Photography

The best photography of 2021

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Nature TTL Photographer of the Year. A wasp carries away its prey, a poor unsuspecting honeybee
Simon Jenkins
Siena International Photo Awards. 1st Place - Journeys & Adventures. This is My Jungle! A wild elephant attacks a jeep full of people. Yala National Park, Sri Lanka.
Sergey Savvi
Siena International Photo Awards. Remarkable Artwork - The Beauty of Nature. A Great Plains Spaceship. A supercell thunderstorm in summertime on the Great Plains of Kansas.
Laura Hedian
Siena International Photo Awards. Honorable Mention - Animals in their Environment. Savannah Storm. Masai Mara, Kenya
Maymoni Maya
Historic Photographer of the Year. Shortlisted. Kingdom of Kommagene. The top of Mount Nemrut, near Adiyaman province in Turkey. In 62 BC, King Antiochus I Theos of Commagene built on the mountain top a tomb-sanctuary flanked by huge statues 8–9-meter-high (26–30 ft) of himself and statues of some Greek and Iranian gods.
Mehmet Masum Suer
Winner - Behavior, Mammals. Head to Head. Svalbard reindeer. Nikon D5 + 180–400mm f4 lens at 400mm 1/640 sec at f4 ISO 3200.
Stefano Unterthiner, Wildlife Photographer of the Year
CUPOTY, Close-up Photographer of the Year. Finalist - Animals. Take Off.
Dario Quattrin/CUPOTY
Astronomy Photographer of the Year. Winner - Aurorae. Polar Lights Dance. Approach to the Kara Strait, Russia. Sony ILCE-7M3 camera, 28 mm f/2.8 lens, ISO 100, 25-second exposure.
Dmitrii Rybalka
Astronomy Photographer of the Year. Winner - Skyscapes. Luna Dunes. Death Valley National Park, California, USA. Sony ILCE-7RM4 camera. Sand and sky: 70 mm f/8 lens, ISO 400, Sand: 30-second exposure, Sky: 1-second exposure. Moon: 200 mm f/2.8 lens, ISO 100, Moon face: 2.5-second exposure, Moon edge: 1/100-second exposure
JK Lovelace
The Drone Photo Awards. Commended - Wildlife. Sleeping Beauty. Churchill, Manitoba, Canada
Martin Gregus
The Drone Photo Awards. Photo of the Year. Pink-Footed Geese Meeting the Winter. Levanger, Norway
Terje Kolaas
The Drone Photo Awards. Highly Commended - Sport. Wrong Way Buddy! Meeanee - Hawkes Bay, New Zealand
John Cowpland
"The Green Stylist" (Indian chameleon, Western Ghats, India)
© Gurumoorthy K / Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2021
"Ninja Prairie Dog!" (Bald eagle, Hygiene, CO)
© Arthur Trevino / Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2021
Urban Photo Awards. Finalist, Streets. Untitled
Maude Bardet
Urban Photo Awards. Finalist, Streets. Covid's Horses
Eduard Korniyenko
Minimalist Photography Awards. 3rd Place, Conceptual. Repel
Timo Lemmetti
iPhone Photographer of the Year. Photographer of the Year, 2nd Place. A Walk on Mars. Qinghai, China. Shot on iPhone 11 Pro Max
Dan Liu/IPPA
Nature TTL Photographer of the Year. A fish is snapped up by a crocodile in South Africa
Johan Wandrag
Nature TTL Photographer of the Year. A wasp carries away its prey, a poor unsuspecting honeybee
Simon Jenkins
Series Name: Raw Nature
Copyright: © Graeme Purdy, Northern Ireland, 2nd Place, Professional, Wildlife & Nature, 2021 Sony World Photography Awards
Fine Art Photography Awards. Gold, Photojournalism, Professional. 'Time of Coronavirus', Wuhan
Aly Song
Fine Art Photography Awards. Nominee, Wildlife, Amateur. 'Compare', Kenya
Hong Chen
'A Quiet Autumn Day'. An old boathouse in Gildeskål, northern Norway.
Rune Mattsson, Norway, Shortlist, Open, Travel, 2021 Sony World Photography Awards
'Alone'. Mount Gongga
Jinjing Lyu, China, Shortlist, Open, Landscape, 2021 Sony World Photography Awards
'Fury in the Slaughterhouse Car Concert'. Christof Stein-Schneider of the band Fury in the Slaughterhouse during a Covid-compatible concert in Hannover. They played in front of about 1,000 cars, with indicators, warning lights and high beams replacing the applause.
Holger Bücker, Germany, Shortlist, Open, Lifestyle, 2021 Sony World Photography Awards
World Nature Photography Awards. Gold - Behavior, Mammals. 'Lion Fight'. Serengeti, Tanzania
Patrick Nowotny
Black and White Minimalist Photography Awards. Top 50. 'Bus Stop'. Shibetsu, Hokkaido.
Roy Iwasaki
Black and White Minimalist Photography Awards. Top 50. 'Snowboard Track on Norikura'. Hakuba, Japan.
Scott Rinckenberger
'The beds'
Luca Locatelli, Italy, Shortlist, Professional, Architecture & Design, 2021 Sony World Photography Awards
Mobile Photography Awards. Winner - Water, Snow, Ice. 'San Clemente'. iPhone XS Max
Roger Clay
Mobile Photography Awards. Winner - Travel, Adventure. 'Reverence'. Huawei
Jinyi He
Since places of worship are closed, these men pray on the Astroturf pitch, while adhering to social distancing
Mehmet Aslan, Turkey, Winner, National Awards, 2021 Sony World Photography Awards
Santa’s Cabin by Olli Sorvari, snapped in Levi, Finland. A wispy glow appears to emanate from a snow-encrusted cabin, at the end of a difficult trek.
Olli Sorvari
The Pano Awards. Highlight - Open, Built Environment. Winter Moonrise Over Los Angeles.
Elliot McGucken
The Pano Awards. Highlight - Open, Nature and Landscape. Struck. Arizona, USA
Peter Coksun
Nikon Small World Photography Awards. 13th Place. Cotton fabric with pollen grains. Darkfield, Image Stacking. 10X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Felice Placenti
Nikon Small World Photography Awards. Honorable Mention. Red forest ant (Formica rufa). Image Stacking. 5X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Fred Terveer
Underwater Photography Awards. Runner-Up, Behavior. This is a picture of blenny in a fight. It is a species of chaenopsid blenny found around Japan and South Korea. Its most distinctive feature is its hairstyle, which is often referred to as Punk Blenny or Mohican Blenny.
JingGong Zhang/UPY 2021
View gallery - 38 images

