A Curious Nose: Celebrating the Beauty of Nature Photography

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 challenging 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 speedy 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

stunning Wildlife Photography Captures Nature’s Drama and Resilience

The Nature Photographer of the Year 2025 competition has unveiled a breathtaking collection of images, showcasing the beauty and fragility of the natural world. From artistic interpretations of majestic elephants to poignant depictions of polar bears facing climate change,the winning photographs offer a powerful glimpse into the lives of animals in their habitats.

Ilse Koks, a KLM flight attendant and passionate photographer, received Highly commended recognition in the Animal Portraits category for her striking image of an elephant. Captured during a layover in Johannesburg, Koks utilized long-exposure photography to transform the animal into a Cubist-inspired work of art. “I moved my camera in sync with the curves of the tusks to emphasize them even more,” she explains. “The slow shutter broke the elephant’s shape into angular, fragmented forms, making it look like a Cubist painting.”

Pål Hermansen’s “polar Meal” earned the top prize in the Mammals category, offering a stark reminder of the challenges faced by polar bears due to melting sea ice.The image depicts a polar bear contentedly beside a walrus, a rare and difficult prey. While the scene appears peaceful, Hermansen notes it underscores the serious concerns for the future of polar bears and the Arctic ecosystem.

The competition also highlighted the fierce spirit of smaller creatures.Tomasz szpila’s highly Commended image in the Mammals category, “No Fear, No Mercy,” captures a dramatic confrontation between a young lion and a honey badger. Szpila describes the honey badger as “unmatched courage and determination,” despite its size. The photograph depicts a desperate struggle, ultimately illustrating the power dynamics of the African savanna and the resilience required for survival.

These captivating images, and many others from the Nature Photographer of the Year 2025 competition, serve as both a party of wildlife and a call to action for conservation efforts.

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 Marsa Shagra, Egypt, in 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 even though 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 quite 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 br

Theo Bosboom’s “Flowerscapes”: A New Perspective on nature

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? Imagine photographing this unique view.

When a long, narrow, wide-angle macro lens capable of 360-degree rotation became available, photographer Theo Bosboom recognized an prospect to realize this dream: “It was as if I had been given the key to a splendid secret world.”

The surprising perspectives captivated Bosboom, leading him to showcase flowers in a completely new way. His winning project emphasizes the life of the flowers and the habitats they inhabit.

Though, Bosboom was concerned by the scarcity of insects he observed. In areas where significant insect activity should have been present, he frequently enough encountered an unsettling silence.

Both flowers and insects are…