Physical travel is still beyond most of us at the moment, but it is possible to escape and explore other places, people and wildlife through photography.

The Australian Photography Awards 2020 (APA) celebrate the country’s best photographers across eight categories – including Portrait, Wildlife, Travel Street, Documentary and more – with the aim of highlighting “Australia’s most original and thought-provoking photography”.

Here’s our pick of this year’s finalists…

1. I Want To Hold Her Hand by Christopher Hopkins

2. SMILE: A Pandemic Portrait by Nicole Reed

3. Broken River by Tom Putt

4. In The Cloud by Pepijn Thijsse

5. Invasion by Natalya Stone

6. Bruce Pascoe And The Dancing Grass by Isabella Melody Moore

7. Zenith by Warren Keelan

8. For The Love Of It by Alison Stewart

9. Hong Kong Cemetery by Luke David

10. Traindream by Mark Davidson