Wildlife photographer and drone operator Matt Deakin won the "Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year 2026" competition, organized by the South Australian Museum. The winning photograph, called "Ethereal Encounter," shows a green sawfish (Pristis zijsron) swimming among turtles amid the murky water of an estuary, captured from an aerial perspective.
The image impressed the organizers so much that some people began to question whether the photograph was real or had been generated by artificial intelligence. Deakin had to publicly explain how he made the shot to prove the authenticity of the work.
The contest winners were announced on August 27, and an exhibition featuring the awarded photographs will be available at the South Australian Museum from September 12. The green sawfish, the protagonist species of the photograph, is classified as critically endangered.
