The awe-inspiring winning images of this prestigious international photography contest are a celebration of the beauty of our natural world.
Awe-inspiring wildlife portraits, surreal views of flowers as seen by an ant, dramatic encounters in the wild and tender animal moments make up the winning images of the Nature Photographer of the Year 2025 competition—one of the world’s most prestigious nature and wildlife photography contests.
Celebrating the beauty of nature photography, this year’s contest set a new record with 24,781 photo submissions from photographers across 96 countries competing in 12 categories and, as well, for the Fred Hazelhoff Portfolio Award.
Such beauty is well represented by the above image, entitled “A Curious Nose,” by South African photographer Laura Dyer, which was Highly Commended in the Mammals category and showcases one of the most elusive and remarkable African animals, an aardvark.
Mostly nocturnal creatures, aardvarks are notoriously difficult to spot and even more to photograph as they emerge under the cover of darkness to search for ants and termites, of which they can eat up to 50,000 in one night.
Feeding at night allows them to feel safer as they are harder then to spot by predators against whom their only defense is a quick retreat into their burrow or a battle with their very sharp claws.
Using those long ears, aardvarks listen intently to the underground activity of insects that they then dig out with their claws.
Competition and Prizes
Open to both amateur and professional photographers, the Nature Photographer of the Year competition awards a €3,000 grand prize to the overall winner and €500 plus photo gear to each category winner.
Organized by Nature Talks, the team behind the annual Nature Talks Photo Festival in the Netherlands, the competition also supports conservation initiatives through partnerships with groups such as Photographers Against Wildlife Crime.
The Nature Photographer of the Year
Norwegian photographer Åsmund Keilen earned the 2025 top honor with a breathtaking image capturing a lone bird silhouetted against a glowing summer sun.
At first glance, the photograph appears almost abstract — like leaves drifting across a cosmic sky. But a closer look reveals each shape as a bird in motion.
Competition chairman Tin Man Lee praised the winning image: “The photographer’s impeccable timing captured a single bird perfectly aligned with the glowing sun, creating a dreamlike moment suspended between stillness and motion. With its ethereal colors, perfect balance, and otherworldly atmosphere, the image feels both timeless and universal.”
Nature Photographer of the Year 2026 Opens Soon
Submissions for the Nature Photographer of the Year 2026 competition will open on December 8, 2025, inviting photographers worldwide to showcase their best work.
Overall Winner
Impression of a reflection – or a reflection of an impression? The photo was taken just outside Oslo on a hot summer day as small orange birch seeds had fallen onto the blue roof of Åsmund Keilen’s car during the night, and the summer sun reflected alongside dancing common swifts in the sky. Freedom seemed to take form in chaos.
Amazing Animal’s Portraits, Mammals
“Beneath the lush canopy of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda, I observed a young female mountain gorilla from the Binyindo family gently nestled against the protective bulk of a silverback,” says Mary Schrader. “The atmosphere was serene, filled with the soft sounds of the forest, until a sudden burst of delicate color broke through the calm.
“An unexpected vibrant butterfly, appeared out of nowhere, fluttering through the air. Captivated, the young gorilla’s eyes widened, and a beautiful interaction began to unfold. At the fleeting moment, when wild strength met fragile beauty, I pressed the shutter. A rare and precious encounter that united them in a shared world of curiosity, wonder and discovery.”
“The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park lies in a semi-arid environment and can be very dry, with only a few thundershowers per year,” noted Willem Kruger. “This image was taken during a very dry season when, as a result, we saw several small birds arriving in flocks at the waterhole to drink.
“One early morning a pride of lions approached the waterhole and as they moved closer, the birds kept coming, landing briefly on the edge of the water before taking off again. The lioness in the photo kept a watchful eye on the birds, as lions are natural hunters and anything that moves interests them. However, she made no attempt to catch or chase them away.”
Ilse Koks is a KLM flight attendant who flies around the world — and never forgets to pack her camera. “During a layover in Johannesburg,” she recalls, “I made a short trip to Madikwe Game Reserve with plans to focus on long-exposure photography to create more artistic wildlife images.
“After an unsuccessful safari, on the way back to Johannesburg, we suddenly came across a herd of elephants. It felt like one last chance to put my long-exposure plan into practice. I moved my camera in sync with the curves of the tusks to emphasize them even more. The slow shutter broke the elephant’s shape into angular, fragmented forms, making it look like a Cubist painting.”
