Spectacular Winning Photos Of The Australia’s 2018 Photographer Of The Year Contest

Australian Photography’s Photographer of the Year is the largest amateur photography competition in the Southern Hemisphere, with photographers competing for a prize pool valued at over $46,000 in cash and prizes in 2018.

Jasmine Vink/Australia’s 2018 Photographer of the Year by Panasonic

A series of striking images of endangered amphibians has won Brisbane ecologist Jasmine Vink the overall title of the 2018 Photographer of the Year, presented by Panasonic.

More: Australia’s Photographer Of The Year

Jasmine Vink/Australia’s 2018 Photographer of the Year by Panasonic

Jasmine Vink/Australia’s 2018 Photographer of the Year by Panasonic

Brett Ferguson/Australia’s 2018 Photographer of the Year by Panasonic

The School, by Brett Ferguson. Winner in the people and portrait category. Shot in an abandoned and derelict school, Ferguson collaborated with dressmaker and model Meagan O’Keeffe who, inspired by Ferguson’s grandmother, handmade her period costume from scratch for a series of bold portraits that show the photographer’s love of mood and depth.

Niall Chang/Australia’s 2018 Photographer of the Year by Panasonic

Scenes of Xiapu, Fujian, China, by Niall Chang. Winner in the travel category. Chang’s winning series was captured in Xiapu, on China’s east coast. Its lure for photographers has brought significant income to the region.

“The geographic patterns formed by fishing nets and seaweed drying racks attracted me to visit Xiapu in May 2018”, Chang says. “Despite urbanisation of many towns and cities along the coastline, Xiapu has managed to retain its coastal village charm, at least in some areas, natural and manmade alike”.

Niall Chang/Australia’s 2018 Photographer of the Year by Panasonic

Niall Chang/Australia’s 2018 Photographer of the Year by Panasonic

Niall Chang/Australia’s 2018 Photographer of the Year by Panasonic

Dennis Rickard/Australia’s 2018 Photographer of the Year by Panasonic

Sands of Namibia, by Dennis Rickard. Winner in the aerial category. The Melbourne photographer’s series, captured from a light plane over the Sossusvlei area in southern Namibia, combines the best of abstraction with a lovely three-dimensional feel.

Dennis Rickard/Australia’s 2018 Photographer of the Year by Panasonic

Dennis Rickard/Australia’s 2018 Photographer of the Year by Panasonic

Photo by Derek Zhang/Australia’s 2018 Photographer of the Year by Panasonic

Night at the Museum: Summon of the horse, by Derek Zhang. Photo of the Year. Captured at the Australian Museum in Sydney, Zhang’s image of his three-year-old daughter staring in awe at a giant horse skeleton is a lucky storytelling moment.

“Storytelling is always the core and pursuit of my photographic work”, he says. “That horse skeleton seems like a thousand feet taller than her from where she is!”.

Harman Singh Heer/Australia’s 2018 Photographer of the Year by Panasonic

Monsoon Magic, by Harman Singh Heer. Winner in the junior category. Born in Kenya but now calling Australia home, Singh Heer developed a passion for wildlife and photography after picking up his mother’s old DSLR.

Harman Singh Heer/Australia’s 2018 Photographer of the Year by Panasonic

Harman Singh Heer/Australia’s 2018 Photographer of the Year by Panasonic

Jingshu Zhu/Australia’s 2018 Photographer of the Year by Panasonic

Magic of New Zealand, by Jingshu Zhu. Winner of the landscape category. Sydney accountant Jingshu Zhu captured her winning landscape-category portfolio on a trip to New Zealand’s South Island in August 2017, a place she describes as a paradise for landscape photography.

“The places I like the most are Mount Cook and the west coast”, she says. “Regardless of the conditions of the weather and tide, you always have a chance to shoot interesting images”.

Jingshu Zhu/Australia’s 2018 Photographer of the Year by Panasonic

Jingshu Zhu/Australia’s 2018 Photographer of the Year by Panasonic

Jingshu Zhu/Australia’s 2018 Photographer of the Year by Panasonic

Jasmine Vink/Australia’s 2018 Photographer of the Year by Panasonic

On the Brink, by Jasmine Vink. Winner in the wildlife and animal category and overall Photographer of the Year. Based in Brisbane, Jasmine Vink is an ecologist with a passion for wildlife, especially reptiles and amphibians.

“From surprisingly tender parental care to fierce chorus battles between competing males, frogs are fascinating if you give them a chance”, she says.