Split image: Left side shows a frog peeking out from behind large green leaves in the dark. Right side shows a white wolf with a blood-stained face standing on snowy ground, with mountains and musk oxen in the background.

The Nature inFocus Photography Awards winners have been announced. Over 1,250 photographers from nearly 40 countries entered nearly 16,000 images this year, competing across eight categories.

Winning images this year include a dramatic portrait of an Arctic wolf encounter with a herd of muskox, a lounging chimpanzee, a group of feeding flamingoes, a poignant portrait of a leopard amidst litter and garbage, and much more.

Varma adds that the Nature inFocus Photography Awards, which started primarily as a competition among photographers in India, has grown considerably and become an international affair. The contest celebrates photographers who document natural history moment and highlight conservation issues.

“What began as a national platform has evolved into a diverse international community of photographers,” says Rohit Varma, co-founder of Nature inFocus. “Every year, the submissions reveal fresh perspectives on the natural world and shed light on urgent conservation challenges. The growing number of participants and the expanding geographical reach reflect just how global this platform has become.”

Category Winners

The Nature inFocus Awards 2025 features eight categories: Animal Behavior, Animal Portraits, Coexistence (a new category this year), Conservation, Creative Nature, Wildscape and Animals in Their Habitat, Young Photographer (17 Years Old and Younger), and Portfolio. The winners and runners-up for each category are featured below, except for the Portfolio category, which features only the winner.

Animal Behavior A white Arctic wolf with a blood-stained face walks on snowy ground, while a group of dark musk oxen stand together in the background. Snow-covered hills and a pale sky complete the wintry scene.Winner — ‘Ancient Rivals’ by Amit Eschel | Nature inFocus Awards 2025
A large brown spider clings to a wet rock at the edge of water, holding a shiny silver fish with its legs. The fish’s scales glisten, and both are reflected in the water below.Runner-Up — ‘Catch of the Day’ by Kashyap Naresh Raval | Nature inFocus Awards 2025 Animal Portraits A gorilla reclines on a large, twisted tree branch covered in moss in a dense, green jungle, surrounded by lush foliage and thick vines.
Winner — ‘The Canopy Watcher’ by Federica Cordero | Nature inFocus Awards 2025 Five Pallas’s cats rest and blend in on large, rugged brown rocks surrounded by green grass, with a soft blue sky and open landscape in the background.Runner-Up — ‘The Curious Six’ by Amit Eshel | Nature inFocus Awards 2025 Coexistence A large flock of flamingos stands and wades in a wetland lagoon, with dense trees in the background and a distant city skyline under a cloudy sky. The scene is in black and white.Winner — ‘Urban Oasis’ by Sarthak Agrawal | Nature inFocus Awards 2025 Aerial view of a rural landscape with two small orange and white temples near a road, surrounded by green trees, a field of crops, and dry, forested hills in the background.Runner-Up — ‘Everyone’s Field’ by Kasim Mohammed | Nature inFocus Awards 2025 Ramki Sreenivasan Conservation Photography Award A leopard sits among piles of garbage at night near a road with streaks of car lights and a full moon in the sky, surrounded by trees and power lines.Winner — ‘Edge of Two Worlds’ by Rajat Chordia and Vidhan Dwivedi | Nature inFocus Awards 2025 A large idol of Lord Ganesha is suspended above a polluted lake, with debris and submerged remnants of other idols floating in the water under a cloudy sky.
Runner-Up — ‘After the Offering’ by Guru Raju | Nature inFocus Awards 2025
Creative Nature A translucent cricket sits on a green leaf against a dark background, with motion blur highlighting its wings and antennae, creating an ethereal, ghostly effect.Winner — ‘Blue Aura’ by Bidyut Kalita | Nature inFocus Awards 2025 A flock of birds flies in coordinated lines across a cloudy sky near a tall, modern apartment building with many windows and balconies. The image is in black and white.Runner-Up — ‘Patterns in the Sky’ by Raghuvamsh Chavali | Nature inFocus Awards 2025 Wildscape and Animals in Their Habitat A fox walks quietly on the forest floor at night, illuminated by soft light. Twisted, dark tree trunks surround the fox, and the forest behind fades into deep shadow.Winner — ‘Thief in the Spotlight’ by Sergey Bystritsky | Nature inFocus Awards 2025 A small frog with bright eyes sits on a branch, partially hidden among large, green, backlit leaves against a dark background.Runner-Up — ‘Green Within Green’ by Pratik Pradhan | Nature inFocus Awards 2025 Young Photographer A juvenile paper nautilus clings to a brown leaf against a black background, with its spiral, translucent shell and large eye clearly visible.Winner — ‘Nautilus on the Move’ by Tinnapat Netcharussaeng | Nature inFocus Awards 2025 A herd of elephants, including adults and calves, walk through a dry, grassy area near a fence, surrounded by green trees and shrubs. One elephant is raising its front leg as it moves forward.
Runner-Up — ‘Race to the Forest’ by Dana Palihawadana | Nature inFocus Awards 2025 Portfolio Aerial view of a large quarry site surrounded by dense green forest and hills, with exposed rock faces and dirt roads cutting through the landscape. Machinery and excavated areas are visible within the quarry.Winner — ‘Echoes From the Eastern Ghats’ by Rukhiya Mohammed | Nature inFocus Awards 2025
Aerial view of a large hill near the coast being excavated, with construction sites and roads surrounding it; the ocean and more green hills are visible in the background under a cloudy sky.Winner — ‘Echoes From the Eastern Ghats’ by Rukhiya Mohammed | Nature inFocus Awards 2025 A winding mountain road with sharp hairpin turns snakes through dense green forest, viewed from above. Several vehicles are visible navigating the curves.Winner — ‘Echoes From the Eastern Ghats’ by Rukhiya Mohammed | Nature inFocus Awards 2025 Aerial view showing a dense urban area with many buildings on the left, sharply bordering a large, lush green forest on the right; hills and more buildings appear in the distant background.Winner — ‘Echoes From the Eastern Ghats’ by Rukhiya Mohammed | Nature inFocus Awards 2025 Aerial view of lush green mountains with patches of farmland, mist, and low-hanging clouds, set against a backdrop of distant hills and a cloudy sky.Winner — ‘Echoes From the Eastern Ghats’ by Rukhiya Mohammed | Nature inFocus Awards 2025 A straight railway track cuts through a dense green forest, stretching toward distant misty hills under a hazy sky.Winner — ‘Echoes From the Eastern Ghats’ by Rukhiya Mohammed | Nature inFocus Awards 2025 Aerial view of a large dam across a wide river, surrounded by green hills, construction sites, and scattered buildings, with mountains visible in the distance under a clear sky.Winner — ‘Echoes From the Eastern Ghats’ by Rukhiya Mohammed | Nature inFocus Awards 2025 Winner — ‘Echoes From the Eastern Ghats’ by Rukhiya Mohammed | Nature inFocus Awards 2025

Alongside these winning photos, the six-person jury also selected Special Mentions, all of which can be seen on Nature inFocus’ website.


Image credits: Nature inFocus Awards. Individual photographers are credited in the captions.