The World Nature Photography Awards have announced their 2020 winners, and the competition has proven itself to be a wonderful celebration of Mother Earth.
“2020 was a challenging year for many but nothing could be more uplifting than marveling at the beauty of the natural world around us,” the organizers wrote. “And that’s something that our 2020 winners have done with gusto.”
Participants competed in 13 categories. Their images and captions revealed that the pandemic has diminished neither their passion nor their patience for capturing our planet. But at the end of the day, the title of World Nature Photographer of the Year went to Thomas Vijayan for his shot ‘The world is going upside down.’
Continue scrolling and explore the winners.
More info: worldnaturephotographyawards.com
#1 Animals In Their Habitat, Gold Winner And Grand Prize: Thomas Vijayan, Canada
I had this frame in my mind so, to get this shot, I firstly selected a tree that was in the water so that I could get a good reflection of the sky which makes the image look upside down. Then, I climbed up the tree and waited for hours. This is a regular path for the orangutans to cross to another small island, so I felt I was sure to get this frame if I wait patiently. It was a tough task but the end result paid off. Borneo is a photographers’ paradise. I really enjoyed shooting in such an untouched part of the world.
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#2 Behaviour – Birds, Bronze: Lisa Roeder, United States
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#3 Behaviour – Birds, Gold: Dale Paul, Canada
This Great Horned Owl has just jumped from its perch in the trees to begin flight. She has thrust her wings forward to gain momentum. As the wings connect in front of her it appears as though she has formed a perfect flying saucer. The image was taken near High River, Canada.
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#4 Animal Portraits, Gold: Nick Dale, United Kingdom
A Bengal tigress with a catchlight in her eye lies up to her neck in the dark shadows of a water hole. Her name is Maya ‘The Enchantress’, and she has orange and black stripes with white patches on her head.
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#5 People And Nature, Silver: Naomi Rose, Australia
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#6 Animals In Their Habitat, Silver: Vladimir Cech, Czech Republic
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#7 Behaviour – Birds, Silver: Andy Pollard, Falkland Islands
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#8 Urban Wildlife, Gold: Lawrence Worcester, United States
A songbird pulls at construction tape to snag a thread
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#9 Animal Portraits, Bronze: Femke Van Willigen, The Netherlands
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#10 Nature Art, Gold: Dipanjan Pal, India
A glacial river flowing through the black sand to the Atlantic.
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#11 Behaviour – Mammals, Silver: Darren Donovan, South Africa
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#12 Animal Portraits, Silver: Joseph Shaffery, United Kingdom
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#13 Plants And Fungi, Gold: Doron Talmi, Israel
South Eastern USA has numerous swamps, lakes and bayous where thousands of large “bald cypress” trees are growing in the water. The beautiful sights are further enhanced during the November fall foliage by amazing lights and reflections. The image was captured handheld, from a kayak at a misty dawn in a lake in East Texas.
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#14 Urban Wildlife, Silver: Jocelyn Chng, Singapore
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#15 Behaviour – Amphibians And Reptiles, Gold: Vittorio Ricci, Italy
Two European common brown frogs during Spring mating season, Aveto, Italy.
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#16 Black And White, Gold: Harry Skeggs, United Kingdom
Ulysses, one of the last remaining great tuskers, bears down on top of me, demonstrating his colossal size and tusks
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#17 People And Nature, Gold: Christa Funk, United States
Andre Fajardo and I went to dive early one morning. Sometimes you’ll see a ton of life in this area and other times you won’t. This particular day we came upon a few bait balls and the fish let us swim around them. The photo was taken in the Pacific Ocean.
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#18 Black And White, Bronze: Heiko Mennigen, Germany
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#19 Behaviour – Mammals, Gold: Patrick Nowotny, United States
An interloper approaches a watering hole in the Serengeti that was already claimed by a small pride of lions. As the lioness came close, the pride attacked her in order to drive her away.
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#20 Planet Earth’s Landscapes And Environments, Bronze: Shawna Hinkel, United States
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#21 Behaviour – Mammals, Bronze: Nabarun Majumdar, India
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#22 Animals In Their Habitat, Bronze: Arlette Magiera, Germany
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#23 Planet Earth’s Landscapes And Environments, Silver: Mustafa Demirörs, Sweden
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#24 Urban Wildlife, Bronze: Adriana Rivas, Spain
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#25 Behaviour – Amphibians And Reptiles, Bronze: Mr Endy, Singapore
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#26 Behaviour – Invertebrates, Silver: Melissa Robertson, United States
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#27 Behaviour – Invertebrates, Gold: Dr Tze Siong Tan, Singapore
Dragonfly and damselfly sex is a very conspicuous event, easily recognised by the heart-shaped “wheel” formation of mating pairs. I was lucky to encounter several pairs during a morning walk at Gardens by the Bay,Singapore. I approached quietly to avoid scaring the pair away; and positioned my equipment carefully to get both damselflies in the same plane.
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#28 People And Nature, Bronze: Mark Mcinnis, United States
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#29 Plants And Fungi, Bronze: Susanna Patras, United States
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#30 Behaviour – Invertebrates, Bronze: Janus Olajuan Boediman, Indonesia
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