Photography

Wild wonders from the World Nature Photography Award winners

Wild wonders from the World Nature Photography Award winners
Bronze, Animal Portraits. Lessons for life. Female puma and her cubs. Chile
Bronze, Animal Portraits. Lessons for life. Female puma and her cubs. Chile
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World Nature Photography Awards, Gold, Animals in their Habitat. Bornean Orangutan. Borneo
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World Nature Photography Awards, Gold, Animals in their Habitat. Bornean Orangutan. Borneo
Bronze, Animal Portraits. Lessons for life. Female puma and her cubs. Chile
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Bronze, Animal Portraits. Lessons for life. Female puma and her cubs. Chile
Gold, Animal Portraits. Three long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis). Bali, Indonesia
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Gold, Animal Portraits. Three long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis). Bali, Indonesia
Silver, Animal Portraits. A Doting Mother. Kamchatka Brown Bear (Ursus arctos beringianus). South Kamchatka Sanctuary, Russia
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Silver, Animal Portraits. A Doting Mother. Kamchatka Brown Bear (Ursus arctos beringianus). South Kamchatka Sanctuary, Russia
Bronze, Animals in their Habitat. North of the Wall. Female polar bear. Isbukta, on the eastern coast of Svalbard
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Bronze, Animals in their Habitat. North of the Wall. Female polar bear. Isbukta, on the eastern coast of Svalbard
Gold, Behaviour - Amphibians and reptiles. Pacific Tree Frog. Canada
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Gold, Behaviour - Amphibians and reptiles. Pacific Tree Frog. Canada
Bronze, Behavior - Birds. Cormorant Uprising.
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Bronze, Behavior - Birds. Cormorant Uprising.
Silver, Behavior - Birds. Red billed queleas. Selous Game Reserve, Tanzania
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Silver, Behavior - Birds. Red billed queleas. Selous Game Reserve, Tanzania
Bronze, Behavior -
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Bronze, Behavior - Behaviour - Invertebrates. Green huntsman spider (Micrommata virescens) and a vinegar fly (Drosophila melanogaster). Magnitogorsk, Russia
Gold, Behavior - Invertebrates. Ants Crossing. Red ants. Indonesia
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Gold, Behavior - Invertebrates. Ants Crossing. Red ants. Indonesia
World Nature Photography Awards. Silver, Behavior - Mammals. Rumble in the Jungle. Two bull elephants sparring with one another. Amboseli National Park, Kenya
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World Nature Photography Awards. Silver, Behavior - Mammals. Rumble in the Jungle. Two bull elephants sparring with one another. Amboseli National Park, Kenya
Bronze, Behavior - Mammals. Five male cheetahs. Masai Mara in Kenya
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Bronze, Behavior - Mammals. Five male cheetahs. Masai Mara in Kenya
World Nature Photography Awards. Gold, Behavior - Mammals / Grand Prize of World Nature Photographer of the Year. Facing Reality. Antarctica
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World Nature Photography Awards. Gold, Behavior - Mammals / Grand Prize of World Nature Photographer of the Year. Facing Reality. Antarctica
Bronze, Black and White. A family of Asiatic elephants. Udawalawe National Park, Sri Lanka
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Bronze, Black and White. A family of Asiatic elephants. Udawalawe National Park, Sri Lanka
Gold, Black and White. Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus). Iceland
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Gold, Black and White. Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus). Iceland
Silver, Black and White. Mother's Love. Toque macaque being fed by its mother. Yala National Park, Sri Lanka
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Silver, Black and White. Mother's Love. Toque macaque being fed by its mother. Yala National Park, Sri Lanka
Bronze, Nature Art. Lettuce coral. Raja Ampat, Indonesia
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Bronze, Nature Art. Lettuce coral. Raja Ampat, Indonesia
Gold, Nature Art. San Quirico d'orcia, in Tuscany, Italy
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Gold, Nature Art. San Quirico d'orcia, in Tuscany, Italy
Silver, Nature Art. Dandelions. Germany
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Silver, Nature Art. Dandelions. Germany
Gold, People & Nature. Lake Baikal, Russia
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Gold, People & Nature. Lake Baikal, Russia
Bronze, Planet Earth's landscapes and environments. Winter Fang. Gifu Prefecture, Japan
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Bronze, Planet Earth's landscapes and environments. Winter Fang. Gifu Prefecture, Japan
Gold, Planet Earth's landscapes and environments. New Zealand
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Gold, Planet Earth's landscapes and environments. New Zealand
Silver, Planet Earth's landscapes and environments. Pumice Stone Field, Catamarca Province, Argentina
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Silver, Planet Earth's landscapes and environments. Pumice Stone Field, Catamarca Province, Argentina
Gold, Plants and Fungi. The Abandoned. Goa, India
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Gold, Plants and Fungi. The Abandoned. Goa, India
Silver, Plants & Fungi. Young pine, covered with snow. Central Stara Planina in Bulgaria
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Silver, Plants & Fungi. Young pine, covered with snow. Central Stara Planina in Bulgaria
Gold, Urban Wildlife. NYC Humpback. USA
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Gold, Urban Wildlife. NYC Humpback. USA
Silver, Urban Wildlife. Arabian Red Foxes. Kuwait city
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Silver, Urban Wildlife. Arabian Red Foxes. Kuwait city
View gallery - 27 images