At the end of a stellar year for photography contests we have hand-picked a selection of our favorite shots from the past 12 months. This best-of-the-best gallery includes stylish drone shots, psychedelic macro photography and some mind-bending landscapes.

Siena International Photo Awards. 1st Place - Journeys & Adventures. This is My Jungle! A wild elephant attacks a jeep full of people. Yala National Park, Sri Lanka.
Sergey Savvi

As with previous years, the big international photography contests continued to deliver the most impressive images. The Sony World Photography Awards, the Siena International Photo Awards, and The Pano Awards all served up spectacular shots.

Siena International Photo Awards. Honorable Mention - Animals in their Environment. Savannah Storm. Masai Mara, Kenya
Maymoni Maya

Interestingly, a number of wildlife photography competitions also stood out in 2021 with a variety of exceptional animal shots, from the perennial Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards to the newer Nature InFocus Photo Contest. Even the ever reliable Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards stepped up its game with an entertaining batch of finalists.

"Ninja Prairie Dog!" (Bald eagle, Hygiene, CO)
© Arthur Trevino / Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2021

As with last year's photo contests, the pandemic was a prominent subject for many photographers who captured snapshots of a truly strange and surreal moment in history. Instead of the straightforward shots of empty city streets we saw in 2020, this year photographers seemed to focus more on the deeply weird sights this pandemic has unleashed, from bands playing music to crowds of cars to a stunning drone shot of thousands praying while socially distancing on a soccer pitch.

Fine Art Photography Awards. Gold, Photojournalism, Professional. 'Time of Coronavirus', Wuhan
Aly Song

It is impossible to choose our favorite photograph of 2021 so take a look through our long shortlist and let us know what catches your eye in the comments.

View gallery - 38 images
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