As 2025 wrapped up, the cameras didn’t just power down—they spoke louder than ever. In its annual Best Photo of 2025 challenge, DPReview invited readers from around the globe to submit their strongest frames from the year. What came pouring in was nothing short of electric. From wide-open landscapes that make you wanna breathe deeper to razor-sharp macro shots revealing worlds we usually miss, the entries proved one thing: photography in 2025 hit different.
Narrowing it down? No easy task. The DPReview editors combed through thousands of submissions, each image carrying its own mood, moment, and magic. The final selection of photos isn’t about trends or technical flexing—it’s about storytelling. These images feel lived-in. They freeze chaos, celebrate calm, and catch those blink-and-you-miss-it moments that say more than words ever could.
What makes this collection special is its range. You’ll find intimate portraits rubbing shoulders with epic vistas, experimental compositions next to classic storytelling. Every photo earns its place, not by shouting, but by sticking with you long after you scroll past. Presented in random order, the gallery keeps things fresh, letting each image stand on its own without hierarchy or hype.
And while this is just a taste, it’s far from the whole feast. The full gallery dives deeper, showing all submissions and highlighting which images struck a chord with the DPReview community. At its core, this project reflects DPReview’s mission—to celebrate photography in all its forms while supporting a global community driven by curiosity, creativity, and craft.
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#1. "St. Magdalena under the stars" by Christopher West
"A crystal clear night at the Church of St John. I love something that gives scale to the image. This church is surrounded by a jagged range of mountains; the lone figure (me) with a bright hand torch gives a small bit of scale in the scene."
Equipment: Leica SL3 + Sigma 16-28mm F2.8 DG DN
#2. "Budgerigar love" by Lance B
"A male Budgerigar feeding his female mate while she is in her nesting hollow. While I was there, he was most attentive and came back numerous times."
Equipment: Nikon Z8 + Nikon Nikkor Z 600mm F4 TC VR S
#3. "Halloween frenzy" by Fatplanediaries
"It hasn’t been that long since we graduated, but we still party like we’re in college. Taken during the annual Halloween party with my friends, all 200 of us stuck in a Brooklyn backyard. It was packed, it was uncomfortable, and it was fun as hell."
Equipment: Sony a7R IV + Sony FE 20mm F1.8G
#4. "The heart" by GreenFirePhotography
"This is the Heart Nebula (IC 1805), a colossal emission nebula located about 7,500 light-years away in the constellation Cassiopeia. This stellar nursery is quite a hotbed of activity, centered around a young open star cluster called Melotte 15. The energetic winds and radiation from these massive, newborn stars are the reason the nebula’s gases are lit up so brightly, essentially acting as the power source for this entire cosmic light show.
This image was created using the Hubble Palette, a clever technique that maps the light from ionized sulfur, hydrogen, and oxygen gases into different color channels to create this vivid and detailed portrait. Shot over three nights in late October, this is a stack of 161 images broken into 5-minute exposures."
Equipment: ZWO ASI2600MC + Williams Optics Red Cat 51 V2
#5. "European sea eagle" by Arnold448
"I visited a falconer to practice capturing birds in flight. The falconer is well known for flying his birds in the most natural way, and I was right on the water’s edge on my belly on a cold November morning. I captured this shot in full flight with the wings touching the water."
Equipment: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV + Canon EF 500mm F/4 L USM
#6. "Two of a kind" by Charles Baxter
"Patience paid off while seated in my home garden observing wisteria blooms after noticing the Gulf Fritillary butterflies fluttering to the colorful purple colored petals. Handholding my Olympus camera with a long lens, I got a shot of two visitors."
Equipment: Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II + Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 50-200mm 1:2.8-3.5 SWD
#7. "January sunrise by the Pacific" by User1107186962
"I was driving with a friend to watch the sunrise over the Pacific Ocean, but we realized we were running late. The fog was so thick along the way that I almost lost hope of catching the sunrise at all. Then, before we could even make it to the ocean, the sun began to rise while we were still on the road. That’s when we stumbled upon two male elk grazing in front of the glowing horizon. We stopped the car, and I quickly grabbed my camera, running around to line up the elk with the rising sun. This photo is a reminder of that moment, as if the elk and I were both quietly watching the world awaken beneath the rising sun."
