Entry for the 2022 competition is now closed. Stay tuned for the announcement of our winners.
Go to the galleries to view all the wonderful entries from 2022 so far!
Atlas of LifE: Coastal wilderness
2022 photo competition
After a two year break, it’s again time to celebrate the wonder and beauty of our region's biodiversity.
Send us your best photos of wild nature from across the Atlas of Life in the Coastal Wilderness region,
the Sapphire Coast of NSW.
Your entries create a gallery of great images for us all to share and enjoy.
Entry is now closed.
See the spectacular gallery of images from previous competitions below.
Here are a few of the entries from previous years …
select entries from 2017
"am i eligible to enter?"
Entry is open to all ages, and to residents and visitors to the Sapphire Coast alike. The only requirement is that you are a registered contributor to the Atlas of Life in the Coastal Wilderness database in iNaturalist. [not registered yet? click here]
All images must have been taken within the Atlas of Life in the Coastal Wilderness region, that is from Nadgee in the South, to the Moruya River in the North and West to the ranges. Indeed, we urge all entrants to ensure that their photos are also recorded as sightings on our Atlas of Life in the Coastal Wilderness database.
"what are the categories?"
Main categories
Nominate a single Main Category for each image
Birds
Terrestrial vertebrates (excludes birds)
Invertebrates
Plants & Fungi
Marine & intertidal species
Landscape habitat
Nature Video (30 seconds to 2 minutes)
Special categories (additional)
Nominate up to two Special Categories for each image, if relevant
Ecological interactions (involving more than one species)
Entrant aged under 13 years
Entrant aged 13 to 17 years
Images will be judged in each of the 10 categories above. Overall winning entries will then be selected from among the category award winners.
Note: please only enter images of wild nature. For example, a photo of a pet snake, a caged bird, a cultivated plant, or a feral animal will not be accepted.
"How many images MAY I enter?"
Up to 3 images per Primary Category, and up to 10 images in total. (Please submit a separate form for each entry.)
Note: Photos taken prior to 2022 are eligible for entry. However, images entered in previous years' Atlas of Life Photo Competitions are not eligible for re-entry.
"what are the judges looking for?"
The judges are all experienced and awarded nature photographers, and contributors to the Atlas of Life. They will be judging images against the following criteria:
Interest and appeal: is the image visually interesting and 'eye-catching'?
Composition
Technical qualities: lighting and exposure, clarity and focus
In addition, they will be looking for images which capture the 'nature' of nature. For example: the growth of a fungus; the structure of a flower; the behaviour of an animal; the adaptations of a species to its environment.
key dates
Entry opens 1st July 2022, and closes on 31st August 2022. Winners will be announced at a celebratory event in September (date and place to be confirmed).
Exhibition and prizes
All images will be displayed as a Gallery on this website. The winning images will be highlighted in the Gallery, and will also be printed and displayed at a local venue, then at various libraries and other public venues around the region.
Prizes
Overall first prize is two nights in a luxurious Tanja Lagoon Camp safari tent.
There is also a $150 voucher to Wheeler’s Seafood Restaurant , kindly donated by Jacqui Smith, a 2 hour Photography Walk with Navigate Expeditions, and Whale Watching Family Pass from Sapphire Coastal Adventures . There are many other prizes to be announced over coming months, plus a ‘People’s Choice’ prize awarded after the main judging.
JUDGES 2022
All of our judges are expert, local photographers themselves, with many years of practical experience. They are awarded nature photographers and know what to look for in identifying outstanding images. As members of our broader Atlas of Life community, these photographers have kindly offered their support to this year's competition.
1: David Gallan
2: Jess Taunton
3: Harrison Warne
For more information and images by our 2022 judges, see the 1 July Newsletter or head to our Projects & Events page.
Further Terms and Conditions:
Image sharing - By entering your image or video to this competition you acknowledge Atlas of Life reserves the right to publish, distribute and display said entered image/s as they see fit, including on social media and including distribution to various Australian media outlets, funding bodies and other science bodies similar to Atlas of Life, videos may be uploaded to the Atlas of Life YouTube channel.
The Atlas of Life thanks the following organisations for their ongoing support of this competition:
