Your Best Shot: April 2026 – Abstract – The winners!

Your Best Shot is a photograph competitors open to Australian residents. There’s a unique theme each couple of months, and a number of the profitable pictures shall be revealed in AP magazine and on-line. 

Each problem, AP’s Editor Mike O’Connor will select six pictures to be revealed each in print and on-line, with each a winner and a runner-up chosen. Our winner may even obtain a tremendous prize because of Think Tank.

You can discover out all the main points for entry and the themes for 2026/7 right here.

Theme: Abstract

Our winner: Alien Planet by Greg Johannes

Editor’s remark

Greg Johannes captured this outstanding picture on a dive in West Papua.

“I’d intended to shoot wide that day but the visibility was quite low when I spotted this amazing bubble-tip anemone,” he says. “I cruised in extra close and fired up the camera’s macro settings and came away with this look into another world.”

It’s that otherworldly feeling that makes this picture so efficient and our decide because the winner this month. There’s a splendidly mysterious feeling in regards to the shot because the viewer is left questioning what it’s they’re , made all of the more practical by the beautiful colors and distinctive shapes and textures. Well performed.

Technical particulars

Olympus TG-6, 1/50s @ f2, ISO 200.

Highly recommended

A swirl of bushes and snow by Lynton Stacey

Editor’s remark

Captured after snowfall in a single day in Cranbrook, which blanketed the bushes and floor, Lynton Stacey tells us he transformed this picture to black and white earlier than taking it into Adobe Photoshop and making use of the Twirl filter. The result’s an summary that implies swirling snow among the many bushes, with only a trace of branches lingering on the edges of the body.

This is without doubt one of the more practical makes use of of a Photoshop filter we’ve seen in a while, producing a dynamic, flowing impact that’s instantly arresting—notably with the restrained black-and-white palette. The delicate inclusion of the bushes, even when solely within the corners, helps anchor the picture with a contact of actuality, including steadiness and intent to an in any other case fluid abstraction.

Technical particulars

Sony A6600, 16-55mm f/2.8 lens @ 17mm. 1/250s @ f2.8, ISO 400.

Shattered Liberty by Debbie Hartley

How I did it

This picture was taken throughout our chilly winter final yr when the temperatures had been at round minus 3, and ice had shaped in our hen tub. I like taking images of the ice, as you by no means know what ice varieties you will get.

Technical particulars

Canon R5, Canon 100mm macro lens. 1/160s @ f5.6, ISO 400.

The Lancer by Bill Roberts

How I did it

I used a spiral filter in Photoshop mixed with a photograph taken at a Medieval Faire of a Lancer to create this picture. Several brightness and hue/saturation layers had been used to extend depth and distinction.

Technical particulars

Canon 5D mark III, EF 100-400 mm lens @ 400mm. 1/640s @ f5.6, ISO 400.

Not what it appears by John Laffan

How I did it

The Opera House is all the time a problem for me to {photograph}, as sadly loads of areas are blocked from the general public. This was the place for me.

Technical particulars

Canon R8, RF 24-105mm f4 lens @ 24mm. 1/50s @ f4, ISO 125.

Untitled by Howard Moutrie

How I did it

Along the previous Route 66 in USA there are lots of previous automobiles which offer considerable alternatives for summary pictures. In this occasion, I used to be drawn to the cracked paint due to the best way the cracks had been graded in measurement in a lot the identical means as tree branches scale back in measurement. At the identical time, I favored how the massive cracks evoked a picture of dancing figures.

Technical particulars

Nikon D7200, 18-140mm lens @ 70mm. 1/50s @ f10, ISO 200.

Windows by Etienne van Rooyen

How I did it

While wandering Melbourne’s CBD with my brother, I used to be drawn to a rhythm shaped by mild and shadow throughout this row of home windows. What caught my eye was how the repetition erased individuality, creating a way of infinite continuation. Stark angles and robust distinction flatten the structure into sample, echoing the surrealism of a René Magritte portray.

Technical particulars

Nikon Z 50, Nikkor Z DX 50-250mm f/4.5-6.3 @ 130mm. 1/125s @ f 7.1, ISO 400.

Untitled by Katie Turnbull

How I did it

On my morning walks I gather gadgets from round our farm. Lately I’ve been accumulating bones, because the intricacies of them fascinate me.

This is a kangaroo cranium that the wedge-tail eagles had picked clear after which it has been uncovered to the weather for a number of months. The element within the fontanelles is superb, together with the grooves the place the veins sat. An summary image of an object crafted by nature.

Technical particulars

Canon R5, Canon 100mm Macro lens. 1/100s @ f13, ISO 1250.