Equipment: Fujifilm X-T5 + Fujifilm XF 70-300 F4-5.6 R LM OIS WR
#8. "Serengeti 2025" by Vesselin Yankov
"This photo was taken in February 2025, in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. This is the period between the two rainy seasons, when the grass has grown, and nature is lush and green. The sunset on that day bathed everything in incredible light. Zebras and various species of antelope were grazing everywhere as far as the eye could see, undisturbed by predators."
Equipment: Fujifilm X-S20 + Sigma 100-400mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS
#9. "Mystical morning on the bayou" by JohnnyBE
"Out on a boat during a fog-filled November morning, this Texas bayou was transformed into a dreamlike landscape, as backlit Spanish moss draped from grand cypress trees emerged from the mist and autumn colors slowly strengthened with the rising sun. Photographing from a slowly drifting boat in low light, using a zoom lens and requiring as much depth of field as possible, presented a significant challenge. Pushing the ISO was necessary to get this all to work."
Equipment: Nikon Z8 + Nikon Nikkor Z 70-200mm F2.8 VR S
#10. "Excavating pileated" by The Chad
"While hiking in the woods, I came across a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers excavating a cavity in an old madrone tree. This shot shows the male spitting out the wood chips. Unfortunately, this is near a popular hiking path, so the nest was eventually abandoned."
Equipment: Nikon Z8 + Nikon Nikkor Z 400mm F4.5 VR S
#11. "Vanishing point" by Jonestheroad
"University of Nottingham Jubilee Campus: I was drawn to the stark, futuristic form of the building and chose a low viewpoint, a wide-angle lens and the rails on a bench to provide dramatic leading lines."
Equipment: Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 + Panasonic Lumix G Vario 7-14mm F4 ASPH
#12. "Man meets the sea" by Andreas Graf
"The sculpture "Man Meets the Sea" was created to mark the Danish municipality of Esbjerg’s 100th anniversary in 1995. It is very impressive, but it is best appreciated with people nearby to give a sense of its size. Traveling alone, I had no one to "put in place," so I just had to wait. I didn’t know what exactly I was waiting for until, all of a sudden, having waited for more than an hour in windy conditions, there it was… that magic moment when four people were right where I wanted them to be, with each individual taking a different position relative to their man. It really made my day, and a great shot."
Equipment: Nikon Z6III + Nikon Nikkor Z 24-120mm F4 S
#13. "Northern pygmy owl" by CheeYong
"Tiny yet mighty, I was fortunate to find this little owl and spent the day watching this little creature hunt prey that was similar to her size. One of the most amazing owls to photograph this year."
Equipment: Sony a1 + Sony FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS
#14. "The stare" by NMindel
"The Pantanal of Brazil offers a rare opportunity to see Jaguars in their natural habitat. It was near dusk when I saw these eyes staring at me, and I was lucky enough to get the shot."
Equipment: Sony a1 II + Sigma 500mm F5.6 DG DN OS Sports
#15. "The Matterhorn above Zermatt" by MatzelPhotography
"Having only been in Switzerland for two days and with great weather, I decided to take a 3-hour train ride to reach my personal highlight of this two-week backpacking trip. Arriving in Zermatt, the view was better than I could have ever imagined. After hiking for the entire day on just one bottle of water and two croissants from the train station, I was on my way back down to Zermatt. Coming down and seeing the light fading, I was frantically searching for a location to set up my tripod. Then, behind some snow-covered bushes, I spotted an opening with this exact view. What a Day."
Equipment: Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 + Panasonic Lumix S 20-60mm F3.5-5.6
#16. "Fiery Skipper in morning dew" by Bmark
"This photo was taken at a local wildflower and native plant garden. The conditions were near ideal with a shaded location and this beautiful Skipper sitting high upon the plants. Stack of 40 images, stacked in HeliconFocus."
Equipment: Nikon Z8 + Sigma APO Macro 180mm F2.8 EX DG OS HSM
#17. "Fantastic journey" by HaroldC3
"It was a late summer day, and my wife and I went for a hike in the Columbia River Gorge (on the Washington side). I had not researched the hike very much, but had been in the area many years ago. We had done most of the hike, and it was rather uneventful photographically. But alas, at the end of the hike was this waterfall. And as I started to head back, I felt thankful to have found it. Taken with a full-spectrum camera using an IRChrome filter."
