Your Best Shot August-September 2024: 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 Blonde Robot, the Australasian distributors of Peak Design, 3 Legged Thing, and Angelbird.
You can find out all the details for entry and the themes for 2024 here.
August/September 2024
Theme: Water
Water, water everywhere! From waves to ice, droplets to reflections, there are so many creative ways to capture water with your camera. This month, we looked for images that captured the beauty of water, but also took on the theme in new and unique ways.
This issue's winner
Veronica Williams, Water gems
Editor’s comment: Captured beautifully by Veronica Williams, this lovely shot was taken in Mt Lofty Botanical Gardens SA, when the weather had “other plans”.
“I decided I'd brave the rain and wander, anyway,” says Williams. “Umbrella in one hand and camera in the other, I took only my macro lens thinking visibility would be too low for other photography (I was wrong, of course).
I came across some gorgeous decaying leaves, both on the ground and on the trees. The fresh raindrops on this coloured leaf look ready to roll off at any time, and epitomise autumn in the leafy Adelaide hills.”
There’s something lovely and peaceful about this image that made it a clear winner in a stacked field this time. We really loved the autumn tones, the nice out of focus areas, and the amazing sharpness where it matters. Well done.
Technical details
Canon 5D Mark IV, Canon 100mm macro lens. 1/250s @ f6.3, ISO 500.
Highly commended
Liz McGinnes - Swirl
Editor’s comment: Liz McGinnes captured this striking (and a little scary!) image in Korora, near Coffs Harbour, NSW.
She describes the whirlpool as ‘mesmerising’, and she has a fair point – this is a really cool and quite beautiful sight that Liz has done a great job of capturing.
In fact, it’s images like these that make drone photography so interesting – presenting a view on the world we would never otherwise see, or a moment from the shore you’d never notice.
Technical details
DI Mavic Air 2S. 1/640s @ f2.8, ISO 150.
Special mentions
How I did it: Taken of water droplets on a cactus in a pot which I brought inside because it was too windy to get a clear shot.
Technical details
Canon 5D MK IV, Canon MP-E65 lens. 1/25s @ f2.8, ISO 100.
How I did it: The sun had just risen over the horizon on a cool hazy morning in late April on Geelong's waterfront. The warmth of the rays hitting the sea created steam. The seagulls went into a frenzy chasing breakfast, and I was on the foreshore watching in awe and snapping as many images as I could.
Technical details
Nikon D850, Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 lens @ 200mm. 1/400s @ f8, ISO 100.
How I did it: I took this photo at sunrise down at my local boat ramp testing out my new Sigma lens.
Technical details
Lumix S5, Sigma 50mm f1.4 lens. 1/60s @ f4, ISO 100.
How I did it: This was a pano taken with my iPhone at the ice lagoon in Iceland. It was processed in Snapseed as an HDR. I love the effect! It was late in the day with a soft light which made the colours pop.
Technical details
None supplied.