Fascinating underwater photograph wins Australian Geographic Mother nature Photographer of the 12 months 2021

The winners of the Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the 12 months 2021 have been announced, with NSW-primarily based photographer Scott Portelli named as this year’s all round winner. 

Scott has taken out the title with his underwater nevertheless of a Leafy Seadragon titled Leafy Night. As winner, he walks absent with $10,000 as effectively as a Coral Expeditions getaway. 

Formerly regarded as ANZANG, the Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Calendar year 2021 is a prestigious photographic award that is hosted annually by the South Australian Museum.

The levels of competition, which is open up to photographers of all ages, skill concentrations and nationalities, is targeted on celebrating images that depict fauna, flora or landscapes in Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica and the New Guinea regions. 

The Winning Shot

The judging panel, which was designed up of photographers Narelle Autio, Trent Parke and Stavros Pippos, unanimously chose Portelli’s impression as the in general winner.

Portelli’s underwater photograph was captured at a reef positioned alongside South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula all through March 2020, just as vacation constraints across Australia were being quickly coming into impact.

As a result of the nation-extensive lockdown, Portelli identified himself caught at a compact campground on the Fleurieu Peninsula for six weeks, which he has described as “a blessing in disguise.”

Portelli shared, “Over the class of the six months I had the prospect to dive consistently, starting to be acquainted with the terrain, obtaining to know the dive web-site and spotting a number of person Seadragons. I grew to become acquainted with the resident dragons of 2nd Valley and this is how I managed to get the shot.”  

“After a number of encounters with one individual Seadragon it appeared to come to be unperturbed by my presence and I was capable to compose a shot that tightly captured its eyes, functions and appendages entrance on.” 

“The photograph displays the intricate specifics of the Leafy Seadragons in a distinctive way, I wished to capture the essence of this delicate and susceptible species that are only located in the South of Australia.” 

“The additional we recognize the ocean and its inhabitants the far more individuals will sense related and just take motion to protect our ocean creatures.” 

Group Winners

Animal Portrait: 

Winner: A White-capped at Sunset, Doug Gimesy (VIC) 
Runner-up: Howling at the Moon, Mike George (NSW) 

Animal Behaviour 

Winner: Future Generation, Tammy Gibbs (WA) 
Runner-up: Dreaming, Franco Tulli (Italy) 

Animal Habitat: 

Winner: A Tree Dreaming, Christian Spencer (VIC) 
Runner-up: Stilted Reflections, Georgina Steytler (WA) 

Botanical: 

Winner: Ghost Mushrooms, Callie Chee (NSW) 
Runner-up: Swamp Techniques, Paula McManus (SA)  

Landscape: 

Winner: Forest on Reflection, Hayden Cannon (WA) 
Runner-up: Beneath the Surface area, Ashlee Karas (WA)  

Monochrome: 

Winner: Incoming, Jeff Freestone (VIC) 
Runner-up: King of the Cape, Matt Wright (QLD) 

Junior (photographers below 18 several years of age): 

Winner: You Can not See Me, Ga McGregor (QLD) 
Runner-up: Cockatoo, Aidan Cimarosti (NSW) 

Our Affect (depicting human affect on character): 

Winner: Certain, jammed inside of, and posted, Doug Gimesy (VIC) 
Runner-up: One-use Drifter, Justin Gilligan, (NSW) 

Threatened Species (threatened, rare, susceptible or endangered species): 

Winner: Declining Species, Scott Portelli (NSW) 
Runner-up: In the Shadows, Tom Svensson, Sweden 

Portfolio Prize (greatest portfolio of 6 or extra illustrations or photos): 

Tim Wrate (NSW)  

To look at the full gallery of shortlisted images, you can visit the web site below.