Wildlife / Animals nominee

Ningaloo becomes a migration corridor each season as thousands of humpbacks move with quiet determination along the coast. Most press on without pause—driven, direct, conserving energy for the long journey ahead. Genuine engagement is rare.
But sometimes, curiosity wins.
In an act known as “mugging,” a humpback approaches so close that the vessel becomes momentarily hostage—unable to move, simply subject to the whale’s slow, deliberate whims.
In surreal glass-off conditions, the ocean turned to liquid window. I could only stand in awe of this 20-ton animal gliding mere millimetres beneath the surface, our 18-metre vessel suspended above it—yet not a single ripple disturbed the line between worlds.
Our encounters are usually at distance, framed through a telephoto lens. But this time, to fit the whale in frame, I had to climb and perch atop the tuna tower, high above the deck, looking straight down into the blue—into the eye of something impossibly vast, choosing stillness.

Paired with my wild spirit and deep love for nature, some might have thought the ocean becoming my office was inevitable, but it wasn't realised until later in life. I quit my conventional career and left my hometown to pursue a new path after discovering the ocean, to say the ocean has changed my life is an under statement.

On a single breath you could enter another realm, vast blue expanses that never end, vibrant coral reefs that garden the seafloor, ocean inhabitants wilder than ones imagination, it was as alien as I would ever encounter.

I trained and worked Dive Instructor however I quickly niched into my true passion, Photography, The perfect way to blend my creative side with my passion for the underwater world and my desire to share it. Piece by piece, gathered a professional-level camera and housing, dedicated countless hours underwater learning the complexities of imagery underwater.

Eventually, I began working as a Professional Underwater Photographer first in marine tourism, working on both the Great Barrier Reef and Ningaloo Reef. I hope my work inspires others to connect with the living, breathing underwater world, and provokes contemplation about our responsibility in preserving it for future generations.