did. © Benjamin Alldridge

3rd Place, Water

Peter McGee, Australia

A blue shrimp sitting on a ball of tiny red eggs — Peacock Mantis and Eggs A female peacock mantis shrimp stands upright surveying the area, while holding her large clutch of red eggs. © Peter McGee

Wildlife

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1st Place, Wildlife

Donald Chin, Australia

An owl looking directly at the camera. — I'm Watching You A curious young Tawny Frogmouth keeps a watchful eye in it's surroundings. © Donald Chin

2nd Place, Wildlife

Danielle Smith, Australia

Two whales side by side leaping out of the water. — Double Breach Two giant, school bus-sized, blubbery whales, sometimes weighing up to 40,000 kilograms, coordinated a jump at the same time. I took this image off the coast of Lennox Head, Northern NSW, this winter, Saturday, 5th July. We call it the humpback highway; every day, you can see whales jumping. This was a rare opportunity to capture two at the same time. © Danielle Smoth

3rd Place, Wildlife

Christine King, Australia

An insect hanging upside down removing itself from it's previous 'skin'. — Emergence On a warm summer's night along a local lake, perched on reeds, adult dragonfly nymphs were emerging from their exoskeletons. I watched this molting dragonfly slowly, and gently, remove itself from its previous skin with care and precision. The process can take hours but in this one single moment, I was able to capture the beauty of its transformation. A spectacular display of nature at its most beautiful in the darkness of night. © Christine King