Amateur photographer Benny Chia (42) said he was surprised to win the biggest prize of the competition.
"I didn't expect this to happen.
"It’s just like a dream come true to get all the recognition."
Mr Chia said he started doing mushroom photography on his daily walks two years ago during the Covid-19 lockdown.
"It’s just something very small that you often overlook easily, but once you get to know what you are looking for, it’s quite an interesting itinerary to add to your daily walk and hikes in the forest."
Mr Chia said he wanted to create some awareness for mushrooms through his photography.
"New Zealand is all about conservation and besides conserving the native birds, we should also look into the mushrooms as well because they are a tiny vulnerable group and we should start protecting them as well before they disappear."
Mr Chia said he captured the winning photo during a routine walk on the Kepler Track.
Otago Museum marketing co-ordinator Charlie Buchan said the photos from the competition would be exhibited for the next three months and 30,000-40,000 people were expected to view them.
There were more than 3000 entries in the competition this year that were viewed by six judges.
