Every year, thousands of photographers from every corner of the world submit their best work to international photography competitions—each image a chance to freeze magic in time. In best of 2025, the competition was fiercer than ever. From icy mountain peaks to sunlit deserts, from misty forests to dramatic coastlines, this year’s winning landscape photographs didn’t just show beautiful places—they told powerful visual stories.
These 35 award-winning landscape photos represent the very best of global photography. Captured by artists from different cultures, climates, and creative backgrounds, each image reflects a deep connection between the photographer and the land. Some frames celebrate untouched wilderness, while others highlight the fragile relationship between humans and nature. What unites them all is emotion—every photo makes you feel something.
The photographers behind these images waited for perfect light, chased unpredictable weather, and traveled to remote corners of the world to get their shot. From golden sunrises spilling over mountain ridges to storm clouds rolling across vast plains, these photos are more than visually stunning—they’re moments of patience, timing, and passion coming together.
What makes this collection truly special is its diversity. These winning images come from major international photography competitions, judged by industry experts who value storytelling as much as technical excellence. Each photograph stands as proof that landscape photography is more than scenery—it’s an emotional language that speaks across borders.
As you scroll through this collection, you’re not just looking at beautiful places—you’re witnessing the best of what photography achieved in 2025. These images remind us why we fall in love with the planet again and again, and why photographers continue to chase light, weather, and wonder wherever it leads.
#1. Refocus Photographer of the Year Awards – Landscape Photographer of the Year: "Iceberg’s Edge" by Randall (Randy) Hanna
"Melting iceberg along the West Coast of Greenland."
#2. Refocus Photographer of the Year Awards – Silver: "The Glow of Light" by Jabi Sanz
"In the first moments of dawn, when the world still breathes calmly, the first light bathes the peaks of Fitz Roy in an ephemeral fire. Among the trees twisted by the Patagonian wind and the stillness of the lake, nature reveals its duality: strength and fragility, life and silence."
#3. Chromatic Awards – 1st Place Winner: "Blue" by Nicola Manfredi, Italy
"Blue hours are done just to admire the beauty of the mountains with silence."
#4. Chromatic Awards – 2nd Place Winner: "Lost sea" by Delaval Julien, France
"This photograph, taken on the Isle of Eigg in Scotland, captures a fascinating interplay between light, texture, and the raw beauty of this isolated nature. The shifting winds, fleeting light, and the rhythmic motion of the sea shaped the scene moment by moment. I patiently waited for the perfect harmony to emerge, as the menacing sky and the textures in the foreground lit up under a fleeting ray of light."
#5. Chromatic Awardsv – 3rd Place Winner: "Trollvandrer" by Enrico Curti, Norway
"Trees covered with ice and snow, they look like giant trolls wandering in a desolate frozen land…that is Lapland, one of the most wonderful and fairy tale-like places in the world."
#6. Minimalist Photography Awards – 1st Place Winner: "Art of Winter" by Martin Rak
"Snowy series from the north of the Czech Republic. It is always so thrilling when the first snowflakes start falling from the sky and the landscape becomes white and silent."
#7. Minimalist Photography Awards – 2nd Place Winner: "Whirl" by Kalle Saarikko
"The edge of the forest captured using intentional camera movement."
#8. Minimalist Photography Awards – 3rd Place Winner: "Dreamscape of Etosha" by Alexandre Brisson
"Standing alone yet resolute, this tree becomes a guardian of Etosha’s expansive desert plains. Captured with 550nm infrared, the scene takes on a dreamlike quality, where the tree’s crown glows in soft pink against a delicate blue sky. This fine art photograph captures the essence of stillness, strength, and the surreal beauty of Namibia’s landscapes."
#9. International Landscape Photography Awards – Winner: "Storm Over Fields" by J. Fritz Rumpf
#10. International Landscape Photography Awards – Runner-Up: s "Shiprock" by Karol Nienartowicz
#11. International Landscape Photography Awards – Third Place: "Fitz Roy and Cascades" by Joyce Bealer
#12. 1839 Photographer of the Year Awards – Gold: "An Arizona Moonrise" by Michael Mihaljevich
"Arizona’s iconic saguaro cacti stand tall against a backdrop of post-sunset pastels. The monthly full moon lays watch over the serene Sonoran desert on a calm and colorful moment of dusk."
#13. 1839 Photographer of the Year Awards – Silver: "SUPERCELLS – Mother Nature Unleashed" by David Baxter III
"Tornado Alley across the United States of America can produce some of the most wild weather across planet Earth. Supercells traverse Tornado Alley during the Spring and Summer Seasons bringing breath taking views as Mother Nature creates unbelievable atmospheric sculptures."
#14. 1839 Photographer of the Year Awards – Silver: "Moon Summit" by Lee Nordbye
"During my journey of battling the dark shadows of depression and anxiety, I have found that connecting with moments in nature, such as this one, helps keep these shadows at bay and allows me to move forward with a smile on my face."
#15. 1839 Photographer of the Year Awards – Bronze: "Silently Thunder" by Matteo Redaelli
"A lightning bolt strikes down from a dark, cloudy sky over a snow-covered mountain range. The image creates a dramatic and intense atmosphere, with strong contrasts between the dark clouds, the bright lightning, and the illuminated peaks. It captures a thunderstorm in a high-altitude landscape."
#16. Standard Chartered Weather Photographer of the Year Awards – Winner: "The Gorgeous Ring" by Shuchang Dong, Geshuang Chen
“It was drizzling on Lugu Lake [In China’s Yunnan Province]. I flew my drone to a height of 500 metres, passed through the rain curtain, with my lens facing away from the sun, and captured a complete circular rainbow, which was a ring given by the sun to the lake,” says engineer and astronomy photographer Geshuang Chen.
