Queensland photographer takes high honours at World Nature Photography Awards

An Australian photographer has taken out the highest prize on the World Nature Photography Awards, with Queensland-based photographer Jono Allen named World Nature Photographer of the Year for 2026.

Allen’s successful picture captures a uncommon white humpback whale swimming carefully along with her mom, highlighting a quiet and intimate second within the ocean.

Captured at Vava’u, Tonga, this uncommon white humpback calf – named Mãhina, which means “moon” in Tongan – “glowed like a beam of light through the deep blue,” he mentioned.

Only 1 in 40,000 humpbacks are born with this lack of pigmentation.

“Sharing this moment with Mãhina and her protective mother is a memory that will live with me forever. It was undoubtedly one of the most extraordinary days I have ever experienced in the ocean – and perhaps ever will,” he mentioned.

The 2026 version of the awards attracted entries from photographers in 51 international locations throughout six continents, showcasing photos that replicate the sweetness, energy and vulnerability of the pure world.

Adrian Dinsdale, co-founder of the World Nature Photography Awards, mentioned the usual of labor continues to rise because the competitors grows. He famous that this 12 months’s successful photos function a reminder of each the marvel of the planet and the significance of defending it.

You can see extra of the competitors finalists on the World Nature Photography Awards website.