The Magnetic Island Photography Showcase is an annual photography competition and exhibition. The aim of the Showcase is to capture and display the incredible natural beauty that Magnetic Island/Yunbenun has to offer.
The competition is open to photographers of all levels whose images have been captured on Magnetic Island or its surrounding waters and the exhibition highlights the work of other local photographers.
The Showcase is organised and run on a volunteer not-for-profit basis by a committee of local Magnetic Island photographers and nature lovers under the auspices of the Magnetic Island Community Development Association (MICDA).
The Showcase
The Magnetic Island Photography Showcase was held at beautiful Tamarind Events on McCabe Cresent, Arcadia, from Saturday October 4th to Tuesday October 7th.
This year's competition brought in over 280 entries from 118 entrants in 13 categories. As always, the quality of the photos was amazing, and all fulfilled the main objective of Showcasing the beauty of Magnetic Island and our incredible lifestyle.
The exhibition included historical photos on loan from the Magnetic Museum as well as photos from local photographers and Showcase committee members Bruce Hobby, Kaspa Blewett and Laurence Scheele. Also on display were some incredible drone images taken by Oliver Scheele, and a beautiful display of images and information about our native vegetation by Peter Hansen.
We sincerely thank all of our sponsors, supporters, helpers and photographers who entered the competition and to everyone who came along to view these amazing photos.
A special thank you to Meredith and Hilary from Tamarind who allowed us to use this very sprcial venue for Showcase 25!
The photos below show the fantastic venue and some of our visitors to the Showcase.
The Sponsors
A huge thankyou to all of our wonderful sponsors who make the Showcase possible each year! Please follow the links to visit their websites or Facebook pages.
Tamarind Events generously donated the beautiful venue for this year's event
Magnetic Island Ferries sponsors transport of materials to and from the island
Magnetic Island Ferries – Welcome Aboard!
Town Island Couriers donates transport of materials to and from the island, as well as sponsoring the Island Lifestyle category
Welcome to Town Island Couriers | Your Trusted Magnetic Island and Townsville Delivery Solution
Our category sponsors are below. Please click on their logos to visit their websites
Sponsor of the Landscape category
Sponsor of the Open/Creative category
Sponsor of the Junior category
Sponsor of the Seascape category
Sponsor of the Birds category
Sponsor of the Island Animals category
Sponsor of the Plants, Fungi and Insects category
Sponsor of the Marine Life category
Sponsor of the Sunrise/Sunset category
Sponsor of the Drone category
Sponsor of the Waterfalls, Creeks and Lagoons category
The Showcase is supported by the Magnetic Island Community Development Association
What to enter?
Please remember: While searching for that perfect shot it is important to respect the natural environment and the cultural values that make Magnetic Island special. We must never damage the landscape, reefs or interfere with the wildlife or trespass on private property to try to get that prize winning image. If flying drones, follow the responsible drone flying regulations.
Any photo that has been taken on Magnetic Island or on/in its surrounding waters using a phone, camera or drone can be entered. Over 50% of entries over the past two years have been taken on phones, so start looking through the hundreds of beautiful photos of Maggie you already have on your phone to choose which ones to enter!
BUT please note:
● Panoramic images will not be accepted.
● Any AI derived image will not be accepted
● Photos that have been digitally altered beyond standard optimisation (cropping, spotting for dust, reasonable adjustments to exposure, colour and contrast, etc.) will not be accepted.
For the Showcase the photos will be printed by a professional printing laboratory to a size of 20cm X 30cm (landscape or portrait orientation) so to make sure the images have a good resolution the files should be at least 1MB, to a maximum of 5MB. For the best result please size your images to the 2:3 ratio for printing. If the ratio of the image is not 2:3 (or 3:2) they will be printed as large as possible to fit those dimensions, without altering your image in any way. If you need any help with this please don't hesitate to email us at maggiephotocompetition@gmail.com.
We have 11 open categories and 2 age-related categories described below. Entries are restricted to 2 entries per open category, and 5 entries for the age related categories, up to 5 photos in total.
If you are entering drone photos, please assign them to the drone category (maximum 2). If you are submitting more than 2 drone photos the others can be entered in another appropriate category.
Showcase 2025 categories
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Landscape: An image that is predominately of land based natural features with a possible aspect of the sea included.
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Seascape: An image that is predominately of the sea and beaches with a possible aspect of land included.
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Marine Life: An image that has been taken underwater showcasing Magnetic Island’s underwater world
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Sunrise/Sunset: An image that has been taken immediately before or after sunrise or immediately before or after sunset on Magnetic Island.
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Island Animals: An image that showcases Magnetic Island’s land-based wildlife.
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Birds: An image that showcases the birdlife on Magnetic Island.
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Plants, Fungi and Insects: An image that showcases Magnetic Island’s plants, trees, flowers, fungi and insects.
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Drone: An image that has been taken by a drone. The rules and regulations of drone usage must be adhered to.
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Lifestyle/Island Life: Images that showcase human activities enjoying the beauty of Magnetic Island. Please note if there are any people in the image that are recognisable you must obtain the necessary permissions from the individuals and you must be able to provide proof of those permissions to the Organising Committee upon request.
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Waterfalls, Creeks and Lagoons: Any image that highlights the waterways on Magnetic Island.
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Open/Creative: An image that doesn’t necessarily fall under any of the above categories e.g. nightscape, macro, black & white, reflections etc.
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Junior: Any topic, entrants must be 11 years of age and under.
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Intermediate: Any topic, entrants must be 12 to 17 years of age.
The organising committee may request an entry be reassigned to a more appropriate category and has the right to reject any image that it deems inappropriate for the Showcase.
How to enter
Entries will be accepted through this webpage from 9.00 am Saturday August 9th to Sunday September 7th at midnight.
By submitting images through this website entrants agree to:
○ Pay the $8 entry fee per image ($5 for the Junior category)
○ Be bound by the Showcase Terms and Conditions.
Before submitting your images please follow this link to read the Showcase Terms and Conditions
Once the images have been reviewed the entrant will be sent an invoice via the email address given on the entry form. The fee for each image entered is $8 ($5 for the Junior category - 11 years and under). Payment for entry is by bank transfer.
The cost of the entry covers the high-quality printing of the image to 20cm X 30cm. The prints will be available for you to pick up at the end of the Showcase or they can be mailed to you for an additional fee to cover postage.
Have you read the instructions for entry (above) and the Terms and Conditions? Then enter through this form after 9.00am Saturday August 9! Enter only one form per person, up to 5 images can be uploaded.