SUMMARY
Photographer Matt Deakin has won the Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year 2026 competition with his image "Ethereal Encounter." The winning shot features a critically endangered green sawfish swimming with a green turtle, captured using a DJI Mavic 3 Pro drone. Deakin faced challenges, including the drone being 2.5km offshore with a low battery as light faded. The competition received 2,129 entries from 501 photographers globally, and the winning image's surreal quality led some to question if it was AI-generated.
TAKEAWAYS
Matt Deakin won the Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year 2026.
His winning image, "Ethereal Encounter," features a critically endangered green sawfish and turtle.
The shot was captured with a DJI Mavic 3 Pro drone under challenging low-light and low-battery conditions.
The competition attracted over 2,000 entries from photographers worldwide.