2026 Winner, Matt Deakin
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. 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.
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)