Polar bears confront serious problems from climate change — not least, the melting of sea ice. “Bears rely on ice to hunt seals, and when the ice disappears during the Arctic summer, many are stranded onshore and unable to hunt.
“This polar bear was observed far north on Svalbard in May, where it had been fortunate to catch a walrus. Preying on a walrus is rare and difficult for polar bears, but in this case, the walrus was likely sick or disabled. The bear appears content and relaxed beside its prey.
Although the scene may seem slightly humorous, it also highlights serious concerns for the future of polar bears and the Arctic ecosystem.”
Tomasz Szpila finds that many of Africa’s most fascinating animals are its smallest warriors: “Among them, the honey badger has earned a reputation for unmatched courage and determination. Despite its modest size, this fearless predator can fend off much larger adversaries, often attacking with surprising aggression and stamina.
Protected by exceptionally tough skin and a natural resistance to bites and stings, honey badgers can survive encounters that would doom most other animals. Yet, as with all creatures, youth and inexperience can tip the scales, making young individuals especially vulnerable to apex predators such as lions.
The rare confrontation in the image happened an early morning on the open plains near Lake Ndutu, in the southern Serengeti ecosystem. The young lion, had managed to corner a honey badger. At first glance, the scene appeared almost playful: the lion pawing, circling, and testing its opponent, as if enjoying a game. The honey badger summoned all its strength and ferocity in a desperate attempt to resist.
The young lion, however, held the advantage in both size and stamina and the outcome was clear. The lion prevailed, asserting dominance over one of Africa’s most resilient fighters.”
Eastern France’s Vosges mountain range offers the gift that keeps on giving to Radomir Jakubowski. “The chamois that live there have long been my favorite subject. In this particular morning, conditions seemed to work against a good shot, until the sun broke through.
“Thick high fog lay over the mountains, the air was damp, the grasses along the path dripped with dew and the light appeared flat. Yet these very conditions transformed the landscape into a golden dreamscape.
When I spotted a young chamois on a rocky outcrop, I deliberately chose to include the foreground, with the chamois standing sharply outlined against the backlight while the dew-laden foreground glows with a fairytale shimmer — a reminder that nature photography often finds its greatest power in embracing the unplanned.”
Nature Photographer Of Other Animals
Bird Island is a tiny, two-kilometer-wide, coral sand island in the Seychelles. “The island is privately owned, and thanks to the efforts of its caretakers, the last rat, introduced by humans, was eradicated in the 1980s,” explains Bence Máté. “Combined with controlled vegetation management, the island now is home to more than 700,000 pairs of sooty terns.
“A distress call caught my attention: A struggling chick, lying defenseless on the ground, was swarmed by crabs that began devouring it alive. In no time, nearly ten crabs had surrounded the chick, dragging it into the bushes, one of nature’s rawest moments.”
After not appearing for decades, in 2012 the endangered Danube mayfly suddenly reappeared in the Danube River, a probable beneficiary of better water quality after water pollution had forced its departure from Central European rivers.
“The summer of 2024 will undoubtedly be remembered as this year’s season for the insect,” says Imre Potyó. “One massive swarm of Danube mayflies approached the illuminated city of Szentendre, Hungary. Drawn by the city lights, millions of insects swarmed last summer, overwhelming street lamps along the Danube promenade.
“Dense clouds of mayflies also engulfed restaurants, vendors, wine bars, and concerts, creating both an unmissable and alarming spectacle. The insects circled the lights for hours, unable to escape, before falling to the asphalt, where they perished.”
Nature Art In Black And White And Color
Sebastiaan van der Greef captured this image while in a boat trip with his family plying the Arctic waters surrounding Svalbard, Norway. “On the final days of our voyage, we set foot on land in search of the elusive Arctic fox,” he recalls “One afternoon, we spotted a lone figure climbing a shallow ridge, a solitary brushstroke of white against the dark rock.”
Paul Eijkemans took this photograph in Marsa Shagra, Egypt, a well-protected bay . “I spotted the Starry Puffer on an early afternoon dive,” he explains. “It was an unusually large puffer. When I approached it, I saw that it was being cleaned by a cleaning wrasse and although the picture was shot in color, it looks like a black-and-white image.”
Through the years, Pål Hermansen set up several cameras with infrared sensors not far from his southern Norway home, placing them along trails where animals pass.