#17. Standard Chartered Weather Photographer of the Year Awards – Runner-Up: "Eunice III" by Jadwiga Piasecka
“I’ve loved big waves and storms since I was a kid – the power and energy of the sea have always fascinated me. So, when Storm Eunice rolled in, I knew I couldn’t miss the opportunity to witness it firsthand,” says photographer Jadwiga Piasecka.
#18. Standard Chartered Weather Photographer of the Year Awards – Third Place & Public Vote, Winner: "Sky Surfing" by Lukáš Gallo
While driving near Vodňany in South Bohemia, Czechia, photographer Lukáš Gallo noticed some unusual clouds beginning to form. He kept driving, watching the sky evolve, until about 30 minutes later, a stunning set of Kelvin-Helmholtz wave clouds appeared overhead. He quickly pulled over, grabbed his camera, and captured the momentary display from a roadside field. “I didn’t plan this; it was all of a sudden. But I think that’s the best kind of photograph,” he says.
#19. Epson International Pano Awards – "Last Fireworks, Algeria" by Alex Wides, Italy
#20. Epson International Pano Awards – "Jackpot, Rago National Park, Norway" by Alex Wides, Italy
#21. Epson International Pano Awards – "Double Milky Way Arch Over Matterhorn, Zermatt" by Angelica Fuchs, Switzerland
#22. Annual Photography Awards – Nature Photographer of the Year: "Xavier Delorme" by Sombre Lumière
"These many years, traveling the roads of the country to photograph storms, led me to a search for more striking compositions between sky and earth. I started with cereal landscapes, but the storm structures are not very varied. So I went looking for new horizons to immortalize lightning and stage landscapes where the human imprint confronts the power of nature."
#23. Annual Photography Awards – Climate & Weather – 2nd Place Winner: "The Magical Rainbow Over the Truso Valley" by Pawel Jagiello
"An extraordinary rare phenomenon of a full, circular rainbow captured from a bird’s-eye view over the Truso Valley in Georgia. The low-hanging sun in the west beautifully illuminated the dense downpour approaching from the south, creating an exceptionally intense circular rainbow. Additionally, part of a secondary rainbow is visible, with its colors inverted."
#24. Annual Photography Awards – Climate & Weather – 3rd Place Winner: "Night and White" by Carole Reboul
"A series that takes us into the deep darkness, in winter, with snow and under the stars.
This is the nocturnal world as we see it, a world where other senses take over. The cold or humid air, the roar of the wind or the silence, the mysterious silhouettes, everything contributes to the magic of these sleepless nights. Why B&W ? At night, our eyes are not able to perceive colors."
#25. European Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards – Landscapes Winner: "Minimalistic triad" by David Menzel
#26. European Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards – Landscapes Runner-Up: "Golden treasure" by Sven Začek
#27. Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year – Landscape Winner: "The Beast" by Darren Wassell, Queensland
"I love the raw power and beauty of storms. Watching this severe storm making its way to me, I was filled with excitement and anticipation. To capture the only CG (cloud-to-ground) bolt to come from this amazing shelf cloud was absolute bliss. Once again, thank you Mother Nature!"
#28. Siena Drone Awards – Photo of the year: "The Lone Horseman" by Dennis Schmelz
"During the magic of blue hour, a lone rider stands atop a rocky outcropping in the heart of Cappadocia. Taken on the very first evening during Dennis’ winter trip, this photo showcases the beauty and mystery of Cappadocia in all its glory. Using his drone, Dennis managed to find a unique and breathtaking perspective that had never been captured before in this often-photographed landscape."
#29. ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year Awards – The overall winner: "The Andromeda Core" by Weitang Liang, Qi Yang, Chuhong Yu
"The Andromeda Galaxy is one of the most photographed targets in the night sky. Despite this, three photographers have succeeded in presenting this familiar favourite in a striking new light. Weitang Liang, Qi Yang and Chuhong Yu’s photo The Andromeda Core focuses on revealing the intricate structure of the luminous core of the galaxy."
#30. ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year Awards – Skyscapes category winner: "The Ridge" by Tom Rae
“There is so much to love in this image. It is absolutely breathtaking. The vibrant colours of the landscape, the night sky and the individual stars are all remarkable. The photographer has captured impressive depth in the Milky Way, including the added hydrogen regions, without overdoing it. I appreciate how the airglow appears to cradle the sky, and the landscape contributes to a very balanced composition. Truly eye-catching and dreamy.”
#31. Capture the Dark 2025 Photo Contest – First Place: "The Watchers" by JJ Rao
#32. Capture the Dark 2025 Photo Contest – Second Place: "Whispers of the Dancing Auroras" by Mónica Mesa
#33. Capture the Dark 2025 Photo Contest – Third Place: "Land of Ice" by Kavan Chay
#34. Artist Gallery Awards – 1st Place: "Golden Ridges" by Gregoire Pansu, France
"The only true sunset I witnessed during the nearly 9 days I spent in northern Spain. It had been raining most of the time. After a challenging hike on almost nonexistent, very steep, slippery and precipitous trails, we finally reached a ridge summit."
#35. Artist Gallery Awards – 2nd Place: "Misty Mill" by David Palicka, Slovakia
"A foggy riverside scene of the Little Danube river showcasing a solitary cabin with red-framed windows as the focal point. Still water reflects the cabin and trees, creating symmetry and depth. Subtle leading lines and the presence of swans and ducks add balance and dynamism."
