Photography has long been an essential tool for protecting our natural environment. Images of environmental devastation arouse public anger, while photos of adorable or amazing native creatures inspire us to protect their habitat.

With that in mind the Queensland Conservation Council is again holding the Queensland’s Natural Wonders Photography Awards, to recognise and celebrate the power of images - and the importance of photographers - in protecting our natural world.

We’re looking for outstanding new images that showcase Queensland’s natural environment; our unique plants and wildlife; and the connection between the people of Queensland and our beautiful state.

At the conclusion of the competition, we’ll be awarding prizes for the best-judged photographs in three main categories:

• Land and Seascapes
• Native Plants and Wildlife
• Smartphone Category

There will also be a Junior Wonders Award for the best photograph by a person under 18 in any of the three categories. And to top it off, we’re asking the public to decide a winner for the People’s Choice Award, in any category.

The competition is open for entries from 3 April until 15 May 2020 with the judging panel consisting of a couple of leading Queensland nature photographers and a QCC Executive Committee member.

“My hope is that my images will inspire a stronger connection with the nature that lies within and around us, as it is infinitely worthy of our deepest respect and care.”

– Cristina Mittermeier, founder of the International League of Conservation Photographers

 

Prizes

We are in the process of gathering some exciting prizes for the competition so stay tuned and look out for details in the coming weeks.

Awarding the winners

With our current health situation, we will not be holding an awards event to announce the winners. However, we will be conducting an online event on World Environment Day 5th June to announce the winners. There will also be an online auction of the winning photographs in print to raise funds for QCC’s environmental campaigns.

The People’s Choice Award

All entries have a chance to win the Natural Wonders People’s Choice Award. The entries will be displayed on our website where anyone can cast their vote. QCC and our event partners will be promoting the People’s Choice vote across social media, so it’s a great way to get your photographs seen by the world!

The Judges

	Steven Nowakowski Steven is a renowned Australian landscape photographer and publisher. Steven specialises in Australian natural history subjects and has a passion for wilderness areas. His self-publishing business distributes both nationally and internationally and fulfils Steven’s desire to share and convey his love of nature. Apart from photography and publishing, Steven has been active in many environmental campaigns for most of his life from direct activism to serving on a number of committees for environmental organisations. Steven says, “Photography has always had a very important part to play in conservation campaigns. Through art forms such as photography, we can connect an audience emotionally to our diminishing wilderness in a way that words cannot”. For more information visit Steven's website.
	Kerry Trapnell Kerry is a documentary photographer who has photographed the awe-inspiring landscapes and remarkable people of northern Australia for over 20 years. His images have been used extensively to promote conservation of Cape York’s natural environment and support the return of traditional homelands to indigenous ownership. Kerry’s work has appeared in galleries and he is one of the few Australian photographers to be commissioned by National Geographic for major photo-documentary projects. For more information visit Kerry’s website.
	Sarah Moles Executive, Queensland Conservation Council Sarah has lived on the Darling Downs since 1987and has been active in the Qld conservation movement for more than 25 years. She joined the QCC executive in 2019. In a past life, she was a photographer in Melbourne's advertising industry.

How to Enter

Anyone can enter, just follow these simple instructions, pay a small entry fee and upload your stunning images of Queensland’s natural environment.
 

Step 1: Read the Terms and Conditions

Make sure you read these important terms and conditions for entry. You must agree to these terms in order to enter.

Step 2: Pay your entry fee

Select your entry category and pay your entry fee, then follow the prompts and enter your details. All proceeds from the competition go to supporting QCCs environmental campaigns.

• Standard entry fee: $25 for each image entered
• Under 18s junior entry fee: $10 for each image entered

Step 3: Upload your photo

From here, you will be redirected to a submission page, as well as emailed a private link to the photo-submission webpage if you wish to enter at a later time. Follow the link to upload your photograph, along with details, a title, and a caption. 

Want to submit more than one photograph? Each person can enter up to five photographs. To enter more than one photo in the competition, you will need to pay multiple entry fees.

If you submit more than five images, the five latest submissions will be accepted. There will be no refunds offered for disqualified submissions in the case of extra entries.

Click here to enter today!