Winners Gallery
Finalist Collective Portfolio Award
Grant Thomas Papua New Guinea
A local fisherman makes his way home after a long day on the water, Lissenung Island, Papua New Guinea. “I had been planning a shot of the sunset with the reef below when I noticed this man paddling towards me,” says photographer Grant Thomas. “All I had to do was wait for the right moment to press the trigger.”
All of Grant's Collective Portfolio Award entry
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BEHIND THE LENS
ABOUT THE IMAGE
- 6pm, sunset shoot
- Walk-in location
- Taken while snorkelling
- Flat calm conditions
Blue Linckia starfish perched high on the reef, in Ha’apai, Tonga. “My idea here was to use a very narrow aperture which then creates the flaring effect on the sun and in turn makes it look like another star,” says photographer Grant Thomas. “I feel this helps to join the two portions of the image together and create an artistic flow between the two halves.”
BEHIND THE LENS
ABOUT THE IMAGE
- Taken at 5am
- Captured while snorkelling
- 1m visibility underwater
- 18 degrees Celsius water temperature
A bluebottle jellyfish during sunrise. “In summer thousands of bluebottle jellyfish regularly wash up all along the east coast of Australia, often collecting in shallow rock pools,” says photographer Grant Thomas. “With their electric blue-coloured bodies and yellow-tipped tentacles, they contrast beautifully against a dark water background.”
BEHIND THE LENS
ABOUT THE IMAGE
- Midday shoot
- Taken while snorkelling
- Site accessed by boat
- Blue sky, little wind
A Cuban crocodile in the waters of Jardines de la Reina. “I slipped slowly into the water and made my way towards his open mouth full of sharp teeth,” says photographer Grant Thomas. “Inch by inch I moved closer until I was almost touching his snout with my camera. My heart was racing.”
BEHIND THE LENS
ABOUT THE IMAGE
- Taken at 6pm
- Captured while snorkelling
- Walk-in location
- Patchy cloud, low wind
A hawksbill turtle hatchling, only minutes old, makes its way into the open ocean. “Statistically only one in a thousand hatchlings will survive to adulthood,” says photographer Grant Thomas. “This hatchling was the result of a conservation program run by local resort owners in which they collect eggs from nearby islands and release them into the wild once hatched. This prevents eggs from being illegally harvested or poached.”
BEHIND THE LENS
ABOUT THE IMAGE
- Sunny, light wind
- Taken while scuba diving
- 10m underwater visibility
- Midday shoot
Seal pups play for the camera off Montague Island. “The island is home to a huge colony of fur seals, which swarm around you when you enter the water,” says photographer Grant Thomas. “The seal pups love jumping around in front of the camera, fascinated by the flashing lights and big reflective dome.”
BEHIND THE LENS
ABOUT THE IMAGE
- Sunset shoot, 6pm
- Taken while snorkelling
- 20m underwater visibility
- No swell
Paddle boarders float above a reef at sunset. “This image is one of a series of images aimed at demonstrating the innate bond humans have with the ocean, whether we are physically in it or just floating on the surface,” says photographer Grant Thomas. “In creating this picture, timing was everything; I had to shoot exactly at low tide to be close enough to the reef, while simultaneously capturing the sun as it hit the horizon.”
BEHIND THE LENS
ABOUT THE IMAGE
- Stormy conditions, high winds
- Taken while freediving
- Site accessed by boat
- 10m underwater visibility
“On a stormy day in the deep blue Pacific Ocean, we came across a mother and her young calf,” says photographer Grant Thomas. “They were beginning their 5000km migration south to feeding grounds in Antarctica, but as they slowly passed, the baby seemed more intent on playing with us than following mum.”
BEHIND THE LENS
ABOUT THE IMAGE
- Late afternoon
- Taken while freediving
- Site accessed by boat
- 21 degrees Celsius water temperature
A diver swims in the light at Swallows Cave, Tonga. “It was late in the day, the sun was low and golden and piercing through the entrance of the cave, illuminating a huge school of bait fish lurking in the dark cavern,” says photographer Grant Thomas. “As the diver ascended, the fish danced around her.”
BEHIND THE LENS
ABOUT THE IMAGE
- Overcast conditions
- Midday shoot
- Taken while freediving
- Site accessed by boat
“I have been very fortunate to spend a lot of time with the humpback whales in Tonga over the past seven years,” says photographer Grant Thomas. “On this particular occasion we encountered a young mother and calf who seemed fascinated by us. They would both roll around underneath us and stretch their huge pectoral fins out wide as if inviting us to play.”
BEHIND THE LENS
Grant Thomas
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