Equipment: Nikon D810 + Tamron 17-35mm F2.8-4 Di OSD
#18. "Chip Cruz" by Unkleboo
"My friend Chip Cruz and I were collaborating on a video shoot for his website. He is a guitarist. He asked me to do some drone stuff for him, so we went out onto frozen Lake Mendota in Madison, Wisconsin, and got some really cool stuff on the lake. It was something like 8ºF (-13ºC) out that morning, so he suffered a bit to get this shot."
Equipment: DJI Mavic 3
#19. "Misty morning" by Supernaut
"Landscape photography in Tuscany. This was one of the last photos taken that morning, as the ground fog began to rise and shortly afterwards enveloped everything in its soft blanket."
Equipment: OM System OM-1 Mark II + Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-100mm F4.0 IS Pro
#20. "Clean Window" by Hooyat
"He moves like a quiet dancer, arm gliding in arcs of silver foam. Soap blooms in swirling constellations upon the glass, catching morning light in fleeting moments. Preemptive answers to questions: 1) No, it’s not AI generated, absolutely not. 2) No, it’s not overprocessed. Standard processing to enhance what is already there which is the texture formed by the combination of soap, light and autumn colors. 3) No, not a composite. 4) Why did I choose this as my favorite of the year? I like to bring out the beauty of the mundane in daily life, the epiphany."
Equipment: Fujifilm X-T30 II, Tamron 17-70mm F2.8 Di III-A VC RXD
#21. "Mt Hood Fishing" by Toties
"Went up to Trillium Lake in the early morning hours, was lucky to get this gorgeous morning with the fisherman out there on their boats. One of my favorite photos I’ve ever been able to get of Mt Hood."
Equipment: Sony a6400, Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN Contemporary
#22. "The little shepherd(ess)" by Emile15
"Traditionally in Kenya and Tanzania Maasai children from an early age on take responsibility for the young animals and goats. When they grow older they look after more valuable animals like cows. This photo was taken from a driving truck along the Arusha-Namanga Road in Tanzania, hence the high shutter speed."
Equipment: Canon EOS R5, Canon RF 24-105mm F4L IS USM
#23. "Sandhill crane flying next to cottonwood trees in new mexico" by Emadrisss
"This was taken at my favorite spot in new mexico to photography these incredible birds. the light was right and all of my camera settings were correct to shoot this fleeting moment in time."
Equipment: Nikon Z50II, Nikon Nikkor Z 180-600mm F5.6-6.3 VR
#24. "Prowler" by Bill Ferris
"This photo was made at Mormon Lake Overlook, my favorite raptor site. I usually set up along the rim, but on this morning, I decided to sit atop a boulder in front of the overlook wall. The Sun was low enough in the sky that the slope from the rim down to the lakebed was in shadow. I hoped a bird would fly past with the shaded area in the background. This female harrier flew past and began a long banking turn to her left, doubling back, and completed the turn passing through the shade. Rising to clear the rim, the early morning sunlight splashed across her face and underside with the darkened slope in the background. While pressing the shutter, I was saying to myself, "Please, please, please…" and was thrilled to see this image on the monitor back at home."
Equipment: Nikon Z9, Nikon Nikkor Z 800mm F6.3 VR S
#25. "Fishing in the clouds" by Ocoloy
"On the inside reef off a remote island in Indonesia stood this boy on his boat fishing. The water was still and the clouds perfect. The image came out better than I hoped for and is now a print. You can see the bair flying in the air and other fishermen in the Horizon."
Equipment: Fujifilm X-T2, Fujifilm XF 35mm F1.4 R
In Summary
What is DPReview’s Best Photo of 2025 challenge?
- It’s an annual community-driven photography challenge inviting readers to submit their best images from the year.
How were the photos selected?
- DPReview editors curated their favorites from thousands of submissions based on visual impact and storytelling.
What types of photography are featured?
- Landscapes, portraits, macro, street, wildlife, and experimental photography.
Are the photos ranked?
- No, the selected images are presented in random order.
Where can I see all submissions?
- On DPReview’s full gallery page, where community favorites are also highlighted.
