See the winning photos from a major European nature photography contest

See a gallery of winning photos from the Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards for 2025

The overall winner was “Ghost Town Visitor," which depicts an extremely rare brown hyena visiting an abandoned mining building in Kolmanskop, Namibia, by South African photographer Wim van den Heever. Other amazing shots include "Orphan of the Road," showing a longhorn beetle observing large machinery, and "Survival Purse," featuring the egg case of a swell shark.

2025's Nature Photographer of the Year winners

Forty-nine top-notch photos of springtime around the world

Peruse this collection of stunning images gleaned from thousands submitted in a 2020 "springtime" contest which features close-ups and drone photos from Vietnam to Ireland.

National Geographic's 2022 Photo of the Year

See all 10 of the top photographs and find out how perseverance—and a ton of patience—got Karthik Subramaniam the grand-prize-winning shot.

The best photos of scientists at work in 2025

The winners of Nature's 2025 photo competition capture the essence of scientific fieldwork in diverse and challenging environments. From a biologist battling waves for whale research to ice core drilling in polar night conditions, this gallery details the research being each winning photo.

Images of jumping lemurs and octopus moms promote conservation efforts

Winners and finalists from the California Academy of Sciences' BigPicture Photography Competition showcase the incredible biodiversity of Earth. The striking images are judged by a panel of nature and conservation photography experts.

A resting rhino tops the best travel photos of the year

The annual Travel Photographer of the Year awards are in for 2022, and the winner this year features one of the last two remaining Northern White rhinos. Check out the other categories and runners up.

See the winners of the 2023 dog photography awards

The third annual Dog Photographer of the Year Awards announced 12 winners and 48 finalists in categories like Portrait, Action, Studio, and Dogs with People. Prizes include cash, photography gear, a trophy, and more.

The best drone photos of 2022

A look at the winning entries into the Drone photo awards 2022, including the overall winner showing a secondary fissure caused by the Fagradalsfjall volcano in Iceland.

See the world's first-known photo of a wild white Iberian lynx

Described by the photographer as the "white ghost of the Mediterranean forest," the lynx is a vulnerable species. Catching the genetic anomaly on camera is a testament to conservation efforts that began in 2011.

Contest honors street photographers who freeze fleeting moments

The Pure Street Photography Awards has been connecting and commending international photographers for their talents and storytelling since 2020. See precious moments like an alley game gone rogue, cows bumping heads, and kids flying kites in the gallery.

See hilarious photos from the Comedy Wildlife Awards 2025

Napping frog princes, annoying lion husbands, and kung fu sea eagles are just some of the charming shots you'll find among the finalists for the award.

Ten magnificent photos of lions

A new book of essays and images reveals the history of the big cats, elaborating on how they’ve become a vulnerable species today (and efforts to preserve them).

Wildlife use Rome's sprawling archaeological sites as urban havens

The Italian capital features some of the world's most famous monuments as the inheritor of ancient Rome's grandeur. This photo essay explores the city's vibrant collection of wildlife, including long-concealed native crabs, peregrine falcons, and the beaver-like nutria.

The beauty of the Earth in 80 photos

The world is full of beautiful landscapes, creatures, and scenes. Here's a gallery of 80 incredible photos with explanatory captions to deepen your appreciation for the diverse wonders of Earth.

View the winners of the 2025 Global Physics Photowalk contest

Participants were asked to submit entries showcasing particle physics labs from around the world, including particle accelerators, neutrino detectors, and superconducting experiments. The winning photograph was taken at the CryOgenic Laboratory for Detectors, where scientists hunt for dark matter after cooling materials to a few thousandths of a degree above absolute zero.

Explore the 2025 Ocean Photographer of the Year winners and finalists

The Ocean Photographer of the Year celebrates and advocates for the ocean and its creatures. From tiny 3mm amphipods to hunting orcas, see a collection of images highlighting the beauty of our blue planet.

Photographer catches stunning shot of an aurora over an Icelandic waterfall

Photographer Cari Letelier captured a stunning shot of the aurora borealis over the Godafoss waterfall in Iceland, a composite image pulled from nearly three dozen exposures. The aurora phenomenon is typically visible in Earth's northern latitudes...

