Rachelle Mackintosh

Hello friends! Briefly pausing my Arctic spam to share something super cool from Down Under… So this common dolphin is one of my local Cronulla neighbours - I wish I had a pic of a Burrunan dolphin for this post, but I haven’t photographed them (yet). Wondering though, have you ever heard of Burrunan dolphins? They’re fairly new to science, found only in Australia, critically endangered (just 150 left), and they hide in plain sight, right on bustling Melbourne’s doorstep. It was such a career highlight to investigate their ever-unfolding story for Australian Geographic – chatting not only with the brilliant marine scientist who discovered the species, but also with experts working to safeguard its future through conservation research, Indigenous knowledge and citizen science. If you like dolphins (what’s not to like?!), you can read my story (and see the researchers’ mind-blowing pics) in the link in my bio, or as below: .au/nature-wildlife/2025/09/australias-rarest-dolphin-lives-on-melbournes-doorstep/ 🐬🇦🇺🤍 #ausgeo #australiangeographic #mmf #marinemammalfoundation #burrunandolphin #dolphins #cetaceans @australiangeographic @marinemammalfoundation @tourismvic @visitmelbourne

Friends, please forgive the blatant self-ism of this post, but woweee!! I just went to the annual awards ceremony for the prestigious Australian Society of Travel Writers - and I won the award for Best Travel Photograph of The Year!!! I snapped this happy friend at Jabulani/Kapama Reserve while on assignment in South Africa last Sept, and no picture could do justice to the jaw-dropping beauty of that magical arvo. The vibrancy of African sunsets has always made my brain gooey, but when this ele silently glided into view I thought my mind had melted and slid right out of my ear, such was the stunning-ness of it all. What made it extra special was this elephant had been rescued from Zimbabwe and given a second chance at life in the SA bush - and was living his best life as a result. THANK YOU to Yana and the whole South Africa Tourism Commission team, for hosting me on two incredible adventures last year (although this trip, last September, was the best of all time - not least because I got to experience first-hand the amazing conservation work you guys are doing). And big thanks to all my colleagues at the ASTW - always inspiring me to think wider, look deeper. And above all, thanks, Ele, for this amazing moment 💙💙💙

AGNPOTY 2025 Category: Monochrome, Winner: 🏆 Party Streamer by @faunographic , New South Wales 🏆 ABOUT OUR WINNER - Rachelle Mackintosh is a freelance photographer, writer and producer specialising in wildlife, travel and polar expeditions. CATEGORY CRITERIA – The Monochrome category embraces the art of black-and-white, sepia-toned, and infrared photography, offering a timeless perspective on the natural world. Subjects must meet the criteria of any other competition category, with the monochrome treatment enhancing the story, texture, or emotion of the scene. ABOUT AGNPOTY – The Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year (AGNPOTY) celebrates the rich and ancient natural heritage of the Australasian bioregion – spanning Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica and New Guinea. In partnership with the South Australian Museum, this annual competition invites photographers to capture the wild beauty of our landscapes and wildlife, honouring a legacy that dates back over 80 million years to the age of Gondwana. Through the lens of nature photography, AGNPOTY seeks to inspire a deeper connection to the wild places and creatures that define our region’s ancient story. Heartfelt thanks to the excellent judges – wildlife photographer and ecologist Jasmine Vink, overall competition winner in 2021 and 2024 Scott Portelli, and professional photographer David Stowe. They are each part of the legacy of the Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year competition. The Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year competition and exhibition is owned and produced by the @southaustralianmuseum #ausgeo #AGNPOTY #photography #naturephotography #wildlifephotography

Three weeks ago this tiny-shiny talked us into giving her our house. She’s a 2-year-old Abyssinian mum of 5 and her previous lackeys called her ‘A Pocketful of Sunshine’ – but they defo got it wrong re: the ‘pocket’ bit because her lightbeamy spirit is gigantic, and it’s lit up every single part of our home. So, here’s a little Sunny aka Sunfish / Fishy / Sunshiny / Sunshine / Sunnyfur for your Sunday (in the vid she’s telling me about some cockatoos out the window). Have a good one mates x #ekekekkekkek #abyssinian #catsofinstagram #catscatscats

