Macarthur Nature Photography Campetition

Entries for the 2025 Macarthur Nature Photography Competition open Monday 3 March!

Moments captured have the ability to remind us that photography has the power to transport us to unseen worlds. At a time when we are presented with an abundance of images through social media and television, the challenge is to share an image that will cut through the clutter and reveal something in our world that is new or wondrous to us.

The Macarthur councils once again is hosting the highly anticipated Macarthur Nature Photography Competition (MNPC) and is encouraging our community to enter your most striking, engaging and enticing images of local native flora, wildlife and natural scenery taken from within the Macarthur area.

Announcement of Winners

Finalists will be entered into the People’s Choice Award competition and displayed at Narellen Town Centre for voting. Winners of each category will be announced at the competition award ceremony on 5 June with the winners images shared online via social media.

Past entries can be viewed through the competitions Flickr page.

For more information please contact our Environmental Education Officer nursery@wollondilly.nsw.gov.au.

Competition Categories

The three categories for the Macarthur Nature Photography Competition 2025 are:

Caring for Country

Photo by Dan Chalker

People helping the environment, Cultural Connection, Life, Waterways. Photograph the positive impacts, actions and behaviours of people helping the Macarthur environment. This can include picking up litter, nest boxes, wildlife rescue, habitat gardens, tree planting, Bushcare and weeding.

Threatened Species

Photo by Andrew Evans

Our rare, endangered and vulnerable native plants and animals: koalas, orchids, native plants and animals under threat (i.e. birds, mammals, invertebrates, reptiles, amphibians).

Australian Native Plants, Animals and Pollinators

Photo by Don Edmonds

Lifecycles, Spring, Macro-Invertebrates, New Growth, Seasonal Changes. Photograph the naturally Australian plants that are found in the Macarthur region. This includes the leaves, branches, flowers, seeds, lichen, bark and fungi that make up the Australian plant community. Australian Animals and Pollinators includes the furry, scaly, slippery, feathery, and crawly beings that are uniquely Australian wildlife.

For inspiration, check out the Macarthur Nature Photography Competition Gallery of last year’s entries.

How to Enter

Entry is easy! This competition is open to residents who live in the Macarthur region (Wollondilly, Camden and Campbelltown Local Government Areas).

1. Carefully read all the competition rules.
2. Take some photos that relate to the competition categories within the Campbelltown, Camden or Wollondilly Local Government Area.
3. To enter your photos, visit www.campbelltown.nsw.gov.au/MNPC

Prizes

Primary school aged (5 to 12 years)

$100 prepaid gift card and $100 Narellan Town Centre voucher for first place in each theme
$75 prepaid gift card for second place in each theme

High school aged (13 to 18 years)

$150 prepaid gift card and $100 Narellan Town Centre voucher for first place in each theme
$100 prepaid gift card for second place in each theme

Open section (18+ years)

$250 prepaid gift card and $100 Narellan Town Centre voucher for first place in each theme
$150 prepaid gift card for second place in each theme

Professional

$2500 camera from Macarthur Camera House for the overall professional winner.

People's choice

$500 prepaid gift card

Don't forget! The People's Choice Award is back again this year with an amazing prize for the most popular photo, voted by YOU through our exhibition hosted at Narellan Town Centre in October.

Teachers Resources

When students fill out their entry form, all they need to do is specify their age and parent's contact details to go in the running to win a prize for themselves in one of the four main categories.

We invite your students to enter their most striking, captivating and enticing images of local native flora, wildlife and natural scenery taken from within the Macarthur area, showcasing their artistic vision and impression of the natural environment to the wider community.

We have a great prize pool on offer and your students have the unique opportunity to win the 2025 MNPC School Prize Package for their school.

To help deliver this to students, you can use our:

Entering multiple students or classes? download and complete our Macarthur Nature Photography Competition Entry Form 2025 (2MB, PDF)

Terms and Conditions

Ethical Photography

A substantial proportion of wildlife photography is undertaken in national parks and reserves. Commonwealth, State and Territory, and local government rules apply.

Native animal and plant species are protected by law throughout Australia regardless of whether they occur in national parks, reserves, or Local government administered areas or private land, unless otherwise stated by Commonwealth, State or Territory fauna/flora agencies.

It is the responsibility of the photographer to ensure that they are aware of the laws and regulations which apply to the regions in which they undertake nature photography.

The kinds of activities often engaged in by nature photographers, which are currently prohibited in some or all government reserves and parks in Australia include:

taking ('take' often defined to include 'interfering') or harassing (call playback is a form of harassment) native wildlife
use a radio, tape recorder or other sound or amplifier system in a way that may cause unreasonable disturbance to an animal (eg call playback)
disturbing or interfering with nests, hollows and habitat
walking or driving off designated tracks or roads
altering native vegetation (eg to get a clearer photo of bird)
erecting structures (eg permanent bird hides), and feeding wildlife (eg using food to attract wildlife)
flash photography on nocturnal species
Interfering with plants that damage or harm the species.

Photos submitted to the Macarthur Nature Photography Competition must be taken in accordance with ethical guidelines.

Competition Rules

1. For the purposes of this competition, the competition organisers are defined as nominated staff involved in the organisation and coordination of the competition from Campbelltown, Camden and Wollondilly Councils.
2. T he subject matter of the photographs submitted must be from within the Macarthur region, defined as Campbelltown, Camden and Wollondilly Local Government Areas (LGAs) and must be obtained lawfully.
3. Images of fauna must not include flash photography and must meet ethical photography guidelines as specified on the council website, any images submitted with flash on fauna will not be judged and residents will be contacted about animal welfare/ethics.
4. Photographs may be black and white or colour.
5. Each entrant may enter a maximum of three photographs in the competition, any excess images submitted will not be considered for judging.
6. The content of a photograph must not be changed or manipulated in any way; that is, no cloning, montaging, or digital manipulation other than cropping, toning, digital spotting, burning, dodging. No Artificial Intelligence (AI) generated imagery is permitted. Additionally, no addition or removal of subject matter is accepted. Retouching is limited to the removal of normal scratches and dust spots. Colour adjustment should be minimal.
7. Each photograph can only be entered into one theme.
8. Photographers who have made more than $500 in photography sales in the 2024/2025 financial year will not be eligible to enter the Open Section category and will be required to enter then Professional category.
9. A panel of judges representing photography, art and local biodiversity expertise, will select theme place winners, and will shortlist images for the People’s Choice Award. The judge’s decision is final.
10. Respective Councillors, competition organisers, the judging panel and their immediate families are not eligible to enter the competition.
11. Entries must be submitted online.
12. Late entries will not be accepted.
13. Entrants in this competition give permission for their works to be reproduced
by print and electronic media by the competition organisers for not-for profit publications, advertising and promotional purposes. Entrants will be acknowledged if the image is reproduced.
14. All personal information gathered by the competition organisers will be used solely for the purposes of administering the Macarthur Nature Photography Competition.
15. Photos must be taken within the last 12 months.