The Nature Photography Contest has unveiled the winners and finalists of its first international award edition, created to remind us of what we have and must not lose.

“Uniting Environmental Commitment and the Beauty of Photography,” the competition aims to serve as a meeting point for photographers of all levels to share the wonders of the natural world.

“Nature photography is a great way to raise awareness on how crucial it is to protect our planet,” the awards organization explains.

The Nature Photography Contest is an online photo competition that is also working on planting a forest: “Each of the participants of our photo competition will become a tree and the winner of our contest decides in which country they will be planted.”

For this first edition, the contest was open to 10 categories: Natural Landscape, Wildlife, Funny Nature, Macro Photography, Underwater, Birds, Plant Life, Night World, Environmental Impact and Sharing the Planet.

The Photography Of The Year Award was given to the “Sea Lion in Los Islotes” image by photographer Glenn Ostle, along with a €1,000 prize.

“Ostle’s photo capture the exact moment when the sea lion seems to be posing for him in front of a school of fish that forms an inimitable natural backdrop,” the jury explained. ‘Not surprisingly, the naturalness of the animal and the complexity of the image perfectly illustrate the importance of our seabed and the care of its species.”

The next Nature Photography Contest will be open for entries on May 15.

Photo Of The Year

Photographer Of The Year

The Photographer of the Year award went to Alain Schroeder “for his striking images. that stand out for his commitment to the environment.” As part of the award, the Photographer of the Year will decide the country where the contest, in collaboration with One Tree Planted, will plant more than 400 trees.

Those funny animals

Monday: A spotted owlet emerges from a hollow within a yellow flame tree. This species of owl is characterized by its small size, primarily nocturnal feeding behavior and frequence in urban areas. Without a sharp eye, this spotted owlet would go unnoticed. These spotted owlets, somehow, have shown their adaptability, finding habitats within modified urban environments.

It was a memorable experience for the photographeer capturing a playful moment with this cub in Wilpattu National Park, Sri Lanka. The fact that the cub stuck out its tongue added a delightful touch to the photograph.

Its normal behavior of praying mantises, when defending themselves. They look like smiling dancers.

Salmon regret; no judgements; we’ve all been there. You’re standing in the middle of a massive school of sockeye salmon and you just get a little carried away. After all, it’s not my fault – I’m in full-blown hyperphagia. Now it’s time to find some soft grass and sleep off this salmon-induced food coma. This shot was taken at Alaska’s Brook Falls Camp.

“An unusually cheeky Red-Winged Blackbird swooped down and landed on the back of this Great Blue Heron several times,” the photographer recalled. “I had never seen this behavior before as herons commonly foraged for hours amidst the blackbirds in relative harmony.”

Some places require a little gymnastics to clean.

Wildlife

Stories in the sand: “The scorpion is widely distributed in India,” said the photographer. “Once the evening falls, they emerge across the dunes in Jaisalmer to feed.”

When lighted by faint ultraviolet light, they emit bright blue luminescence from their body.

“This curious little Arctic fox cub came checking me out for a while last summer in Svalbard,” said Piet van den Bemd. “Showing respect and acting calm, this little guy kept playing hide and seek with me and gave me some great possibilities to shoot wide angle.”

The wind was strong the day Patrice Quillard snared this shot at Ethiopia’s Simien Mountains National Park. “This weather inconvenience became an asset as it ruffled the long hairs of the larger Theropithecus Gelada male monkeys. This one was particularly annoyed by the violent gusts blowing over the highlands. With each squall his long hairs rose in all directions and I found the scene quite graphic.”

Tigress “Noor” of India’s Ranthambore National Park has raised many litters in her lifetime, including these two almost-adult sisters enjoying carefree play before the worries of adulthood

Amazing birds

A Puffin out for a stroll along a cliff in Iceland.

Short-eared owl, in late winter, Norway.

A flock of white egrets flies past a stand of bald cypress trees in the 9,300-acre Cypress Island Nature Preserve in Louisiana, a primordial swampy ecosystem that supports abundant wildlife, including one of the largest wading bird rookeries in North America.

‘I was in Uganda and stayed in a tented hotel set along the Nile River,” said June Greenspa. “A slow boat ride took us along Papyrus growth. Papyrus look like feathers emerging out of the water. Suddenly I saw this black bird flying along the length of the Papyrus.”

Macrophotography

The Dreamer: Morning dew and sun combine to spotlight a beautiful Philaeus chrysops female spider surveying her nest.

A Praying mantis peers out from behind of the leaf.

Small Goby fish, this one less than one-inch long, are commonly found on and around sea pens such as this one in the waters of Dumaguete, Philippines.

Life underwater

A larval Moray Eel circles when feeling threatened.

“The video I took of this turtle blowing bubbles went viral globally,” said Charlotte Piho. “Nobody seems to have seen a turtle deep in the ocean blowing bubbles. Showing that animals, just like humans, have distinct personalities and are vulnerable, this photo brings awareness on the humans need to protect our oceans and marine life.”

This photo was taken under the Arctic Ocean Polar Circle during an expedition of several underwater photographers. This creature was found at a depth of 15 meters attached to a seaweed due to its baby state. It’s about three centimeters and the species is virtually impossible to see anywhere else.

Natural landscapes day and night

“One of my favorite things when exploring Iceland is the incredible glacial river perspective seen from up high,” explained Marke Biegalski. “They’re called ‘braided river’ systems, as they often resemble an intricate jumble of intertwining patterns. These networks of river channels flow from the glaciers toward the sea, carrying vital nutrients in the form of sediment. When the flow of the rivers decreases, the sediment gets deposited on the river bed, leaving behind small temporary islands of dark volcanic sand.”

The photo was taken in Yuli County, Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture. Snowflakes descended to the ground like goose feathers, one after another. They gently fell onto the earth and onto the mountain peaks.

This was a “panoramic night photograph in which I could capture the arch of the Milky Way passing behind the natural arch called Es Pontàs,” said Marc Marco. “In the photograph, I could also capture a small cave in front of the arch.”

Plants

“This panorama shows the beauty of Chapada dos Veadeiros, a Brazilian national park that hosts a rich biodiversity and breathtaking landscapes,” said Marcio Cabral.

“The white flowers that stand out in the foreground are a rare species of Paepalanthus, a genus of plants endemic to the region. They were illuminated by a scurion lamp to create a contrast with the dark sky.

In the background, the Milky Way curves over the hills, revealing the colors and shapes of stars and nebulae. This pano was taken with a specialized camera for astrophotography, which allows capturing more details of the universe.”

In Spain’s Sierra de Baza, more than 2,000 meters above sea level, the genuine pinus sylvestris nevadensis stoically survive.

Sharing The Planet

The encroachment of human settlements into bushland in South Africa means that this young female leopard has no way to find her own new territory, cut off by miles long fence separating the wild from human population.

A mangrove forest surrounds the Graha Indah residential area in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, Borneo.

Indonesia’s abundant natural resources have attracted large-scale foreign investment for decades — drawn by loosely regulated mining, logging, and palm oil production that causes irreparable harm to its biodiversity.

Widespread deforestation is now the primary threat to the critically endangered orangutan that can be found only on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo. The question: Is it too late to save orangutans?