Matt Deakin wins Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year with ghost-like sawfish image

Broome-based professional drone photographer Matt Deakin has been named the 2026 Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year.

The Western Australian won with Ethereal Encounter, a ghost like photograph of a critically endangered green sawfish swimming with a green turtle, captured in waters off the Pilbara in the far north of his home State.

The competition, in its 23rd year and owned and produced by the South Australian Museum, is Australia’s most prestigious nature photographic contest, and this year attracted 2,129 entries from 501 photographers in 17 countries.

Matt snapped the image with a Hasselblad L2D-20c aerial camera mounted on a DJI Mavic 3 Pro drone. This was his first entry in the competition.

For his achievement, he received the overall winner’s prize of $10,000 and a cruise with Coral Expeditions.

Winners in the competition’s ten open categories also received $1,500 each, including the Junior winner Aaryan Dhakal from Victoria who won with a moody image of a pelican, taken at West Lakes in Adelaide wins $500.

The category winners:

• Animals in Nature: Colin Chan, NSW (Just in Time)
• Animal Behaviour: Nathan Watson, WA (Worm Wars)
• Botanical: Ben Alldridge, Tas (Alchemy)
• Threatened Species: Matt Cornish, Qld (Resilience – A fight for survival)
• Our Impact: Dave Sanderson, SA (Neglect)
• Landscape: Wayne Sorensen, Qld (Flicker)
• Macro: Georgina Steytler, WA (Insect Trails)
• Monochrome: Natalie Murray, Qld (Flight of Fancy)
• Portfolio: Lewis Burnett, WA (Our Island Ark)
• Junior: Aaryan Dhakal, Vic (Silent Grace)

Entries are accepted covering content from across the ANZANG bioregion – Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica and New Guinea.

The competition judges this year included were specialist landscape and aerial photographer Mieke Boynton, the 2025 AGNPOTY winner Ross Gudgeon and multi-award-winning nature photographer Jake Wilton.

The winners were revealed by video announcement, and an exhibition featuring the 100 shortlisted images opens at the South Australian Museum on Saturday 29 August and runs until Sunday 14 February 2027. Open 7 days, 10am – 5pm.

A People’s Choice award will be announced in early January.

Adult entry to the exhibition is $16, concession/seniors/students $14, children under 12 years of age free when accompanied by a paying adult. Book online to save.

Please note: entry to South Australian Museum special exhibitions is cashless. Tickets can be purchased online or at the door by card only.

The exhibition will also go on display at the:

• Australian Museum in Sydney from 12 September 2026 - 14 February 2027
• Pine Rivers Heritage Museum in Brisbane from 29 August 2026 - 14 February 2027, will host a 2025 highlights exhibition
• Museum of the Goldfields in Kalgoorlie from 29 August 2026 – 14 February 2027, will also host a the full 2025 highlights exhibition

This competition is proudly sponsored by Australian Geographic (Principal Sponsor), Atkins (Production Partner) and Coral Expeditions (Travel PartnerMajor Prize Sponsor). The full gallery of photographs from this year’s competition can be found on the Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year website.

Find out more about the exhibition at the South Australian Museum website.

Comments attributable to South Australian Museum Director Samantha Hamilton

This is my first Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year since joining the Museum, and I’m truly impressed by the calibre of work on display. Matt Deakin’s winning image is both beautiful and haunting. The picture is serene and the colours beautiful, but both animals are at risk of extinction. Last year’s exhibition attracted nearly 25,000 visitors to the Museum and this year’s collection is just as impressive. These photographs have the power to inspire, educate and spark important conversations. I encourage everyone to come and see them firsthand.

Comments attributable to overall winner Matt Deakin

My drone was about 2.5km away, the light was fading and the battery alert was beeping, and then this sawfish came out of deep water and I just said ‘wow’. It swam directly through four or five turtles – most quickly swam away but one stayed. I pushed the drone as long as I could to get the pictures. People keep asking me if it’s AI. That’s not an insult though, because it just doesn’t seem real. I won a local photographic competition with the picture and people said I should really enter something bigger. The AGNPOTY is the biggest I knew of, so I entered and thought: ‘I’ll see how I go’. So, it’s all a bit surreal at the moment.

Comments attributable to Minister for Arts Kyam Maher

Congratulations to Matt Deakin and all of the category winners on their incredible photographs. Their work has captured the essence of the competition. The Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year showcases the natural world and highlights the importance of protecting it. The judges also did a fantastic job, narrowing down the winners from more than 2,000 entries.

Comments attributable to Australian Geographic Picture Editor Lyndal Irons

Every year, this competition turns a lens to our region and photographers find angles we didn't know were missing. At Australian Geographic, we believe that visual storytelling demands rigour and reverence. The 2026 shortlisted artists named today demonstrate both. Importantly, they also advocate for nature with a conviction that comes from genuine understanding. In this, Australian Geographic's 40th year, the competition’s output is more important than it’s ever been and we continue to be proud to partner with the South Australian Museum on the Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year again in 2026.