These are the ten most fascinating award-winning images of 2025, showcasing the easiest in wildlife, macro, panorama, astrophotography, meals images and extra.
Discover the visuals that amazed judges, from erupting volcanoes to awe-inspiring galaxies, and the gear and tales behind these photograph contest winners from the final yr…
The Long Shadow – Christopher Harrison
British Photography Awards Drone class
Drone Photo Awards Nature class
Gear: DJI Air 2S
Christopher Harrison’s The Long Shadow is certainly one of 2025’s most celebrated drone photographs. Shot with a DJI Air 2S, this {photograph} captures a solitary tree casting a protracted shadow throughout misty Oxfordshire fields at dawn. The dramatic gentle cloud inversion and aerial perspective showcase why Harrison secured high honors in each competitions.
Tauhi – Miesa Grobbelaar
Oceania Photo Contest Grand Prize + People & Nature class
Miesa Grobbelaar’s Tauhi captures a dramatic second underwater as a diver frees a humpback whale entangled in a rusted chain. This nature {photograph} combines stress, emotion and human-nature connection, highlighting each the vulnerability of marine life and the braveness of these defending it.
Last Fireworks – Alex Wides
Epson International Pano Awards Open Photographer of the Year + Nature/Landscape class
Gear: Sony A7 IV + fisheye lens
Alex Wides’ Last Fireworks is a panoramic 360° desert panorama, captured at sundown utilizing a Sony A7 IV and fisheye lens. This panoramic {photograph} combines vibrant skies, dramatic rock formations and meticulous multi-exposure stitching to create an immersive panorama expertise.
Danlock – Hasan Baglar
Cewe Photo Award Grand Prize + Close-up/ Macro class
Gear: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV + 100mm macro lens
Hasan Baglar’s Danlock captures two praying mantises seemingly dancing in excellent sync, celebrating the wonder and intimacy of wildlife up shut. This macro {photograph} combines precision, endurance and a uncommon pure second to win the world’s largest images competitors.
The Andromeda Core – Weitang Liang, Qi Yang & Chuhong Yu
ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year (Royal Observatory Greenwich) Overall Winner
Gear: PlaneWave Instruments CDK20 telescope, Baader LRGB and Chroma H-alpha filters, PlaneWave Instruments L500 mount, Moravian Instruments C3-61000 Pro digital camera
The Andromeda Core reveals the galaxy’s intricate central construction in beautiful element. Captured with a protracted focal-length telescope and a number of lengthy exposures totaling 38 hours, this astrophotography showcases swirling fuel clouds and glowing stars above Nerpio, Spain.
The Anthropocene Illusion – Zed Nelson
Sony World Photography Awards Professional Competition + Wildlife & Nature class
Zed Nelson’s The Anthropocene Illusion examines the fractured relationship between people and wildlife, capturing a chimpanzee with the painted enclosure of Shanghai Wild Animal Park.
Beating 419,820 entries from 206 nations, this {photograph} not solely earned high honors but in addition drew world consideration to the delicate steadiness between people and wildlife, sparking dialog about conservation and our function within the pure world.
The Elderly Having Delicious Food – Xiaoling Li
World Food Photography Awards Overall Winner
Xiaoling Li’s picture celebrates friendship, pleasure and the easy pleasures of meals, displaying 5 aged girls in Sichuan Province, China, sharing rolls and laughter in colourful apparel. The composition and vibrant colours fantastically convey cultural custom and communal connection.
Ancient Rivals – Amith Eshel
Nature inFocus Photography Awards Animal Behavior class
Gear: Canon EOS R5, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM
Amit Eshel’s Ancient Rivals captures an Arctic wolf stalking a herd of musk oxen on Ellesmere Island, Canada. The wolf’s intense focus and the herd’s protecting formation tells a dramatic story of predator-prey dynamics within the Arctic wilderness. This picture combines timing, composition and deep information of wildlife habits to win recognition for its gripping depiction of survival in excessive situations.
Etna’s Paroxysm – Gianluca Gianferrari
Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award Grand Prize
Gianluca Gianferrari’s Etna’s Paroxysm captures glowing lapilli erupting from Mount Etna, Sicily, towards a snow-covered panorama. The dramatic distinction between molten hearth and icy terrain, mixed with excellent timing and composition, transforms a volcanic eruption right into a vivid, nearly painterly spectacle.
This highly effective picture earned him the world’s richest images prize, highlighting nature’s unpredictable magnificence and elemental pressure.
Fishing in Raining Season – Kyaw Zay Yar Lin
Standard Chartered Weather Photographer of the Year (Royal Meteorological Society) Mobile class
Gear: Xiaomi digital camera cellphone
Kyaw Zay Yar Lin’s Fishing in Raining Season captures two Inle Lake fishermen navigating a sudden monsoon storm in Myanmar, previously generally known as Burma, in Southeast Asia. Their conventional single-leg, single-oar method was frozen in vivid element.
Against splashing water and torrential rain, this placing photograph demonstrates the ability of cellular images, combining timing, ability, and fashionable expertise. It showcases how smartphones can rival conventional cameras in capturing dramatic moments.
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