Your Best Shot Dec-Jan 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 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 2025 here.

Dec/Jan 2025

Theme: Sport

Few things allow a photographer to capture the full range of human emotions and efforts quite like sports photography. It’s deceptively simple in a way – you just need to capture people competing in sport.

But like anything, the best shots are those that put the viewer right into the action. We were blown away by many excellent images this issue, but these were our picks.

This issue's winner

Dave McKenna, The power and the passion

Editor's comment: The power and the passion is right, with Dave McKenna’s portrait of Ben Hood serving up a deserved winner this issue.

Dave McKenna tells us the image was captured at the SA Beach Volleyball Open earlier in the year, and it’s really everything you want in a sports shot – an athlete at the peak of their powers showcasing their skill at the highest level.

The details are all here: the rising stretch for the ball, the expression of power, and that wonderful cloud of sand.

Hood and his partner D’Artagnan Potts went on to win the Men’s Gold Medal, which just makes the shot even more fitting.

Technical details

Sony A7RV, Tamron 70-180mm lens @ 70mm. 1/4000s @ f3.2, ISO 100.

Highly commended

Editor's comment: Maybe it’s because it takes me back to my many years playing in struggling football teams, but Stephen Wilson’s shot Goal does a brilliant thing of making the viewer feel the soul-crushing emotions of the defender here.

Taken in early September 2024 during a grand final, he says this was the final goal scored for Mayfield in their win, with resignation written all over the player’s reaction.

For some fans this would be a moment of pure joy, and others defeat, but regardless of where you sit it’s a great shot of a decisive moment.

Technical details

Nikon D850, Nikkor 200-500mm lens @ 200mm. 1/1250s @ f6.3, ISO 1400.

Special mentions

How I did it: This photo was taken at the Bungendore Rodeo in November last year. The definition of Sport is a game, competition or activity needing physical effort, skill and played according to rules, for enjoyment or as a job. I think both parties would dispute the enjoyment part of that definition!

Technical details

Olympus E-M1 Mark III, Olympus 40-150mm Pro lens. 1/1600s @ f8, ISO unknown.

How I did it: Shot at Ikon Park (Princes Park) from the Heroes Stand, this is the VFL grand final Southport vs Werribee.

It was taken after the winner’s presentation – Werribee players, crew, fans and family all lingering to congratulate the players. My aim was to capture the vastness of the ground with one of the best views of Melbourne at dusk.

Technical details

Canon 6D Mark II, Canon EF 24-70mm F/2.8L f4 lens @ 24mm. 1/125s @ f5, ISO 1000.

How I did it: Girgarre Football club is in the KDFL, and I had the privilege to photograph their journey through the rounds of the KDFL season, capturing the highs and lows, wins and losses.

I tried to show their team spirit in a lot of the shots I took, capturing their mateship in the game, and the resilience they showed even when they lost several games in a row. They always gave it their all, and I think I succeeded in telling that story through my photos.

Technical details

Canon EOS R5, Tamron SP 70-200 f/2.8 G2 lens @ 200mm. 1/4000s @ f2.8, ISO 1000, tripod.

How I did it: This image was shot at a private skate ramp in Geelong. Justin is an exceptional tattoo artist and skater and is a long term friend from childhood. Back in the day we used to skate together, build our own ramps due to lack of council facilities available at the time and be generally run out of any spot we tried to skate.

I was exploring using techniques with long exposures and movement whilst using three off-camera radio controlled strobes when I shot this image of Justin performing a relatively simple frontside grind.

I love how the movement produces a psychedelic feel whilst the strobes freezer the action enough to see the move clearly.

Technical details

Canon 1DX Mark II,  Canon 15mm f2.8 fisheye lens. 1/8s @ f10, ISO 160.