The Wild, The Beautiful, The Unexpected: 30 Winning Photos From The 2025 Nature inFocus Photography Awards

Nature has a way of surprising us, whether through powerful wildlife encounters, delicate moments of beauty or scenes that feel almost otherworldly. The 2025 Nature inFocus Photography Awards celebrate exactly that. This year’s winners captured everything from dramatic animal behavior to breathtaking landscapes and split-second moments that most of us would never witness without a camera in the right place at the right time.

#1 Winner In Animal Portraits: “The Canopy Watcher” By Federica Cordero

Image source: Nature inFocus Photography Awards

Location: Uganda

“In the forests of Uganda, a young male chimpanzee lounges effortlessly on a twisted vine, pausing to observe the world below.”

#2 Winner In Wildscape & Animals In Their Habitat: “Thief In The Spotlight” By Sergey Bystritsky

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Location: Vashlovani National Park, Georgia

“In a cluster of unusually shaped trees, the photographer sets soft lights using flashes and fabric to guide a fox into view. With the setup blending into the canopy, the moment offers a brief look at a usually elusive visitor moving through the night.”

#3 Winner In Young Photographer: “Nautilus On The Move” By Tinnapat Netcharussaeng

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Location: Anilao, Philippines

“During a nighttime blackwater dive, a female Paper Nautilus clings to a drifting leaf, using it as a temporary refuge in the open sea. The encounter offers a brief look at how ocean creatures adapt to life in deep, open waters and the world below the waves.”

#4 Winner In Ramki Sreenivasan Conservation Photography Award: “Edge Of Two Worlds” By Rajat Chordia, Vidhan Dwivedi

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Location: Udaipur, Rajasthan

“A young leopard feeds on a cow carcass beside garbage and fast-moving traffic. The scene reflects how adaptable these cats are and how closely they now live to human settlements.”

#5 Winner In Animal Behaviour: “Ancient Rivals” By Amit Eshel

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Location: Ellesmere Island, Canada

“An Arctic Wolf shows signs of a recent hunt as a muskox herd forms a defensive circle, horns facing out to guard their calves. But chaos followed when the pack seized a few young ones and tore them apart for a small meal before moving on.”

#6 Runner-Up In Animal Portraits: “The Curious Six” By Amit Eshel

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Location: Eastern Steppe, Mongolia

“On the windswept steppes of Mongolia, six young Pallas’s cats emerge from their rocky shelter. Still dependent on their mother’s care, these eight-week-old kittens explore their surroundings with caution and wonder, offering a rare glimpse into the lives of this elusive species.”

#7 Special Mention In Animal Portraits: “Shrouded In Snow” By Mohammad Murad

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Location: Eastern Mongolia

“Blanketed by frost in the Mongolian wilderness, a Pallas’s cat endures the aftermath of a snowstorm at -35°C. Perfectly adapted to its frozen world, this elusive feline’s dense fur, flattened ears, and high-set eyes allow it to vanish into the landscape. ”

#8 Special Mention In Wildscape & Animals In Their Habitat: “Cooling On The Coast” By Suliman Alatiqi

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Location: Komodo, Indonesia

“After days of fieldwork with local rangers, the photographer captures a Komodo dragon resting in shallow coastal water. As cold-blooded animals, they use water and mud to cool themselves and often swim or walk along the seabed while searching for food or mates.”

#9 Special Mention In Young Photographer: “A Tale Of Two Trunks” By Rohan Neel Shah

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Location: Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya

“In the Maasai Mara, two elephants intertwine their trunks in a gentle moment of play. The black-and-white frame highlights the texture of their skin and the quiet connection shared between them.”

#10 Special Mention In Animal Portraits: “The Night Glider” By Philippe Ricordel

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Location: Japan, Hokkaido, Obihiro

“Monmongas, or flying squirrels, live in Hokkaido, Japan. Though not uncommon, photographing them is difficult. They are small, fast, and nocturnal, active mostly at dawn or dusk. During mating season, this one finally peeked out of its nest, 5 metres high, long enough for a single photo.”

#11 Special Mention In Animal Behaviour: “After The Hunt” By Sergey Gorshkov

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Location: Wrangel Island, Russia

“On Wrangel Island, a polar bear pauses after a successful hunt, a trail of blood marking its path across the snow.”

#12 Special Mention In Animal Portraits: “The Watchers” By Sathiyaseelan Subramanian

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Location: Chennai, India

“From a hollow tree in Chennai, a family of Spotted Owlets peers curiously at the world outside.”

#13 Special Mention In Coexistence: “Next-Door Neighbour” By Pruthvi B

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Location: Mysore, Karnataka

“Adaptable and elusive, leopards have long lived alongside people in many parts of India. But as towns grow and natural spaces shrink, encounters like this have become more common. This moment of a leopard moving past an open doorway offers a glimpse into the delicate relationship shared by people and wildlife in changing landscapes.”

#14 Special Mention In Ramki Sreenivasan Conservation Photography Award: “Cat, Camera, And Our Consequences”By Pallavi Laveti

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Location: Andhra Pradesh

“An endangered Fishing Cat looks into a DSLR camera trap, surrounded by litter carried in by the tides. It offers a glimpse of how deeply human activity influences even the most hidden corners of the wild.”

#15 Special Mention In Wildscape & Animals In Their Habitat: “The Rarest Of The Rare”By Sergey Gorshkov

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Location: Land of the Leopard National Park, Russia

“In Russia’s Land of the Leopard National Park, one of the world’s rarest big cats moves quietly through its forest home. The photographer recalls that the Amur leopard appeared for only a moment before slipping back into the dense cover of the trees.”

