John Burke's photo was one the judges kept coming back to.
His alluring photo of two birds playing - titled Guess Who? - won the 15 years and over animal category, and the overall category of the 11th Otago Wildlife Photography Competition at the Otago Museum last night.
The judges said the photograph was a "classic wildlife-in-action shot" which was very difficult to take because the subjects were very fast and challenging to get close to.
The image was bold and the photographer did well to capture the interaction between the birds, they said.
"The judges kept returning to Guess Who? and how this image captured all the classic components of a great wildlife shot.
"It is a difficult and fast-moving subject, behaving in a way that has the viewer in suspense - you wonder if the perched bird knows the other is behind it and leaves you wondering what happened next. A classic wildlife shot."
Mr Burke (49), of Broad Bay, was unable to receive the award in person because he is guiding a tour in South America and the Galapagos Islands for Elm Wildlife Tours.
However, his friend, Sonia Evers, accepted the award on his behalf.
She said he was excited about the win.
This year's competition had attracted the highest number of entries since it began, with almost three times more children's entries than last year.
In the 14 years and under section, Libby Atkinson won the animal category with Taking Flight, Mikayla Stoop won the category of human impact on the natural environment with Can Wreck, and Charlotte Steel won the plant category with Reaching for the Sun.
In the 15 years and over section, John Burke won the animal category with Guess Who?, Arnie Elbers won the human impact on the natural environment category with Hotspotting, and Gary Speer won the plant category with Entoloma Hochstetteri.
