The 1839 Photographer of the Year Awards 2025 just dropped their list of landscape legends—and man, it’s a jaw-dropping collection of scenes that’ll make you want to pack your bags and chase the horizon. These 25 remarkable winners took the idea of “nature’s magic” and turned it into pure visual poetry. From golden deserts to misty mountains, every frame whispers a different story about our planet’s breathtaking beauty.
Taking the crown this year is Michael Mihaljevich, whose photo “An Arizona Moonrise” captures the soul of the Sonoran Desert like never before. Picture this—Arizona’s iconic saguaro cacti standing tall, the sky fading from fiery orange to dusty purple, and a full moon rising quietly over the desert’s calm silence. It’s not just a shot; it’s a moment that makes time stand still. Mihaljevich’s work proves that patience, light, and a bit of desert dust can create something truly timeless.
Other standout shots include a frozen dawn over Icelandic glaciers, the golden dance of rice terraces in Vietnam, and a dreamy mist rolling through the Scottish Highlands. Each image feels alive—like the earth itself is posing for the lens. These photographers didn’t just take pictures; they told stories of solitude, wonder, and raw connection with the wild.
If you ever doubted how powerful a landscape can be, these 25 photos will remind you that the world still has places where silence speaks louder than words.
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#1. 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."
#2. 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."
#3. 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."
#4. 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."
#5. People’s Vote Award: "Dance of Colors" by Aurora Dora
"The auroras were so beautiful on October 7, 2024. I was lucky to have a window of about 30 minutes of clear skies to photograph the fast and furious Aurora display. Intense and multicolored northern lights showing the depth of the aurora and every color imaginable. I love my life!"
Honorable Mentions
#6. "North of the Wall" by Joey Priola
"A fresh dusting of snow graces the jagged spires of the Rockwall as the larch trees below Numa Pass turn a beautiful golden color and perfectly complement the dark mountains and sky on a moody morning in British Columbia’s Kootenay National Park."
#7. "A mountain illuminated by the aurora" by Yoshiki Fujiwara
"A magical aurora gently illuminates Kirkjufell, Iceland’s famed mountain. The sound of the gushing waterfall and the still lake surface blend with the lights in the night sky, making it feel as if you’ve stepped into a fairytale world.’
#8. "Sanctuary" by Eduardo Esses
"The view of this church in Iceland as the light illuminates the mountains on the foreground was just breathtaking."
#9. "The Weight of Silence" by John Martinotti
"A meditation on isolation and awe, this series captures the quiet force of winter landscapes where light breaks through shadow. Each frame reveals a world untouched, suspended between stillness and storm, beauty and desolation."
#10. "Golden ridges" by Grégoire Pansu
"After a challenging hike, we finally reached a ridge summit. The view was incredible over the entire Riaño mountain range and its reservoir, as the sun slowly set, encircled by clouds. These small wind-twisted trees growing directly from the rock immediately caught my eye, creating a perfect frame."
#11. "Moon" by Vassilis Triantafyllou
"A Full moon rises behind the Temple of Poseidon in Cape Sounion, Greece"
#12. "Crown of Fire Cadini di Misurina" by Sherry Keene
"Bathed in fleeting alpenglow, the Cadini di Misurina rise like a citadel carved by time. From Tre Cime di Lavaredo, their jagged spires command the horizon. For a moment, stone and sky ignite—an incandescent crown upon the Dolomites, where light bends in reverence."
Nominees
#13. "Kakadu Wetland Designs" by Stuart Chape
"Photographed from a helicopter, these images record part of the complex wetland ecosystems that cover a large part of the vast wild Kakadu landscape in the Northern Territory, Australia."
#14. "Ascending in the Tantalus" by Mike Crane
"Skiers ascend in the rugged Tantalus Range in the Coast Mountains."
#15. "Naturally Unfolding" by Michael Mihaljevich
"At the foot of Wyoming’s Tetons the waning day brings a cast of characters together to mingle for a moment of refreshingly untouched nature."
#16. "Bobby Socks Trees in the Mist" by David Breslauer
"The Bobby Socks trees are stand of dead trees in Yellowstone National Park. They get their name from the bleached trunks that stand in acidic water from nearby geysers."
#17. "Ring of Fire and Ice" by Liam Man
"A “Ring of Fire” solar eclipse reaches annularity as two ice climbers summit the Glacier Leones. A drone illuminates the ice’s textures and colours, battling eclipse winds that throw plumes of snow into the sun’s rays. The foreground ice is strewn with rocky debris, left by a landslide upstream."
#18. "Twilight in Gondor" by Grégoire Pansu
"The indirect light coming from the sky was particularly well-suited to the scene in my opinion. The tree, which immediately evokes the famous white tree of Minas Tirith from The Lord of the Rings, was capturing the soft glimmers and stood out perfectly against the dark volcanic peaks."
#19. "Cheering" by Grégoire Pansu
"One of the images from the series I captured in the ancestral Fanal forest. In this misty atmosphere, the small tree in the middle caught my eye first, as it resembles a person rejoicing and raising their arms. The other trees around it frame and close the scene."
#20. "Turquoise Perfection" by Daryl Benson
"A turquoise alpine lake reflects the suns rays and the snow capped peaks."
#21. "Liquid gold" by Grégoire Pansu
"An absolutely perfect sunrise. The fog was like the sea, forming waves and currents that moved quite rapidly and swirled around the cypress trees. I captured the moment when the rising sun’s rays touched only the top of this moving blanket of fog, turning it into what looked like molten gold."
#22. "The Emerald Dream" by Enrico Curti
#23. "Twin peaks" by Grégoire Pansu
"The setting sun’s light remained filtered for most of the evening. A few rays nevertheless managed to briefly illuminate the cliffs of the left mountain. Numerous flowers including these marsh marigolds lined an almost dry stream, creating a natural leading line through this high-altitude meadow."
#24. "Fiery Skies" by Ammon Jeffs
"The sky lit up strikingly around Squaretop Mountain in the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming, USA as a passing storm began to dissipate at sunset. July 2025."
#25. "On Guard" by Lee Nordbye
