A sweeping and brilliantly hued image of the Tasman River in New Zealand has been named winner of the 2025 Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award.
The striking picture, titled Glacial Blue, was taken by New South Wales photographer Stuart Chape at Lake Puk
aki in the mountains of Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park.
Glacial Blue was shortlisted in the 2025 competition and has been on exhibition at the South Australian Museum with the 98 other finalists since August last year. The exhibition closes on 1 February.
Stuart snapped the picture from the open door of a light airplane with a Fujifilm GFX 100 ll camera sporting a GF 32-64mm lens.
The incredible blue colours are due to fine silt particles, or glacial flour, in the water from glacial erosion.
Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year, which is in its 23rd year, is owned and operated by the South Australian Museum and attracted 1864 images from 449 photographers in 18 countries in 2025.
Western Australian photographer Ross Gudgeon was named the overall winner with his image Fractal Forest; a unique look inside a cauliflower coral shot in Indonesia (below).
The exhibition is also on display at the Australian Museum in Sydney until 15 February.
At the South Australian Museum, the exhibition has attracted almost 20,000 visitors, many of whom nominated Glacial Blue as their favourite image.
The South Australian Museum last month issued a call for entries for the 2026 Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year. Entries close on 5 February. Entries are accepted covering content from across the ANZANG bioregion – Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica and New Guinea.
Mr Chape said he took the photo while on holiday in New Zealand and had already planned the shot before he got there.
"I’m interested in patterns formed by the landscape and chartered a plane for it," he said.
"It snowed just two days before the flight – something that was a bit unexpected in October - but it added another dimension to the photo. It all added to what I wanted to do. It’s really pleasing to win – it’s my first People’s Choice award."
For details about entering this year's contest click here.
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