Your Best Shot: December 2025 - the winners!
Your Best Shot is a photo competition open to Australian residents. There's a different theme every couple of months, and a selection of the winning shots will be published in AP mag and online.
Each issue, AP's Editor Mike O'Connor will choose six images to be published both in print and online, with both a winner and a runner-up selected. Our winner will also receive an amazing prize thanks to Think Tank.
You can find out all the details for entry and the themes for 2026 here.
Theme: Liquid
Our winner: Reflection by Bruce Malcolm
Editor’s comment
Despite the beautiful simplicity of the end result, Bruce Malcolm says it took many attempts to get this shot.
He tells us he started with a water container dripping drops of water through a laser beam, which fired the camera shutter through a timer.
After this was working, he adjusted the framing to get the drops where he wanted in a transparent plastic glass.
The result is an image with plenty to explore – beautiful reflections of the sunflower of course, but also a lovely ordered composition and nice out of focus areas.
The complex setup was worth the end result!
Technical details
Canon 60D, 90mm f/2.8 Tamron lens. 1/200s @ f13, ISO 200. Two flash units with coloured cellophane paper. Tripod.
Highly commended
Editor’s comment
Lyn Forbes was at the north end of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, when she noticed the abstract reflections of the bridge in the water, especially when a ferry or boat went past.
“The metal of the bridge was reflected in small circular areas, in constant change,” she says.
We’re suckers for water reflection shots, and this is a stunning example, edited with a gentle hand and just enough under exposure to keep a sense of mood and atmosphere. Tonally, those bluey greens really emphasise the metallic reflections and make for a cool, icy feel. Well done.
Technical details
OM System E-M1 Mark II, 40-150mm f/2.8 lens @ 62mm. 1/80s @ f5.6, ISO 500.
Special mentions
How I did it
Early morning maternity shoot at Maroubra Beach. My eye was in the viewfinder and not on the waves. It was ok though because she's my wife!
Technical details
Sony A7 III, Zeiss FE 55mm F1.8 ZA lens. 1/5000s @ f1.8, ISO 100.
How I did it
This is an old piece of Liberty fabric seen through oil and water on a glass slide. Unfortunately, I can’t quite remember the exact setup but I really like the way the pattern is reflected in the big drops of oil. Part of the fun with these shots is the editing, especially enhancing the colour and brightness.
Technical details
OM System OM-1 Mark II, OM 90mm F3.5 macro lens. 1/800s @ f10, ISO 250. LCD light panel, hand held.
How I did it
Submerged flower art is growing in popularity so I thought I would give in a try. These lavender flowers were submerged in a fish tank. Behind was a piece of material and LCD lights were used on the side. Acrylic art ink was dropped into the water with pipettes. It was fun watching the ink change shape as it sank to the bottom.
Technical details
Nikon D850, Nikkor 24–70mm lens @ 26mm. 1/15s @ f8, ISO 400. Tripod.
How I did it
The emerging spores of a moss in winter. Taken on my outback property near Canberra in natural light.
Technical details
Panasonic DMC-GX7, OM System M.Zuiko Digital ED 90mm F3.5 MACRO IS PRO Lens. 1/200s @ f10, ISO 3200.