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In pictures: Australian Geographic's photo prize winners

Stunning images of nature and wildlife across Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica and some Pacific islands are recognised each year in the Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year competition. Here are some of this year's winners.

MAT BEETSON Aerial image of a dead fin whale surrounded by circling sharks in aquamarine waters off Western AustraliaMAT BEETSON
This image of sharks circling a beached whale in Western Australia was the overall winner, with judges saying it revealed "incredible beauty in death"
FLLOYD MALLON A man with an umbrella stands at the edge of a beach in Fingal Bay, New South Wales during a lightning stormFLLOYD MALLON
The junior prize was won by 17-year-old Flloyd Mallon, for this shot of a lightning storm in New South Wales
PETE MCGEE A crested horn shark swallowing the egg case of another shark species underwater in a Sydney reefPETE MCGEE
A crested horn shark feeds on the egg case of a Port Jackson shark in Sydney
ROSS GUDGEON An orange decorator crab covered in many hydroids seen in waters in IndonesiaROSS GUDGEON
Decorator crabs in Indonesia attach stinging hydroids - aquatic invertebrates - to themselves to ward off predators
CHARLES DAVIS Two eastern grey kangaroos stand in a field in Kosciuszko National Park amid snowfallCHARLES DAVIS
Eastern grey kangaroos in Kosciuszko National Park, New South Wales
NEIL PRITCHARD Huge volumes of water crash down the Barron Falls in Kuranda, QueenslandNEIL PRITCHARD
Water cascades through the Barron Falls in Queensland during flood season
ETIENNE LITTLEFAIR A Mertens' water monitor lizard gazes at its reflection in the photographer's equipmentETIENNE LITTLEFAIR
A Mertens' water monitor approaches photographer Etienne Littlefair's camera in the Northern Territory
CHARLES DAVIS A mum and baby wombat trek through the snow leaving tracks behind them in Kosciuszko National Park, New South WalesCHARLES DAVIS
A mother and baby wombat make their way to a neighbouring wombat's hole in New South Wales
SCOTT PORTELLI Dolphins dive next to humpback whales seen closer to the surfaceSCOTT PORTELLI
Male humpback whales swim past dolphins while looking for a female mate, in waters off Tonga
MELISSA WILLIAMS-BROWN A dead kangaroo in a dry creek in Menindee Lakes in New South WalesMELISSA WILLIAMS-BROWN
A dry creek in Menindee Lakes, a drought-stricken part of Australia, where animal deaths have caused alarm

All photographs subject to copyright as marked.