#16 Special Mention In Animal Portraits: “Stars Beneath The Waves” By Vinay Mathew

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Location: Maldives

“Drawn from the ocean’s depths by plankton gathered near a boat’s light, a whale shark glides through the dark waters. The scene feels celestial, its white spots gleaming like distant stars, the light below forming a stairway through the sea.”

#17 Special Mention In Creative Nature Photography: “Work Of Art” By Sarthak Agrawal

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Location: Aurangabad, Maharashtra

“A grey heron lifts into the air, backlit by the afternoon sun. Startled by a passing fisherman, it circles above the lake, offering the photographer an unexpected view as it poops in flight. The moment is playful reminder of how nature creates its own surprising patterns.”

#18 Runner-Up In Wildscape & Animals In Their Habitat: “The Night Of The Badger” By Adam Horvath

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Location: Bakonybél, Hungary

“After five years of observation, the photographer captures a badger emerging from one of its many sett exits beneath a star-filled sky. The scene brings together earth and cosmos, offering a sense of scale between a small night wanderer and the vastness above.”

#19 Special Mention In Coexistence: “In Their Small World” By Aniket Rangnath Thopate

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Location: Badlapur, Maharashtra

“Mongooses often visit this backyard, inspiring the photographer to document their hidden world. In this image, a female and her young one explore a small patch of land they depend on, now scattered with an empty mango box.f”

#20 Special Mention In Ramki Sreenivasan Conservation Photography Award: “When Torchlight Meets Tusks” By Ramprasad Dutta

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Location: Bishnupur, West Bengal

“At Kaladai, elephants wade toward the river while villagers shine torchlight and set off firecrackers to keep them away. The scene reflects a river that both sides depend on, where the needs of people and the elephants meet.”

#21 Special Mention In Ramki Sreenivasan Conservation Photography Award: “Frogs In The Fringe” By Gaurav Patil

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Location: Borivali, Maharashtra

“When the monsoon arrives in Mumbai, leftover open spaces become temporary breeding grounds for Indian bullfrogs. As natural soil patches disappear, frogs turn to places like this half-built bus depot. A male in breeding colours calls for a mate with parked buses forming the backdrop.”

#22 Special Mention In Animal Behaviour: “The Final Strike” By Rathna Varshini Choudhry

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Location: Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, Uttar Pradesh

“During a safari in Dudhwa, the photographer watched a jungle cat drag a monocellate cobra onto the road, beginning a 20-minute duel of strikes and lunges. With quick reflexes and precision, the cat overpowered its venomous opponent and claimed its meal.”

#23 Special Mention In Animal Behaviour: “Life In Mud” By Panos Laskarakis

Image source: Nature inFocus Photography Awards

Location: Busanga plains , Kafue National park, Zambia

“In Zambia’s Busanga Plains, the rains bring back the mud that hippos love most. From above, they can be seen resting and playing in their muddy paradise on the African plains.”

#24 Special Mention In Animal Portraits: “The Pollinating Predator” By Debapratim Saha

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Location: Sepoydhura Tea Garden, West Bengal

#25 Special Mention In Young Photographer: “Guardians Of The Hive” By Rithved Girishkumar

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Location: Kerala, Mezhathur, India

“In Kerala, stingless bees of the Tetragonula family guard the tube-shaped entrance of their hive, built from wax, resin, and mud. Their careful work and quiet vigilance reflect the intricate lives of these small pollinators.”

#26 Special Mention In Young Photographer: “Crevice Companions” By Tinnapat Netcharussaeng

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Location: Socorro Islands, Mexico

“In a rocky crevice, Caribbean spiny lobsters gather on one side while resting whitetip reef sharks occupy the other. The unusual pairing shows how very different species find safety in the same underwater shelters.”

#27 Special Mention In Creative Nature Photography: “Sporing Party” By Indranil Basu Mallick

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Location: Kasarsai, Maharashtra

“Two snails feed on a decaying Termitomyces mushroom, lit from behind with a LED torch. A long exposure captures the slow stillness of the snails while revealing drifting spores and subtle diffraction colours, creating a gentle look at life unfolding on the forest floor.”

#28 Special Mention In Wildscape & Animals In Their Habitat: “In The Ruins” By Sergey Bystritsky

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Location: Shiraki Military Airfield, Kakheti, Georgia

“On an abandoned Soviet airfield now used for grain storage, rodents thrive and attract barn owls. New nest boxes installed through a conservation effort allowed the owls to settle and breed. Under the pale morning moon, an owl stands watch as a horseshoe bat crosses the quiet sky.”

#29 Special Mention In Ramki Sreenivasan Conservation Photography Award: “Landfill Giant” By Lalith Ekanayake

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Location: Eastern Province, Sri Lanka

“An elephant moves through a landfill, its foot sinking into the waste that now surrounds its foraging paths. A deep cut on its trunk, likely from a wire trap, reveals the risks hidden in human altered spaces. The scene reflects how closely wildlife lives with the challenges we create.”

#30 Special Mention By Creative Nature Photography: “Falling Colours” By Jayesh Joshi

Image source: Nature inFocus Photography Awards

Location: Binbrook, Toronto, Canada

“While walking a familiar trail in Canada, the photographer noticed a maple tree releasing its colourful leaves across the grass. Wanting to capture the shift of the season, they used an in-camera multiple exposure to layer the colours into a soft impression of autumn.”