In pictures: Australian Geographic's photo prize winners

Stunning images of nature and wildlife across Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica and some Pacific islands are recognised each year in the Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year competition. Here are some of this year's winners.

This image of sharks circling a beached whale in Western Australia was the overall winner, with judges saying it revealed "incredible beauty in death"

The junior prize was won by 17-year-old Flloyd Mallon, for this shot of a lightning storm in New South Wales

A crested horn shark feeds on the egg case of a Port Jackson shark in Sydney

Decorator crabs in Indonesia attach stinging hydroids - aquatic invertebrates - to themselves to ward off predators

Eastern grey kangaroos in Kosciuszko National Park, New South Wales

Water cascades through the Barron Falls in Queensland during flood season

A Mertens' water monitor approaches photographer Etienne Littlefair's camera in the Northern Territory

A mother and baby wombat make their way to a neighbouring wombat's hole in New South Wales

Male humpback whales swim past dolphins while looking for a female mate, in waters off Tonga

A dry creek in Menindee Lakes, a drought-stricken part of Australia, where animal deaths have caused alarm

All photographs subject to copyright as marked.