One of Australia's top photo competitions has taken to new heights in 2019 — awarding a drone photographer its grand prize for the first time, for a snap of sharks circling a beached whale.
His drone captured the fin whale in the azure waters of Cheynes Beach, near Albany.
"It was unreal, arriving at a peaceful coastal town with a pristine beach and then seeing this huge whale not even five metres from shore — we then noticed the thrashing close by and realised that a few sharks had also stopped by," Mr Beetson said.
"I launched the drone to see the aerial view and captured a sequence of photographs, this shot was one of the last ones I took and I was very lucky that the shark came back for a look."
Mr Beetson's image was one of 2,219 entered in the annual competition.
"Despite seeing millions of nature photographs over the decades, we have never seen anything that remotely resembles this image," the judges said of Mr Beetson's photo.
"Unique and exciting, it reveals incredible beauty in death."
By contrast, Melissa Williams-Brown's drone picture of a dead kangaroo represented an uglier truth about environmental degradation.
She won the 'Our Impact' category for the photo taken at the Menindee Lakes in New South Wales, which have been deliberately drained as New South Wales and the Murray-Darling Basin battle a prolonged drought.
"The patterns of the many animal footprints in the drying creek reminded me of paintings created by Indigenous Australians and those patterns in the soil kept pulling me back to this specific location over several days," she told the ABC.
"When I saw the outstretched kangaroo, one of Australia's most iconic native animals and a symbol of our nation moving forward, lying dead in the intricate patterns around the drying watering hole, it took my breath away."
South Australian Museum's Director Brian Oldman welcomed the success of drone photos in this year's competition.
"By having technology such as drones accessible to photographers, it broadens the scope to capture moments that often aren't seen by the naked eye," Mr Oldman said.
"It's a reflection of the continuous growth in photographers adopting new technology year on year."
Both the South Australian Museum and the Powerhouse Museum in New South Wales will showcase every finalist in exhibitions until November and October respectively.
While drone shots were among those highlighted by the judges this year, other photos taken in more traditional ways were just as striking.
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