Every year, the Nature inFocus Photography Awards drops a collection of wildlife images so powerful, so emotional, and so beautifully crafted that you can’t help but stare a little longer. And the 2025 winners? Yeah… they hit different. These 16 outstanding photos pack in everything—from raw animal portraits to jaw-dropping conservation stories to wildly creative nature frames that look straight out of a fantasy movie. It’s basically the whole planet, served in stunning visuals, all in one place.
This year’s winning shots are a reminder of how alive our world really is. You get the quiet intensity of predators locked in focus, the gentle innocence of young wildlife taking their first steps, and the heartbreaking yet necessary moments that spotlight the urgent need for conservation. Every photo feels like a window into a story bigger than the frame—stories of survival, struggle, instinct, connection, and the delicate balance of ecosystems that keep this world running.
What makes these images even more special is how diverse the techniques are. Some photographers went full-on stealth mode in the field, waiting hours for the perfect moment. Others embraced creative nature photography with surreal long exposures, underwater magic, or macro shots that turn tiny creatures into living artworks. And then there are the conservation photojournalism pieces—raw, honest, and impossible to ignore.
The Nature inFocus Awards celebrate more than pretty pictures. They celebrate the grit, patience, and passion of photographers who care deeply about the natural world. These winners aren’t just showing us wildlife—they’re reminding us why it matters.
So sit back and dive into these 16 outstanding images. Prepare to be amazed, inspired, and maybe even a little emotional. Nature always knows how to put on a show, and these photographers made sure we didn’t miss it.
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#1. Photographer of the Year: "Echoes from the Eastern Ghats" by Rukhiya Mohammed
"Mountains face a wide range of pressures, from a warming climate to the direct loss of habitat through human activity. These changes ripple through fragile high-altitude ecosystems, altering the lives they support and unsettling the balance that sustains us all. Around the world, the erosion of mountain biodiversity threatens the very systems we depend on. There is an urgent need to respond with care and intention."
#2. Wildscape & Animals in Their Habitat – Winner: "Thief in the Spotlight" by Sergey Bystritsky
"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. Wildscape & Animals in Their Habitat – Runner-up: "Green Within Green" by Pratik Uday Pradhan
"A Malabar gliding frog rests quietly on a yam-footed plant in the northern Western Ghats. Blending into the layered greens around it, the frog becomes part of the habitat, showing how well these amphibians use colour and form to stay hidden.’
#4. Wildscape & Animals in Their Habitat – Runner-up: "The Night of the Badger" by Adam Horvath
"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."
#5. Animal Portraits – Winner: "The Canopy Watcher" by Federica Cordero
"In the forests of Uganda, a young male chimpanzee lounges effortlessly on a twisted vine, pausing to observe the world below."
#6. Animal Portraits – Runner-up: "The Curious Six" by Amit Eshel
"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. Coexistence – Winner: "Urban Oasis" by Sarthak Agrawal
"At Ras Al Khor, flamingos feed peacefully against Dubai’s towering skyline. This urban wetland, home to over 25,000 migratory birds each winter, thrives amid rapid development, filtering water, storing carbon, and sustaining life even as the city grows around it."
#8. Coexistence – Runner-up: "Everyone’s Field" by Kasim Mohammed
"A tiger rests within a wheat field, moving through the same spaces that farmers use every day. In this landscape where fields, temples, and forests merge, wildlife and people share the land in ways that are both delicate and unimaginable."
#9. Animal Behaviour – Winner: "Ancient Rivals" by Amit Eshel
"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."
#10. Animal Behaviour – Runner-up: "Catch of the Day" by Kashyap Naresh Raval
"A fishing spider rests at the edge of a waterbody, holding its freshly caught fish. The moment captures how aptly it is named and how remarkable nature’s hunters can be."
#11. Young Photographer – Winner: "Nautilus on the Move" by Tinnapat Netcharussaeng
"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."
#12. Young Photographer – Runner-up: "Race to the Forest" by Danuja Palihawadana Arachchi
"In Sri Lanka’s dry zone, a female elephant leaps over an electric fence as her herd follows, hurrying back to the forest at dawn after raiding nearby paddy fields. The moment reflects how shrinking habitats push elephants to navigate man-made barriers in their search for food."
#13. Creative Nature Photography – Winner: "Blue Aura" by Bidyut Kalita
"A cranefly settles on a thin twig and begins its gentle movements. Using a steady mobile light to trace its motion and a speedlight from another angle to freeze the body, the photographer captures the insect with clarity while its delicate legs glow in the soft blue aura."
#14. Creative Nature Photography – Runner-up: "Patterns in the Sky" by Raghuvamsh Chavali
"A flock of birds sweeps across the sky in a graceful arc beside a towering city building. Their synchronized movement forms a delicate pattern, a reminder that even in dense urban spaces, the rhythms of nature continue to unfold above us."
#15. Ramki Sreenivasan Conservation – Winner: "Edge of Two Worlds" by Rajat Chordia & Vidhan Dwivedi
"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."
#16. Ramki Sreenivasan Conservation – Runner-up: "After the Offering" by Guru Raju
"A Ganesh idol hangs mid-air moments before immersion, while broken remnants of earlier idols float below. The image captures the contrast between devotion and its environmental impact, set against a calm lake and distant cityscape."
