18 Amazing Winners from the 2024 National Wildlife Photo Contest

The 2024 National Wildlife Photo Contest brought together over 29,000 breathtaking entries, showcasing the beauty and wonder of the natural world. Photography, as many enthusiasts know, is often a game of patience and precision, waiting for that perfect alignment of elements—a subtle shift in light, a whisper of wind, or an unplanned yet magical encounter. When everything clicks, the resulting image transcends the moment, carrying with it a timeless quality that resonates with viewers long after the shutter closes.

This year’s winners, selected by a panel of expert judges, embody that magic. Among the standout moments captured are a heartwarming portrait of owl siblings displaying their relatable quirks and an enchanting encounter between two interspecies paddlers illuminated by the glow of a setting sun. Each photograph tells a story of connection, serendipity, and the profound beauty of the wild, reminding us of nature’s awe-inspiring power and fragility.

These decisive and evocative moments inspire us to see the world through a lens of wonder, urging both seasoned photographers and novices alike to pick up their cameras. With the 53rd annual contest now behind us, the stage is set for new stories as the 2025 competition opens on January 15.

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#1. Grand Prize Winner by Bo Pardau

Despite the challenges of focusing a camera lens underwater—at night, no less—“on a transparent piece of jelly,” Pardau photographed this Cystisoma, a 2-inch-long amphipod, in March 2024 about 3 miles off the Big Island. There, at what he calls “the home of blackwater diving,” he and others hover at depths of 10 to 80 feet to view nocturnal creatures that remain as much as 3,000 feet deeper during the day. The ocean at night makes for a discombobulating environment, “where your only ability to orient yourself is knowing your bubbles go up,” Pardau says.