In its second year, the World Nature Photography Awards has presented a dazzling array of winning images highlighting the incredible variety of wildlife across the globe. This year’s highlights include a spectacular shot of a humpback whale in front of the New York City skyline, a cheeky orangutan striking a pose, and an extraordinary glimpse at the way ants can work together.

The competition spans 14 categories covering everything from amphibian, bird and mammal behavior to plants and landscapes. Gold, silver and bronze awards are given in each category, alongside an overall Photographer of the Year prize to the best single shot.

World Nature Photography Awards. Gold, Behavior - Mammals / Grand Prize of World Nature Photographer of the Year. Facing Reality. Antarctica
World Nature Photography Awards. Gold, Behavior - Mammals / Grand Prize of World Nature Photographer of the Year. Facing Reality. Antarctica

This year’s top prize went to US photographer Amos Nachoum for an impressive shot of a leopard seal taking on a small Gentoo penguin. Nachoum’s shot, which has previously been celebrated by other photography contests, took hours of patient waiting in a shallow lagoon on a remote island off the Antarctic Peninsula.

“Once the seal reached open water, I followed it and swam parallel to it, observing its actions,” said Nachoum explaining how he tracked the seal after it first caught the penguin. “To my surprise, it let go of the penguin twice. Each time, the seal chased after the penguin again, as if it was enjoying the game. The terrified penguin tried to escape as the game continued. But soon, the end came.”

Gold, Urban Wildlife. NYC Humpback. USA
Gold, Urban Wildlife. NYC Humpback. USA

Another highlight comes in Matthijs Noome’s compelling shot of a humpback whale diving underwater with the iconic New York City skyline in the background. Winning the Urban Wildlife category, Noome said he had been trying to get this perfect shot for a long time but only recently have the whales been returning to local waters.

“Finally got the shot I wanted: a humpback's fluke with the New York City downtown skyline in the distance,” said Noome. “As water quality measures and conservation efforts have started to show real results over the last years, humpback whales are becoming a common sight more and more in New York waters.”

Gold, Behavior - Invertebrates. Ants Crossing. Red ants. Indonesia
Gold, Behavior - Invertebrates. Ants Crossing. Red ants. Indonesia

Co-founder of the World Nature Photography Awards Adrian Dinsdale said the competition was started with the belief that good nature photography can help people appreciate the natural world and ultimately change environmentally damaging behaviors. This year’s entries are no exception, Dinsdale said.

“As always, it’s such a thrill to see the amazing caliber of entries into the awards,” he said. “Seeing these images cannot fail to motivate one to do everything to protect this fragile planet of ours. We offer our heartfelt congratulations to all the winners.”

Take a look through our gallery at more of this year’s thrilling winners.

Source: World Nature Photography Awards

View gallery - 27 images
3 comments
3 comments
anthony88
I only see 4 cheetahs. Where's the fifth. I give up!
Nelson Hyde Chick
We should be enjoying wildlife while we can because by the time humanity has swelled by billions more there will be little to none of it left.
ljaques
@anthony88, find the vertical and horizontal centerlines between the top two cheetahs. You can just see his right eye, with his head still under half an inch of water, cheetah #5 is at 2 o'clock. Those kitties are NOT happy at having to cross the raging river, are they? I love the picture of the other kitties, the mother puma and her cubs.
The picture of the ant walking on the surface tension of that water between pebbles is fascinating, as well.
The pic of the shorn Tuscan wheat field and the green cypress-planted farmstead caught my eye, too.