If you can’t quite hack the requisite international airfare and/or annual leave to explore the Amazon, meet polar bears, or go deep sea diving right now, there is another method for getting up close and personal with some of the world’s most incredible animals.
For the 59th year in a row, the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition will arrive in Sydney on loan from London’s Natural History Museum. Taking root at the National Maritime Museum, this stunning collection of photographs will be on show in Sydney from Saturday, June 15 until November 2024.
This incredibly prestigious photography event is centred on drawing attention to the wild beauty and fragility of the natural world. This year, judges had to look at nearly 50,000 entries from a line-up of professional and amateur photographers across 95 countries, being faced with the near-impossible task of whittling these down to just over 100 photo finalists.
The images that made this year’s exhibition shine a light on the strain that our natural environment is under as a result of human intervention, and capture mesmerising snapshots of fascinating animal behaviour, stunning secret moments in the hearts of the world’s most unreachable places.
The prestigious Grand Title this year went to French photographer Laurent Ballesta, whose surreal image of a golden horseshoe crab has earned him the title of Wildlife Photographer of the Year for the second time.
So, if you are in the mood to escape reality, dive into strange and wonderful corners of the globe, and fight for a brighter future for all the miraculous living creatures and ecosystems on our planet, think about taking a day trip to the Maritime Museum. You won’t regret it.
Tickets will cost adults $20, under 15’s can come in for $12, and kids under four can enter for free. Concessions cost $15, and a family group can get in on the action for $50. If you’re keen, click here to book tickets.
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