We're kicking the year off with a visual feast of photography from the most recent Nature Photographer of the Year competition – a contest that celebrates the incredible artistry of capturing the natural world. Last year, the judges faced the tough task of selecting from 22,851 breathtaking entries. Italian photographer Paolo Della Rocca took home the top prize for his photograph 'Games between siblings', which portrays two young snow leopard siblings mid-play in the snow.
Category & overall winner: Mammals
Image © Paolo Della Rocca / Nature Photographer of the Year
Della Rocca accomplished what many wildlife photographers only dream of: photographing the elusive 'ghost of the mountain'. While journeying through the Spiti Valley in northern India, he captured not one, but two sub-adult snow leopards. The shot didn’t come easily. Della Rocca spent hours perched on the edge of a freezing canyon, patiently waiting for the siblings to appear from their shelter.
As the storm faded and stillness settled over the landscape, the snow leopards began to move. What followed was a scene Della Rocca could hardly believe – the two siblings bounded up the snowy slopes, playfully chasing one another with energy and exuberance. In disbelief, Della Rocca kept whispering to himself, “This can’t be real; it’s too incredible to be true!”
Also landed an accolade was young New Zealand photographer, D’Artagnan Sprengel, who claimed first place in the Youth category with his striking image of a starfish.
Arriving well before low tide, Sprengel spent over an hour searching the shoreline, initially finding only a few tiny rock-pool dwellers. It wasn’t until the tide had fully receded that he finally discovered what he had been looking for: reef starfish. Photographing them, however, proved to be a challenge – not because the starfish moved, but because waves would roll in every 30 seconds, temporarily submerging them.
The Nature Photographer of the Year (NPOTY) competition, now in its ninth year, draws a diverse plethora of photographers from across the globe, each hoping to be honoured for their work.
By entering, photographers are not only vying for incredible prizes, but also playing a crucial role in supporting conservation efforts. Each entry helps fund the Nature Talks foundation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to preserving natural habitats through various conservation projects in the Netherlands and Belgium.
Here are a few more of our favourite photos from the 2024 competition:
Category winner: Other Animals
Image © Sebastien Blomme / Nature Photographer of the Year
Category winner: Underwater
Image © Andrey Shpatak / Nature Photographer of the Year
Category winner: Nature Art
Image © Dirk Vermaire / Nature Photographer of the Year
Category winner: Humans and Nature
Image © Aaron Gekoski / Nature Photographer of the Year
Category winner: De Lage Landen
Image © Mathijs Frenken / Nature Photographer of the Year
Highly Commended: Mammals Category
Image © Hannes Lochner / Nature Photographer of the Year
Highly commended: Other Animals Category
Image © Litauszki Tibor / Nature Photographer of the Year
Highly commended: Animal Portraits Category
Image © Brian Matthews / Nature Photographer of the Year
Header image: Brian Matthews
Natural World
Natural World
Natural World
