The School, by Brett Ferguson. Winner in the people and portrait category. Shot in an abandoned and derelict school, Ferguson collaborated with dressmaker and model Meagan O’Keeffe who, inspired by Ferguson’s grandmother, handmade her period costume from scratch for a series of bold portraits that show the photographer’s love of mood and depth. (Photo by Brett Ferguson/Australia's 2018 Photographer of the Year by Panasonic)





An image captured by Jasmine Vink, the winner of the wildlife and animal category and overall winner in Australian Photography’s 2018 Photographer of the Year competition. (Photo by Jasmine Vink/Australia's 2018 Photographer of the Year by Panasonic)





Scenes of Xiapu, Fujian, China, by Niall Chang. Winner in the travel category. Chang’s winning series was captured in Xiapu, on China’s east coast. Its lure for photographers has brought significant income to the region. (Photo by Niall Chang/Australia's 2018 Photographer of the Year by Panasonic)





Scenes of Xiapu, Fujian, China, by Niall Chang. “The geographic patterns formed by fishing nets and seaweed drying racks attracted me to visit Xiapu in May 2018”, Chang says. “Despite urbanisation of many towns and cities along the coastline, Xiapu has managed to retain its coastal village charm, at least in some areas, natural and manmade alike”. (Photo by Niall Chang/Australia's 2018 Photographer of the Year by Panasonic)





Sands of Namibia, by Dennis Rickard. Winner in the aerial category. The Melbourne photographer’s series, captured from a light plane over the Sossusvlei area in southern Namibia, combines the best of abstraction with a lovely three-dimensional feel. (Photo by Dennis Rickard/Australia's 2018 Photographer of the Year by Panasonic)





Night at the Museum: Summon of the horse, by Derek Zhang. Photo of the Year. Captured at the Australian Museum in Sydney, Zhang’s image of his three-year-old daughter staring in awe at a giant horse skeleton is a lucky storytelling moment. “Storytelling is always the core and pursuit of my photographic work”, he says. “That horse skeleton seems like a thousand feet taller than her from where she is!”. (Photo by Derek Zhang/Australia's 2018 Photographer of the Year by Panasonic)





Monsoon Magic, by Harman Singh Heer. Winner in the junior category. Born in Kenya but now calling Australia home, Singh Heer developed a passion for wildlife and photography after picking up his mother’s old DSLR. (Photo by Harman Singh Heer/Australia's 2018 Photographer of the Year by Panasonic)





Magic of New Zealand, by Jingshu Zhu. Winner of the landscape category. Sydney accountant Jingshu Zhu captured her winning landscape-category portfolio on a trip to New Zealand’s South Island in August 2017, a place she describes as a paradise for landscape photography. (Photo by Jingshu Zhu/Australia's 2018 Photographer of the Year by Panasonic)





Magic of New Zealand, by Jingshu Zhu. Planning and research were key to the success of Zhu’s landscape series. She says she made four route plans to chase the best light in different weather conditions. “The places I like the most are Mount Cook and the west coast”, she says. “Regardless of the conditions of the weather and tide, you always have a chance to shoot interesting images”. (Photo by Jingshu Zhu/Australia's 2018 Photographer of the Year by Panasonic)





On the Brink, by Jasmine Vink. Winner in the wildlife and animal category and overall Photographer of the Year. Based in Brisbane, Jasmine Vink is an ecologist with a passion for wildlife, especially reptiles and amphibians. “From surprisingly tender parental care to fierce chorus battles between competing males, frogs are fascinating if you give them a chance”, she says. (Photo by Jasmine Vink/Australia's 2018 Photographer of the Year by Panasonic)