Nature Photography of the Year Winner

The top honor, Nature Photography of the Year 2025, along with a €1,000 prize, was awarded to Thomas Vijayan of Oakville, Canada, for his striking image Please Spare Our Home.

In the photograph (below), a mature orangutan sits amid the remains of its habitat— uprooted vegetation, broken tree trunks, and exposed earth stretching across the frame. Captured from a low angle, the composition emphasizes the animal’s presence while highlighting its vulnerability. Its posture and gaze appear to meet the viewer directly, conveying both dignity and a silent plea.

More than a wildlife portrait, the image stands as a powerful statement on deforestation and habitat loss. It captures the consequences of human activity while reminding viewers of their shared responsibility to protect endangered species and ecosystems.

Vijayan’s win marks another milestone in his career—he was also named Photographer of the Year in 2024.

“Our changing world is a major threat to many living beings around us and among them is the greatest living ape on Earth, the orangutans,” Thomas Vijayan explains. "Humans are on a run to satisfy their immediate requirements and if deforestation continues the coming generation may miss seeing them at all. These helpless creatures are now dependent on feeding stations for food as most of the vegetation or, rather, 1,000-plus-year-old trees – in itself a major asset to our planet – have been cut down for palm-oil plantations following a rise in global demand by the oil and fats industry.

"Orangutans are accustomed to live in trees and feed on wild fruits like lychees, mangosteens, and figs, and slurp water from holes in trees. With the current rate of change that they are going through, I sadly wonder how long they can survive. In fact, when I spent some time with them I could literally feel that they really want to say something to us humans. There is an untold emotion in each one’s eyes.

"In the picture, you can see a sad matured orangutan in his vanishing habitat pleading with us to spare his home."

Nature Photographer Of The Year

The title of Photographer of the Year 2025 was awarded to Angela J. Sanchez from Lilburn, Georgia, U.S., whose body of work stood out for its versatility and visual coherence.

Rather than a single image, this recognition highlights a collection that explores different aspects of the natural world, from underwater encounters to intimate wildlife scenes on land. “Her work demonstrates a remarkable ability to adapt to different environments while maintaining a consistent visual language,” the judges said.

The featured image "Mobula Rocket" reflects this approach, capturing a fleeting natural moment with clarity and precision.

“Mobula rays exhibit stunning acrobatics when jumping out of the water,” Sanchez says. “They suddenly burst out of the sea like a rocket and become airborne, eventually landing back in a belly flop or flipping onto their backs. It’s not known exactly why they do this, but theories include communication, ridding of parasites, part of a mating ritual, or just because they are happy.”

As part of the Photographer Of The Year recognition, the photographer will select the location where 500 trees will be planted in collaboration with One Tree Planted.

Wild Animals’ Wisdom And Power In Nature Photography

A young brown bear follows the confident lead of a small seagull across the tidal flats as nature painted the world in golden pastels.

The bear’s gentle, humble posture as it trusts this tiny guide speaks to a deeper truth: Sometimes the greatest strength is found in quiet surrender to gentle guidance.

In this extraordinary moment, we’re reminded that wisdom often comes in the smallest whispers.

In the fading light of time, power remains -- etched not in thrones or temples but in the muscle, horn and silence of nature’s oldest guardians. A portrait of strength not shouting, but enduring.

As the sun sets, the scene of the mother giraffe and her baby.

After tracking a large school of Mobula rays for some time, Bingqiam Gao decided to try a different approach: Get ahead and wait.

“I positioned myself well in advance, took a breath, and descended slowly,” he says. “Then, they came. The rays swam directly toward me, their mesmerizing symmetry unfolding through the water. From this rare head-on angle, they revealed their structure: wings in perfect rhythm, mouths gently open, feeding as they moved in unison like hundreds of flying pancakes.”

In the Khutzymateen of British Columbia just south of Alaska, two male grizzly bears fight with each other to decide who would mate with a young female who was contentedly eating grass nearby.

Funny Animals In Nature Photography

Eye-level, natural light, Lake Kerkini in Greece. A Dalmatian Pelican opens its bill wide right in front of the camera as a group emerges through the soft morning mist.

A close, intimate moment showing the character and presence of this iconic species.

During a safari on the Maasai Mara in Kenya, Graene Guy was about to record a female giraffe with a calf when the sound of an approaching aeroplane rippled the air. He kept shooting as the plane came into view. This shot had 'precise timing’.

“Clearly they can save money on onboard hostesses with this innovation,” he added.

Yes, it finally found the golden acorn.

Birds In Nature Photography

A group of king penguins look out to sea as a grey sky threatens an incoming storm.

Along a busy road, this hoopoe bird found suitable nesting opportunities in several acacia trees just five meters rom the street, where it has been breeding for years.

Since there is regular traffic, the hoopoe has become accustomed to the presence of humans, as well as the noise from cyclists, motorcyclists and cars.

Despite the vast difference in size, a crow bravely strikes at a perched Griffon vulture in a moment of pure wild defiance.

Is it a painting? No, just nature’s masterpiece. A Great Blue Heron strolles through fields of teasel at Ninepipe National Wildlife Refuge in western Montana.

Nature in Macrophotography

A captivating macro scene is captured under the cover of night. Two glass snails are diligently feeding on the decaying cap of a Termitomyces fungi as a pattern of discharged spores scatters in the air, adding a surreal, ethereal quality to this natural decay cycle.

Two Eastern Festoon butterflies perch together on the branch in perfect symmetry.

A tree frog poses on the branch of a fig tree in seeming consideration of the photographer.

These green shield bug eggs, each delicately attached to a twig, appear as nature’s emojis. The tiny red dots are actually the eyes of the larvae developing inside, quietly preparing for the moment they will hatch into the world.

Nature Photography: Human Environmental Impact

A cheetah opens its eyes for the first time after sedation, during which it underwent X-rays, laser treatments, and various other veterinary procedures.

This cheetah was a victim of snaring. Snares, often set by impoverished communities to catch small game for food, are indiscriminate and can trap other animals.

Thanks to the NGO’s daily monitoring team, veterinarians were able to intervene to repair torn ligaments. She will be released back into the wild after several weeks in rehabilitation.

Taken in India whilst on safari. The tourists in the jeeps were waiting for the tiger to cross the track. The big cat appears to be used to the attention and the vehicles and just kept walking into the vegetation.

An aerial view of the vast timber market lining the banks of the Sandha River in Swarupkathi, Pirojpur, Bangladesh.

Countless logs float and pile up along the river, reflecting the region’s long-standing dependence on river-based timber transport. But the sheer scale of this trade also highlights the mounting environmental strain on Bangladesh’s forest ecosystems, from accelerating deforestation and diminishing biodiversity to increased riverbank erosion.

The scene underscores the urgent need for sustainable forestry practices to protect the country’s fragile natural balance.

Explore all category winners and finalists of the Nature Photography Contest to discover more extraordinary images that highlight both the beauty of nature and the urgency of preserving it.

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