about the awards founders.
We are two Gold Coast professional photographers passionate about community!
Our Mission is to celebrate the best Australian photographers, allowing space to also discover new talents and showcase what they have created above and below the Gold Coast.
Lariza Cevallos Oganova is an Ecuadorian/Australian photographer, with more than 15 years photographing Nature around the world. Larisa calls the Gold Coast home since 2009 and enjoys the coastal living with her family, working as a Marketing Executive for brands that care about the Planet and as a freelance photographer and producer for projects linked to the conservation of our Planet. Check her work here.
Blaze Parsons is an Australian/Samoan photographer, half human, half fish, with more than 15 years photographing Nature around the world. A born and bred Gold Coast local with heritage in Polynesia, Blaze loves the ocean like very few do; he also works in construction, as a Freediving Instructor and freelance photographer for land, water and air. His biggest passions are being in the ocean, building community and helping others fall in love with the underwater world and the art of photography.
Check his work here.
about the judges.
We are incredible honoured and excited to introduce our talented judging panel! Each of them have brilliant expertise and we can't wait for them to revise the 2026 Awards submissions!
Jake Wilton
Jake Wilton is a multi-award winning Nature photographer from the mid north coast of NSW, Australia. His passion for nature and the ocean developed at a young age in his home town of South West Rocks where he spent his youth diving and exploring the surrounding coastlines and national parks.
Jake's work has been featured in publications such as Australian Geographic, Oceanographic, Dive UK, and Ocean Geographic Magazines as well as being awarded in photography competitions such Nature Photographer of the Year, Ocean Photography Awards and Australian Photography Awards. A former resident of the Gold Coast, Jake is honoured to be a judge for the inaugural Gold Coast Photography Awards.
Jake will be judging the Underwater & Wildlife categories focusing on perspective, the unique beauty of the subject, behavior, a bit of edge, habitat and ethical considerations in capturing animals in their natural state.
Follow Jake on Instagram @jakewiltonphoto