Gold in Nature/Sunrise / Sunset / 2025 / Nature / Sunrise / Sunset

• Prize
  Gold in Nature/Sunrise / Sunset
• Photographer
  Peter Ogden, Australia
• Website
  https://www.thebrutalbeauty.com/
• Instagram
  @mrpogphotog

I had been thinking about capturing the sunrise through a big wave at North Curl Curl Headland, Sydney, for some time. The location is perfect for sunrise and renowned for big waves. When I arrived at 5am, there wasn’t a dry spot to sit. So, I just plonked down in a puddle to wait for that perfect wave. It wasn’t long, fortunately, and I was on my way the second after I grabbed this image. When you know, you know ;)

Australia is a landscape unique in its savagery and spectacle. As a boy born in industrial Manchester, UK, this contrast was never more apparent than when I first arrived in Perth many moons ago; that first experience saw me basking in the stunning vistas of the Nambung National Park whilst using a big stick to fend off brown snakes. I was the art director on a commercial photography shoot – keeping one eye on the back of the camera, the other firmly on the red dirt around the tripod.

That juxtaposition, the incredibly beautiful and the incredibly scary, has had me hooked ever since.

Awards Australian Photography Awards 2023 Finalist

International Photography Awards 2023 Top 5 - Landscape

Mono Awards 2023 Highly Commended 2 x Commended x 2

Bluethumb Art Prize 2023 Finalist

Capture ‘Australasia’s Top Emerging Photographers 2023’ Top 10 Landscape - number 7

NSW National Parks Photography Awards 2023 Shortlist - Landscapes and Vistas

Tokyo International Foto Awards 2022 Official Selection - Nature

Mono Awards 2022 Highly Commended 1 x Commended x 2

Monovisions Landscape Series 2022 Honourable Mention

Australian Photography ‘Photographer of the Year 2021’ Commended x 3

Australian Photography Awards 2021 Top 20 Finalist x 2

Natural Landscape Photography Awards 2021 First Main Judging round (top 33%) x 2

Mono Awards 2021 Commended x 6

Monovisions Landscape/Fine Art Series 2021 Honourable Mention x 3

Capture ‘Australasia’s Top Emerging Photographers 2021’ Highly Commended x 1, Commended x 2

Fine Art Photography Awards 2020 Nominee x 3

Frank Hurley Photography Awards 2020 Finalist - Scenic

Tokyo International Foto Awards 2020 Honourable Mention - Architecture

Australian Photography ‘Photographer of the Year 2020’ Highly Commended x 1, Commended x 4

ND Awards 2020 – Silver in Architecture: Bridges, Honourable Mention x 2 in Nature: Trees

Australian Photography Awards 2020 - Shortlisted

International Photography Awards 2020 Honourable Mention x 2 - Architecture and Landscape categories

Mono Awards 2020 Highly Commended x 5, Commended x 3

Monovisions Landscape Series 2020 Honourable Mention

Capture ‘Australasia’s Top Emerging Photographers 2020’ Commended x 1