Most folks were up on the top deck as the MV Douglas Mawson came close to Mount Erebus, but I slunk away to take it in solo – cos it’s not every day you get to see the planet’s southernmost (very) active volcano, issit?! So I went down to Deck 4 and found my mate Sergei had had a similar idea – so we took it all in, quietly alone together. Sergei is @aurora_expeditions Zodiac master; he’s worked in the polar regions for more than 3 decades, both at sea and on various research stations. He keeps to himself, doesn’t say much – but when he does you can bet it’ll be with a smile and an eye-twinkle. Seeing him get emotional at THIS sight melted my cold, dead heart – he told me the only thing that could top the moment would be if his kids could see it, too. So I grabbed this pic in between snapping a bunch of portraits for him (to show them). Every time I look at this pic it reminds me of his beautiful happiness. Hope your day is equally joyous, mates 🖤🤍 #antarctica #volcano #polarexpedition #auroraexpeditions #onassignment

Three things I like about southern elephant seals ( Mirounga leonina): 1. They’ve weaponised belching. 2. They can weigh about the same as an RSL courtesy bus, yet their eyebrows are rather dainty. 3. Even the ladies remind me of Tony Soprano (wud-dah-fark / fahgedabard it). I got heeeeaps of portraits of these colossal dog-slugs in October when I was in South Georgia on an editorial assignment with @lindbladexp @natgeo - can’t wait to share a few more as they’re pretty endearing lumps, really 🖤🤍 Happy hump (lump) day, mates #southgeorgia #antarctica #natgeo #lindbladexpeditions #adventureworldtravel

Emperor penguin soaking up some early-day rays at Cape Crozier 🤍 Last month - and just a few weeks after I snapped this - the @iucnred_list reclassified these polar icons as Endangered. And that’s because the sea ice they rely on for their entire life cycle is itself critically endangered: climate change has caused their population to drop 10% between 2009-2018 and has seen entire colonies disappear. Kills me that we’ve pushed the planet to this point. On my Ross Sea adventure with @aurora_expeditions we didn’t seek out any of the known colonies but were privileged to run into a few different groups while out and about 🤍 #antarctica #penguinsofinstagram #ocean #antarcticexpedition #onassigment

Orright, Sydney!!?? Just a coupla weeks til our annual Humpapalooza kicks off and our favourite bus-sized ballerinas do their very best to drown our cameras! Who’s ready Freddie?! See yas on the water soooooooon 💃🏻💙🙌🏼 @sydney #ausgeo #abcmyphoto #sydney #oceans #canonuk

Fresssssshhh custom fine art prints!! 🤍 Love seeing how the process gives an image a life of its own. The colour print of Mount Erebus was commissioned by a lovely overseas client - I’ve had it printed for her on 310gsm Canson Infinity Baryta Photographique II with Ultra Chrome Ink to highlight the crispy contrasts and colours 🤍💛 For the monochrome shots I chose Ilford Galerie Smooth Pearl 310gsm as I reckon the lustre works well for icy mono contrasts🤍🖤 That first mono pic is from the Gerlache Strait from my Antarctic trip in Oct-Nov, the second one is from the Ross Ice Shelf in Feb. Can’t wait to do more prints from these epic Antarctic adventures 🤍 I LOVE doing one-of-a kind XL large format gallery-style prints, so if your wall is looking a bit rudie-nudie, let’s hatch a plan! Happy weekend friends xx

Clean-up crew biff = southern giant petrels fight over a leopard seal’s leftovers near the Ukrainian Vernadsky Research Base … right near Woozle Hill😿#iykyk According to the @audubonsociety one of its favourite weapons is projectile vomit (avian GG Allin stylie), so that’s why ye olde sailors christened it the “stinkpot”. Cruel, but fair. Snapped aboard @aurora_expeditions while on an editorial assignment a few weeks ago. #ebird #antarctica #birdlife #birdlifeaustralia

When the MV Douglas Mawson pulled up to Macquarie Island (in the Australian Subantarctic region), hundreds of king penguins rolled up in large rafts to circle the ship, and when they weren’t being nosy josies they just kicked back and preened (like this fella). Curious creepers, the absolute lot of them. I love catching pingus porpoising and creating individual portraits etc but on this day I got to see them from an entirely new perspective (for me, anyway). I snapped this chilled groomer from one of the ship’s higher decks, shooting directly down and zooming in. Anyways thought I’d share as I missed World Penguin Day (it coincides with Anzac Day here in Oz). I was travelling with @aurora_expeditions while on an editorial assignment (it’ll be out soon so I’ll keep ye posted) Thanks legends, have a good one!! 🤍 #penguin #kingpenguin #thisisaustralia #macquarieisland #birdlifeoz

Just this smiling assassin chilling with her frozen-seal-ish friend near Port Charcot 🤍 Snapped aboard @aurora_expeditions while on an editorial assignment last month 🤍 #oceans #antarctica #antarcticpeninsula #polarexpedition #canonuk