The best drone photos of 2023

The Drone Awards are a prestigious global competition focused on aerial photography and video. They are dedicated to showcasing this distinct genre of photography, seeking entries from various platforms, including drones and fixed-wing aircraft.

Explore a gallery of astronomical images curated by the European Space Agency, which includes illustrations and images of aurorae, planets, stars, galaxies, stellar nurseries, exoplanets, and black holes.

Athletes are captured in moments of victory and defeat in 6 powerful sports images

See shots like Muhammad Ali knocking out Sonny Liston in 1965, or Brandi Chastain after winning the World Cup final in 1999.

Photobombing bird nabs best wedding photo of the year

Just as groom-to-be started in on his vows in the beautiful setting of wild Whistler, Canada, a curious bird alighted upon his dear love's head, and photographer Tara Lilly captured what would become the year's best wedding photograph. See the shot and read the story here.

Stunning up-close photos of animal eyes

The eyes really are the windows to the soul.

Explore a gallery of lightning photography taken from the Grand Canyon

In this series, award-winning photographer Adam Schallau accompanies each image with expert advice on how to capture the phenomenon successfully. Initially requiring the shutter to remain open for extended periods, today's technology includes a device called a lightning trigger, which senses incoming lightning and automatically manages the shutter.

Photographer captures glowing flowers in ultraviolet light

Debora Lombardi utilizes ultraviolet light to reveal unseen colors in flowers, re-shaping their natural beauty. Beginning during the lockdown of March 2020, Lombardi's experimentation evolved, culminating in a series recognized by the World Photography Organization. Her work highlights vibrant purples, blues, and yellows, transforming flowers into surreal, otherworldly specimens by exposing them to UV light in her Italy-based studio.

Ansel Adams' 20th-century photographs of national parks captured the majesty of a growing National Park System.

Stunning shots of a singing red-winged blackbird

Photographer Kathrin Swoboda visits Huntley Meadows Park to photograph red-wing blackbirds singing. In 2019, she captured them emitting smoke-like rings from their beaks due to visible condensation in the cold. This serendipitous shot won the top prize at the Audubon Photography Awards that year, highlighting the unique phenomenon of birds' breath visible in chilly temperatures. Check out the photos here.

See February 2026's best science images, including raining iguanas.

Some of the oldest photographs in the world

Scholar and artist Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey ventured around the Mediterranean with some of the earliest photographic equipment in tow. He captured hundreds of images during his tour of Rome, Venice, Cairo, and more, in what would become...

The Pulitzer Prize for photography has gone to the photographers who took some of history's defining images

The prestigious literary awards also include two prizes for photography: one for features and another for breaking news. Recipients have captured some of history’s most famous photos, including the iconic photo of US Marines raising the flag atop Mount Suribachi in Iwo Jima (by Joseph Rosenthal) and the legendary photo of Babe Ruth on the day of his final game (by Nat Fein).

The funniest pet photos of 2022

Chess-playing cats, water-loving dogs, and happy horses are among the finalists of the 2022 Comedy Pet Photography Awards.

View a photo essay of renewable power landscapes in China

Using a drone, Chinese photographer Weimin Chu captured the deployment of solar and wind power installations across the country, which accounted for half of all global installations in 2025. The images show modern infrastructure juxtaposed with natural landscapes and was featured in an award-winning exhibition presented by Greenpeace in 2025.

Explore a collection of galleries of pollinators found in national parks

Many of the photographs were taken during pollinator inventories in national parks across the US. Although these inventories often focus on bees and butterflies, the collection also features beetles, moths, spiders, and birds that transfer pollen as they move from bloom to bloom.

In 1914, the Financial Times asked readers to redraw Europe for cash prizes

Two months in World War I, the newspaper invited readers to sketch postwar borders and submit peace terms for cash prizes. The contest captured public attempts to predict a new world order and foreshadowed modern crowdsourced forecasting. It's a wild look at how uncertain Europe's future was at the time.