2025 Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the year
- David Sanderson
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
In 2025 I was thrilled to share that for the second year in a row, I’d been selected as a finalist in the Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year 2025, this time in the “Our Impact” category! 🙌🇦🇺📸
In it's 22nd year, the 2025 edition saw entries of 1,864 images from 449 photographers in 18 countries, once again cementing its status as Australia’s most prestigious nature photographic contest.
Entries were accepted covering content from across the ANZANG bioregion – Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica and New Guinea – across 10 categories: Animals in Nature, Aerial, Macro, Landscape, Threatened Species, Monochrome, Our Impact, Astrophotography, Portfolio and Junior.
The judging panel includes Scott Portelli, who won the Nature Photographer of the Year in 2021 and 2024, professional photographer David Stowe and ecologist and wildlife photographer Jasmine Vink.
My image “Oilfields in Bloom: A Paradox of Progress” was captured in the South Australian Outback. This photo tells a story of contrast—between the raw power of industry and the quiet resilience of nature. Wildflowers bloom beside oil infrastructure, reminding us that even in the most unlikely places, life finds a way.
To be recognised again among so many brilliant nature photographers is an incredible honour. Thanks to @australiangeographic @southaustralianmuseum, and the judges for celebrating the stories our landscapes have to tell.
Let’s keep using art to spark the conversations that matter.
Link to the gallery: https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/photography/nature-photographer-of-the-year/2025/06/shortlist-2025-agnpoty/
A quick description below:
Oilfields in Bloom: A Paradox of Progress
Energy drives modern life—but this image reveals the delicate balance between essential development and the resilience of nature.
Captured in the arid heart of Australia after ephemeral rains, this photograph intertwines contrasts rarely seen with such intimacy: a working beam pump - nodding at the twilight sky, quietly extracting the resources that fuel our homes and industries—while wildflowers, defiant and vibrant, erupt from crimson desert soil in full bloom.
This isn’t just coexistence; it’s a visual paradox.
The erosion channel slicing through the foreground symbolizes time and impact—subtle, persistent, and often overlooked. Yet, surrounding it is life—not just surviving, but thriving. Native blooms refuse to be dismissed, forming natural leading lines and a perimeter around steel and progress and composition. The warm pastel sky softens the harsh geometry of industry, casting a glow of equilibrium across the scene.
There is no shouting here, no battle between good and evil. Just a complex, quiet dance between extraction and existence—one that invites us to question not just what we take, but what we leave.
This legacy edition of this image will be sold as a 1/1. It will be accompanied by a signed and personalised letter detailing the shot and anecdotes from the area. This environmental storytelling is an irreplaceable visual artefact capturing the rare moment when industry and ecology pause to acknowledge each other.
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