The Nature inFocus Photography Awards 2025 has announced its winners, showcasing exceptional wildlife and nature photography from around the world. This year's competition attracted over 1,250 photographers from nearly 40 countries, who submitted close to 16,000 images across eight distinct categories, demonstrating the growing international appeal of this prestigious photography contest.
The winning images present a diverse array of natural subjects and scenarios, including a dramatic portrait capturing an Arctic wolf's encounter with a herd of muskoxen, an intimate shot of a relaxing chimpanzee, a vibrant group of feeding flamingos, and a powerful conservation-focused portrait of a leopard surrounded by litter and garbage. These photographs not only showcase technical excellence but also tell compelling stories about wildlife and environmental issues.
Rohit Varma, co-founder of Nature inFocus, emphasized the contest's remarkable evolution from its humble beginnings. "What began as a national platform has evolved into a diverse international community of photographers," Varma explained. "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."
The Nature inFocus Photography Awards, which originally started as a competition primarily among photographers in India, has grown significantly to become a truly international affair. The contest serves a dual purpose: celebrating photographers who document natural history moments while simultaneously highlighting critical conservation issues facing our planet.
The 2025 awards feature eight comprehensive categories designed to showcase different aspects of nature photography. These include Animal Behavior, Animal Portraits, Coexistence (a newly introduced category this year), Conservation, Creative Nature, Wildscape and Animals in Their Habitat, Young Photographer (for participants 17 years old and younger), and Portfolio. Each category recognizes both winners and runners-up, except for the Portfolio category, which features only the winning photographer.
In the Animal Behavior category, Amit Eschel claimed the top prize with his photograph "Ancient Rivals," while Kashyap Naresh Raval earned the runner-up position with "Catch of the Day." The Animal Portraits category was won by Federica Cordero for "The Canopy Watcher," with Amit Eshel securing the runner-up spot for "The Curious Six."
The newly introduced Coexistence category saw Sarthak Agrawal take first place with "Urban Oasis," demonstrating the relationship between wildlife and human environments. Kasim Mohammed earned the runner-up position in this category with "Everyone's Field." The Ramki Sreenivasan Conservation Photography Award, which specifically focuses on environmental issues, was won by the collaborative work of Rajat Chordia and Vidhan Dwivedi for "Edge of Two Worlds," with Guru Raju placing as runner-up for "After the Offering."
Creative interpretation of nature was celebrated in the Creative Nature category, where Bidyut Kalita won with "Blue Aura," and Raghuvamsh Chavali placed as runner-up with "Patterns in the Sky." The Wildscape and Animals in Their Habitat category recognized Sergey Bystritsky as the winner for "Thief in the Spotlight," while Pratik Pradhan earned runner-up honors for "Green Within Green."
The Young Photographer category, dedicated to emerging talent aged 17 and under, was dominated by exceptional work from young artists. Tinnapat Netcharussaeng claimed the top spot with "Nautilus on the Move," while Dana Palihawadana secured the runner-up position with "Race to the Forest." These young photographers demonstrate that the future of wildlife photography is in capable hands.
The Portfolio category, which requires photographers to present a cohesive body of work rather than a single image, was won by Rukhiya Mohammed for "Echoes From the Eastern Ghats." This comprehensive portfolio showcases the photographer's ability to tell a complete visual story about a specific region and its wildlife, representing the highest level of achievement in the competition.
Beyond the category winners and runners-up, the six-person jury panel also selected numerous Special Mentions, recognizing additional photographers whose work demonstrated exceptional merit. All of these honored photographs, along with the winning images, are available for viewing on the Nature inFocus website, providing inspiration for nature photography enthusiasts worldwide and raising awareness about the beauty and fragility of our natural world.
