In its 20^th year, the competition produced and managed by the SA Museum drew 2182 entries from more than 500 photographers capturing photographs of flora, fauna and landscapes taken across Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica and New Guinea.

New South Wales photographer Markham took his winning image, My Country Burns, at Parma Creek Nature Reserve on the last days of 2019 during a bushfire that threatened to destroy his home.

“Nothing can prepare someone for being straight in the line of a pyrocumulonimbus firestorm with a built-in flashover and temperatures exceeding 1000°C,” Markham said.

“While protecting my home on New Year’s Eve 2019, daylight turned into darkness with 40-metre-plus flames. [The image was] taken 20 minutes after the fire front had passed.”

My Country Burns, by Samuel Markham (left) and Samuel Markham, overall winner of the 2023 Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year competition (right). Photo: supplied.

In a statement, the judges praised the “breathtaking, scary photograph” for its “energy” and “visual drama”.

“Despite the circumstances this isn’t a panicked shot; it is a studied composition with extraordinary detail. Many layers draw us into the scene, giving us a genuine feeling of being part of the firestorm.”

Winning the Animals in Nature category is New South Wales photographer Matty Smith who captured his stunning photograph in Whyalla, South Australia of the aftermath of three male giant cuttlefish attempting to court a female.

Smith said that just before his photograph, Aftermath, was taken, two of the male cuttlefish started fighting.

“They inked the water as they grappled and rolled out of frame,” Smith said. “The female bolted, and this male was left in the aftermath, still displaying his vivid courting colours.”

South Australian photographers whose work will feature in the exhibition held at the museum include Jiayuan Liang, runner-up in the astrophotography category with his photograph Chasing the Aurora Australis taken in a plane over the Southern Ocean, and Karoliina Kase for her powerful and confronting photograph of a spotted harrier caught up in a farm fence near Lake Alexandrina which was runner-up in the Our Impact category.

The exhibition featuring photographs from all the 2023 finalists will be at the SA Museum from August 26 to October 29.

A selection of finalist images in the 2023 Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year competition:

Aftermath, by Matty Smith, NSW – Animals in Nature.

Spotted harrier caught up in a fence, by Karoliina Kase, SA – Our Impact.

Chasing the Aurora Australis, by Jiayuan Liang, SA – Astrophotography.

Somewhere Under the Rainbow, by David Robinson, NSW – Animals in Nature.

Nectar of Life, by Dan Jones, WA – Macro.

Moonlit Storm, by Adam Edwards, NSW – Landscape.

Disappearing Act, by Harriet Spark, NSW – Threatened Species.

Hidden Courage, by Isabella Alexis, QLD – Junior.