Your Best Shot April 2025: The winners!

Your Best Shot is a photo competition open to Australian residents. There's a different theme every couple of months, and a selection of the winning shots will be published in AP mag and online. 

Each issue, AP's Editor Mike O'Connor will choose six images to be published both in print and online, with both a winner and a runner-up selected. Our winner will also receive an amazing prize thanks to Think Tank.

You can find out all the details for entry and the themes for 2025 here.

April 2025

Theme: Winter

As we start to come into the coldest part of the year, it also happens to be our favourite period for photography! There’s something about winter that makes for captivating and moody imagery, and based on the fantastic entries we received this month, it appears you agree with us. Here were our picks.

This issues' winner

Editor’s comment: Simone Slater tells us she took this image during the Canberra winter, where there had already been several really frosty mornings.

“Finally, when the temperature was -7ºC, I managed to get out of bed and head to the Australian National Botanic Gardens,” she says.

“This is my favourite shot of the morning – a banksia flower covered in a heavy frost.”

What we loved about this image was the clean crispness and beautifully ordered subject matter, along with a lovely soft tone.

You’ve done a great job with editing this image to make it appear as if it was captured with studio lighting, and the banksia has lots of wonderful details to explore. In fact it’s these details that are the real hero of the image, giving the viewer lots to study.

Technical details

OM system E-M3 Mark III, OM 30mm F3.5 Macro lens. Eight image stack. 1/200s @ f5, ISO 320.

Highly commended

Editor’s comment: Ian Semmens tells us he had hiked up to the top of Mt Feathertop in Victoria and was camped in the snow for several days when he captured this moody landscape.

“There were a lot of trees and grasses covered in wind-driven snow which turned into ice,” he explains. “I took this shot during early dawn to get the warmth in the rising sun striking the ranges contrasted with the blue of the icy branches and fog in the valley.”

This is a landscape where it all comes together – a great, impressive view, and weather that amplifies the scene beyond the ordinary. Your use of the frozen grasses in the foreground and that lovely low fog in the background make for a captivating and well-constructed frame.

Technical details

Three shot stitch. Panasonic G9, Panasonic 12-60mm f3.5-5.6 lens @ 54mm. 1/80s @ f8, ISO 200.

Special mentions

How I did it: This was captured on an early winter’s morning in the Macquarie Marshes. I was heading into town, and in the right place at the right time as a group of brolgas were chilling out in the paddock. Normally I just admire and drive on by, but something told me to pull over and take the shot, I’m so glad I did!

Technical details

Nikon Z50, NIKKOR Z DX 50-250mm f/4.5-6.3 VR lens @ 250mm. 1/800s @ f6.3, ISO 400.

How I did it: While making our way up to the Central Plateau in the Highlands of Tasmania during the winter months, we stumbled upon an intriguing abandoned old home, its weathered walls standing resilient among the towering gum trees.

The entire scene was transformed by a delicate blanket of fresh snow that gently covered the ground and clung to the branches, creating a beautiful scene.

Technical details

Nikon Z8, 24-120 Nikkor Lens @ 120mm. 1/60s @ f8, ISO 400.

How I did it: This photo was taken on my daily commute to work. I walked out the front of my house to thick fog and I knew I had to go back inside and take my camera on the trip. As I walked out of Southern Cross, I stood around waiting for the right moment.

Technical details

Sony A7C II, 24-105mm f4 lens @ 24mm. 1/80s @ f6.3, ISO 400.

How I did it: With Lake Kussharo, Northern Japan, nearly fully frozen over, and my exhaling breath creating frost on my eyelashes and ice on the back of my camera, these beautiful Whooper Swans were unconcerned about the subzero temperature.

Technical details

Canon 6D, Canon EF 24-105mm L lens @ 33mm. 1/1600s @ f9, ISO 250.

Want to enter Your Best Shot? You can find out all the details for entry and the themes for 2025 here.