Winners of the GDT Nature Photographer of the Year 2026

PhotographyWinners of the GDT Nature Photographer of the Year 2026A collection of some of this year’s winning and honored photographs. Nearly 9,000 entries were submitted to organizers by member photographers from 15 countries.By Alan TaylorApril 27, 2026, 12:56 PM ET ShareSave © Jens Cullmann / GDT Nature Photographer of the Year 2026Practice Makes Perfect. First Place, Other Animals. A young African bullfrog fails to catch its prey.© Preeti John / GDT Nature Photographer of the Year 2026Shelter. Second Place, Mammals. An elephant calf seeks shelter from the blazing sun in the only available shade—the body of its mother. Photographed in Amboseli National Park, Kenya.© Noah Marcheel / GDT Nature Photographer of the Year 2026Mosquitoes on Fire. Second Place, Other Animals. I found these mosquitoes standing on a stone along a stream. The reflected sunlight in the background resembles a blazing fire.© Tobias Richter / GDT Nature Photographer of the Year 2026Green Lines. First Place, Plants & Fungi. Spring fever in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, where mosses, ferns, and wood sorrel bring the rock ledges of cool, dark gorges to life.© Amit Eshel / GDT Nature Photographer of the Year 2026Ancient Rivals. Second Place, Biodiversity—The Beauty and Significance of Natural Diversity. An Arctic wolf bearing traces of a recent hunt. A nearby herd of musk oxen stands alert in its iconic defensive formation.© Eike Christian Wolff / GDT Nature Photographer of the Year 2026Frozen Forest. First Place, Landscapes. This natural spectacle formed after a river flooded the forest, the water surface froze, the water underneath retreated, and the ice then broke up.© Jeroen Van Nieuwenhove / GDT Nature Photographer of the Year 2026Lava Dragon. Second Place, Nature’s Studio. An aerial view of an eruption on an active lava field, reminiscent of a dragon.© Luca Lorenz / GDT Nature Photographer of the Year 2026Mountain Hare in the Alps. Overall Winner and First Place, Mammals. High above the tree line in the Alps, a mountain hare (bottom left) sat still for hours at the entrance to a small cave, only partially sheltered from the icy winds.© Beate Oswald / GDT Nature Photographer of the Year 2026Fragments of Light. First Place, Nature’s Studio. Reeds and dancing sun glitter reflect in the cool, blue waters of Lake Starnberg.© Radomir Jakubowski / GDT Nature Photographer of the Year 2026Black-Headed Gull. First Place, Birds. A black-headed gull in backlight during its landing approach in the Camargue.© Christian Kosanetzky / GDT Nature Photographer of the Year 2026Eurasian Curlew in Front of JadeWeserPort. Second Place (tie), Birds. A Eurasian curlew in Jade Bight as the tide rises. The lights of the container cranes at JadeWeserPort glow in the background.© Anja Diel / GDT Nature Photographer of the Year 2026Feeling Small. Second Place, Landscapes. In this misty forest, one’s gaze is magically drawn upward to the branch of a beech tree still clad in autumn foliage.© Roy Müller / GDT Nature Photographer of the Year 2026Shelter at the Ice Hole. Prize of the Jury, and Eighth Place, Nature’s Studio. Drone photograph of a hole in the ice at a gravel pit that has attracted a large number of waterbirds.© Dieter Damschen / GDT Nature Photographer of the Year 2026Rich in Structure. First Place, Biodiversity—The Beauty and Significance of Natural Diversity. Cranes depart from their roosting site in Lower Oder Valley National Park.Be sure to visit the official competition…

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