The Australasia Awards is an inaugural underwater imaging competition hosted by Dive Photo Guide, Underwater Australasia, and UW Images. This competition features eight categories for images taken in the Australasia region and offers over A$50,000 in prizes.
Two winners of this year's Australasia Awards are Ikelite Featured Customers, Lewis Burnett and Andrii Slonchak. They share their winning images plus the stories and equipment behind the shots.
Lewis Burnett
1st Place | Australian
Oblong © Lewis Burnett
Description: The endemic South-West Snake necked turtles (Chelodina Colliei) are peculiar creatures, with the body of a turtle and the neck of a snake you can see how they got their name! Found only in the freshwater ecosystems of the South Western corner of Western Australia mostly in lakes and dams. Whilst commonly seen during their mating season above the water line as they search for new bodies of water, they are rarely photographed from within their domain.
How I Got the Shot: This image was taken on my first freshwater dive in the region, with the intention to find and photograph these beautiful turtles in their natural habitat. The visibility was pretty low and the eery green lake was kind of spooky for a solo dive, but I was glad I made the attempt after spotting one of these stunning reptiles foraging on the lake bed. Using strobes to light the subject I framed it against the filtered sunlight coming through from the lakes surface and took a shot as it slowly cruised towards my dome port. My first couple attempts were riddled with backscatter from the low visibility, but after adjusting the strobes I was able to get a shot I was happy with. One thing I hadn't taken into account with diving in the freshwater versus salt is the effect that it has on your buoyancy, with a whole lot less weight needed in the fresh. An added bonus was less time spent washing the salt off the housing post dive though!
Location: Darling Escarpment, South-West Region, Western Australia
Gear Used: Sony a1 + Sony 14mm f/1.8 GM + Ikelite Housing
Follow Lewis: www.huntingforparadise.com // Instagram @huntingforparadise
Lewis won a 7-night trip with Bilikiki Cruises to the Solomon Islands for his First Place win in the Australasia Awards 2024. Lewis also took home an Honorable Mention in the Portfolio category.
SEE MORE: Featured Customers | Lewis Burnett Bridging the Gap
Andrii Slonchak
2nd Place | Environmental
A Dog Toy or a Plastic Trap © Andrii Slonchak
Description: Wobbegong shark trapped in a plastic dog frisbee.
How I Got the Shot: During a dive at North Stradbroke Island, I suddenly noticed a wobbegong charging towards me at full speed out of a cloud of lifted sediment. The shark had a bright piece of plastic around its neck. As I later found, our guide had spotted the shark entrapped in a plastic dog frisbee and attempted to remove it, but the startled wobbegong darted away. I had only one chance and less than a second to capture this shot before the shark vanished. I had to pretty much shoot from the hip. Luckily, I had my Ikelite DS160 II strobes set to TTL, which allowed me to get the exposure right.
I’ve never seen this wobbegong again and have often wondered whether it managed to remove the toy or suffered a grim fate. Wobbegongs rely on their camouflage to hunt, blending into the seabed. The bright frisbee compromised this ability, leaving the shark vulnerable and potentially unable to ambush its prey. This photo underscores a critical environmental issue: the careless use of plastic dog toys at Australia’s beaches, which often get swept into the ocean and endanger marine life. It’s a reminder of the unintended consequences our everyday actions can have on the ocean.
Location: Manta Bommie, North Stradbroke Island, QLD, Australia
Gear used: Canon EOS M50 Mark II + Canon EF-M 11-22mm F4.5-5.6 IS STM + Ikelite Housing + DS160 II Strobes with dome diffusers.
Follow Andrii: Instagram @a.slonchak_photography // Facebook // YouTube
Andrii won an Ikelite DS230 Strobe for his Second Place win in the Australasia Awards 2024.
SEE MORE: Featured Customers | Andrii Slonchak Radiant Reefscapes
Lewis Burnett originally hails from Scotland but is currently based out of Australia's South-West. Lewis is an award-winning wildlife and travel photographer with a focus on environmental consciousness. He uses the Sony A1 and Sony A9 with the 8 inch Dome and Macro Ports for his underwater images. Stay in touch with Lewis on Instagram @huntingforparadise, Facebook @huntingforparadisemedia, and his website.
Andrii Slonchak is a research scientist in virology at the university in Brisbane, Australia. He began photography with a point-and-shoot in 2004 but didn't start start diving until 2013 and it took another eight years before he'd take a DSLR camera underwater. Now he's been diving hundreds of times all across the globe and enjoys continuing his passion of exploring and photographing the world underwater. Follow more of Andrii's adventures on Instagram @a.slonchak_photography, on Facebook, on YouTube Underwater Australia, or his shop his RedBubble page.
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