The 25 beautiful shots that won Nature Photographer of The Year 2022.

Among the many photography competitions that exist, one of them is a must and wins every year real success. It is the Nature Photographer of the Year, which rewards photographs highlighting the beauty of nature. And at the end of the year, the competition organizers have just announced the winners of this 2022 edition.

Since 2016, the competition has rewarded photographers from all over the world who covet the prestigious Photographer of the Year award. For this seventh edition, 20,952 shots were chosen by a special jury, a record never before achieved. Photographers from 96 countries worldwide are divided into 12 categories: birds, landscapes, animals, or plants.

At the end of the results, the first prize is awarded the sum of 3000€, while the winners by category receive money and photography equipment.

During this last edition, the photographer Dmitry Kokh largely distinguished himself with his shot entitled “House of the Bears,” where we observe two polar bears taking refuge in an abandoned house like two human beings. The photograph moved the assembly because it sadly demonstrates the future of these endangered animals who are forced to leave their natural habitat to come closer to cities to feed themselves.

Discover below a selection of the winning and finalist photographs of the Nature Photographer of the Year competition. To learn more about the competition and why not register for the 2023 edition, we recommend you visit the official competition website.

And if you appreciate nature photography, we invite you to (re)discover the sublime winning shots of the Nature Photographer Awards 2021 and those of the Nature inFocus Photography Awards 2022.

Grand prize

“House of Bears” by Dmitry Kokh

Credits: Dmitry Kokh


Category Birds

Winner – “Kittiwake” by Knut-Sverre Horn

Credits: Knut-Sverre Horn

Finalist – “Sound of Colors” by Rupert Kogler

Credits: Rupert 


Category Mammals

Winner – “The World is Mine” by Sascha Fonseca

Credits: Sascha 

Finalist – “Out of the Fire of Creation” by James Gifford

Credits: James 

Category Other Animals

Winner – “Adaptation to Death” by Bernhard Schubert

Credits: Bernhard Schubert

Finalist – “Shelter” by Marco Maggesi

Credits: Marco Maggesi

Category Plants and Fungi

Winner – “Cold and Hot” by Soare Laurentiu

Credits: Soare Laurentiu

Finalist – “Reflux” by Csaba Daróczi

Credits: Csaba Daróczi

Category Landscape

Winner – “The Island” by Helga Urbán

Credits: Helga Urban

Finalist – “Resilient Tree” by Gianluca Gianferrari

Credits: Gianluca Gianferrari

Category Underwater

Winner – “The Rain I Was Waiting For” by Kazushige Horiguchi

Credits: Kazushige Horiguchi

Finalist – “Blue Crab” by Martin Broen

Credits: Martin Broen

Nature Art Category

Winner – “Trees and Stars” by Csaba Daróczi

Credits: Csaba Daróczi

Finalist – “Color Footprints” by Juan Garcia Lucas

Credits: Juan Garcia Lucas

Category Men and nature

Finalist – “Flamingo Airport” by Tamani Cédric

Credits: Tamani Cedric

Category Black and white

Winner – “Otter in an Ice Hole” by Ernst Dirksen

Credits: Ernst Dirksen

Finalist – “Gemsbok in the Light – The Descent” by Craig Elson

Credits: Craig Elson

Highly Recommended – “Like Fun” by Irma Szabó

Credits: Irma Szabo

Category Animal portraits

Winner – “Summer Season” by Dmitry Kokh

Credits: Dmitry Kokh

Finalist – “Adelie Penguin” by Zhengze Xu

Credits: Zhengze Xu

Highly Recommended – “Hypnotized Crusader Fox” by Zita Quentin

Credits: Zita Quentin

Highly recommended – “Lynx pardelle family portrait” by Alessandro Beconi

Credits: Alessandro Beconi

Lowland Nature Category

Winner – “Foulque” by Franka Slothouber

Credits: Franka Slothouber

Finalist – “Tribute to the Starfish” by Franka Slothouber

Credits: Franka Slothouber

Youth Category

Winner – “First Missed Flight” by Till Clémence

Credits: Till Clémence

Finalist – “European Owlet” by Luca Lorenz

Credits: Luca Lorenz

Category Fred Hazelhoff Portfolio Award

Winner – “A Bear in the Garden” by David Hup and Michiel Van Noppen

Credits: David Hup and Michiel Van Noppen

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