“On this January night,” he says, “a heavy snow blizzard swept through and a moose passed. I feel the rough quality of the image suits the mood perfectly.”
Knut-Sverre Horn “thought the guillemot was about to die when I found it lying still on the ground, partly covered in blood running from its right eye, on Hornøya, Varanger, Northern Norway. The drops of blood made a striking contrast against the dark brown and white feathers.
“I kneeled down and took a few photos when the bird suddenly took flight. It was apparently able to see me with its left eye. I don’t know what caused the injury, but guillemots may fight fiercely, and I have also seen them collide mid-air when they circle the colony in huge swarms.”
Young Nature Photographers
Chamathki Fernando was 15 when he was “deep inside Kumana National Park on the southeastern coast of Sri Lanka one quiet evening, patiently waiting by a waterhole after hearing a sudden alarm call, a likely sign that a leopard was nearby.
“But just as the sun bathed the landscape in golden light, something entirely unexpected drew my focus away: a cluster of tiny frogs, glistening like bronze beads, perched on the back of a water buffalo.
“The small and agile paddy field frogs were calmly resting on the broad, bristled back of a half-submerged buffalo. Like a scene from a fable, these frogs, like Lilliputians, had found refuge on their own living giant, another example of peaceful coexistence and of a subtle, almost comical partnership between two wildly different species.”
Short-eared owls perch on a sunflower at dusk, in the plains near Valladolid, Spain during the summer season when both adult and juvenile owls assemble after the breeding season.
“The sunflowers offered excellent visibility and natural camouflage to the owls, which are usually associated with open natural areas but have also showed a remarkable ability to adapt to agricultural landscapes, making effective use of farmland when prey is abundant,” explains Andres Luis Dominguez Blanco.
Nature, Animals And The Human Factor
Lana Tannir says: “Harbor porpoises are small, elusive cetaceans found in coastal waters across the Northern Hemisphere. They rely on echolocation to navigate, communicate, and hunt. However, populations in many regions are declining due to human impacts such as underwater noise, pollution, overfishing, and bycatch in fishing nets.
“At 30 years old, Freja is the most studied and oldest recorded Harbor Porpoise in the world. Since 1997, she has lived at Fjord & Bælt, a research facility in Kerteminde, Denmark, after being caught in a fisherman’s net and deemed non-releasable.
“Freja participates in non-invasive behavioral experiments such as this one, in which her eyes are covered with suction cups while she is asked to discriminate between two underwater targets, one made of aluminum and the other of plastic. A DTAG monitoring device on her back records her acoustic responses.
“Through these studies, scientists aim to understand how harbor porpoises use echolocation to hunt and how underwater noise affects their foraging abilities. Such research helps guide conservation strategies to support the survival of these elusive marine mammals in the wild.”
Mara North Conservancy in the greater Maasai Mara reserve provides a wonderful array of wildlife, says Richard Peters. “As a large digger was left parked in the central road following recent maintenance work, a curious elephant decided to give it a closer look.
“Combined with the soft glow of a sunset sky, the moment was a beautiful way of showing how wildlife and humans coexist in this area.”
From An Ant’s Perspective
What would an ant see if it looked up while walking through a field of flowers? Or a ladybird resting for a moment on the stem of a flower? How fantastic would it be if you could photograph this view.
When a long, narrow, wide-angle macro lens that can rotate 360 degrees came onto the market, photographer Theo Bosboom saw an opportunity to make that dream a reality: “It was as if I had been given the key to a wonderful secret world.”
The ever-surprising perspectives made Bosboom fall under the spell of flowers that for this winning project he shows in a totally new way, the emphasis much more on the life of the flowers and the habitats they are part of.
Yet, Bosboom was alarmed by the small number of insects he encountered. In places where there should be great insect activity, it was sometimes eerily silent.
Both flowers and insects have been in serious decline in Western Europe (and many other countries) in recent decades due to intensive agriculture, urbanization and ever-expanding infrastructure, among other factors.
This is a very serious threat to biodiversity, because there is a complex ecosystem that wildflower meadows support.
Fortunately, there have also been positive developments, such as the new mowing and verge management practices adopted by many municipalities in the Netherlands in recent years, with much greater attention to wildflowers and insects.
The next edition of the Nature Photographer Of The Year contest for 2026 will open on December 8, 2025.
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This story was originally published on forbes.com.
