The 1839 Awards take their name from the year photography was first made widely available to the public, and today they continue that legacy by celebrating photographers who use the medium as a form of creative expression. Across their global competitions, the platform brings together artists from all over the world, all exploring photography as a way to tell stories, capture emotion, and see the world differently.
In the Color Photography Contest, that idea comes to life through bold, vibrant imagery, and this year’s animal category winners are a perfect example. Scroll down to explore the wildlife moments captured in these winning shots and see just how powerful and expressive animal photography can be.
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#1 Nominee: Rare Portrait By Remuna Beca
A portrait of a Dugong captured in the southern Egyptian Red Sea. With fewer than thirty individuals thought to remain in the region, encounters like this are exceptionally rare.
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#2 Nominee: Sanctuary By Remuna Beca
East Indian Manatees rest in Florida’s fresh water springs, their winter sanctuary.
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#3 Nominee: Intimidating Power By Ammon Jeffs
Bison often move down the groomed roads in Yellowstone during the winter, because it allows easier movement. This gorgeous bull is in the Hayden Valley, where large bison bulls often remain the entire winter.
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#4 Nominee: Jasper By Tamara Christian
A social juvenile Goliath grouper enjoys playing with divers on the reefs of Palm Beach.
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#5 Nominee: The Next Generation Ascends By Jodi Frediani
A humpback whale mother and calf rise to the surface amidst streaming sunrays. The mother extends her pectoral fin as if to urge her infant upward. The sunrays add an otherworldly touch, accenting the extraterrestrial nature of these ocean dwelling leviathans. Swimming with whales buoys the soul.
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#6 Nominee: Gentle Reflection By Dave Shaffer
A young Black bear pauses and reflects for a moment as she crosses a beaver dam.
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#7 Nominee: Chromatic Grace By Saleh Alshamali
A vibrant portrait of a lilac-breasted roller captured in soft natural light. The image highlights the bird’s striking colors and delicate feather detail, set against a smooth, blurred background that enhances its calm presence and natural elegance.
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#8 Nominee: Silent Strength By Saleh Alshamali
A quiet portrait capturing the depth of emotion within a chimpanzee’s gaze. Strength is not always loud — sometimes, it exists in stillness, in presence, and in the unspoken connection between viewer and subject.
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#9 Honorable Mention: Running As One By Lucie Nermutova
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#10 Honorable Mention: The Golden Gaze By Saleh Alshamali
“Intense portrait of a tiger emerging from the shadows. This shot emphasizes the contrast between the vibrant coat and the dark surroundings, focusing on the soulful yet fierce expression in its eyes.”
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#11 Nominee: Call Of A Puffin By Isabella Robbeson
At Hornoya, Norway, I made this lovely picture of this Puffin. I had my 400-800mm with me so I could make this portrait. This island is protected and only under supervision you can visit this. Ofcourse it’s not allowed to disturb the birds. It’s important we protect this species.
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#12 Honorable Mention: Bound By Care By Saleh Alshamali
A quiet moment of protection, where vulnerability rests within strength. In the mother’s embrace, instinct and tenderness merge, revealing a silent story of trust, care, and survival.
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#13 Honorable Mention: Ancient Gaze By Saleh Alshamali
An intimate macro portrait revealing the intricate textures and primal intensity of a reptile’s eye. Every scale tells a story of resilience, evolution, and silent power shaped by time. A close encounter with a living relic of the wild.
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#14 Honorable Mention: Striking Distance By Remuna Beca
A striped marlin closes in on a bait ball, capturing the speed, precision, and tension of the hunt.
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#15 Nominee: Baby Yellow Tail Black Cockatoo By Richard Leigh
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#16 Nominee: Ornate Blur By Tamara Christian
A small Ornate Ghost pipefish set against a crinoid in the Lembeh Strait with motion blur effect.
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#17 Honorable Mention: Edge Of Independence By Laura Dyer
A mother cheetah and her three youngsters, almost ready to leave her and start their solitary lives, here pictured as if the edge of independence is coming closer quickly, in different poses, a state of urgency in the stormy clouds above.
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#18 Gold: Little Bird By Anne Neiwand
A solitary bird stands against melting ice, positioned as witness within a changing world. The image contemplates isolation, survival and the accelerating fragility of frozen landscapes.
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#19 People’s Vote Award: My Chair By Isabella Robbeson
My Beagle Layla like to pose in my studio. I bought this vintage seat on a secondhand shop and bought a new background to realize my idea for this photo. A nice collar in the same red colour as the seat. And so came my idea true in this picture.
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#20 Silver: Ignition By Claudio Piccoli
It’s a border collie spreading a lot of energy in a discdog catching moment. With this photo I want to represent the burning fire that is inside a dog in action. I love to represent dogs in action because where dogs move life flows from my point of view.
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#21 Bronze: Sea Lion Smile By Remuna Beca
A curious Australian sea lion, the world’s most endangered pinniped, smiles at the camera among vibrant kelp in South Australia’s clear waters.
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#22 Honorable Mention: Sunfish Snack By Jodi Frediani
Often, we see Ocean sunfish resting on their sides at the surface. This one, with its large expressive eyes, busy feeding, popped its head above the surface to successfully slurp up one of the small, blue gelatinous creatures that found its way into the bay on currents with the help of the wind.
Image source: 1839awards
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