Summary
- Imre Potyó won European Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 with “Hidden worlds”.
- It is the first overall title awarded to a photograph from Plants and Fungi.
- Greece’s Agorastos Papatsanis is featured with “Microcosm”.
- All 92 photographs from the category selections and special awards are included.
- Imre Potyó: the photograph that made history
- All eight categories and their photographs
- Birds
- Mammals
- Other Animals
- Plants and Fungi
- Landscapes
- Underwater World
- Man and Nature
- Nature’s Studio
- The younger photographers
- Young Photographers, up to 14
- Young Photographers, 15–17
- The special awards
- Fritz Pölking awards
- Rewilding Europe Award
- What we think
- Frequently asked questions
A photograph of tiny fungi growing on bat droppings earned Hungary’s Imre Potyó the title of European Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026, in an edition whose official gallery includes 92 photographs and a Greek photographer among the selected artists.
The German Society for Nature Photography (GDT) announced the winners on 23 October 2026. More than 26,000 entries were submitted by 1,239 photographers, setting a competition record. The collection includes category winners, runners-up and other selected photographs, alongside young photographer distinctions and special awards.
The GDT competition is separate from the Natural History Museum’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026, where Greek photographer Agorastos Papatsanis also received an award.
Imre Potyó: the photograph that made history
“Hidden worlds” was created in a disused tunnel in Hungary’s Börzsöny Mountains during a controlled bat survey. Delicate fungal structures growing on bat guano fill the macro foreground, while hibernating lesser horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus hipposideros) remain visible in the background.
Potyó has photographed hibernating bats at these sites for 13 years. He used a Nikon D7200, a Tamron 60mm f/2 macro lens, a tripod and an LED lamp, combining a long exposure with focus shifting. The GDT states that the animals were not disturbed. It is the first time in the award’s 26-year history that an image from Plants and Fungi has won the overall title.
All eight categories and their photographs
The gallery below includes every photograph in the GDT collection provided for this story. Category winners and runners-up are identified where the official captions specify them; all other images retain their original titles and author credits.
Birds
Jan Wieczorek won Birds with “Secret paths”, while Jonas Janss Haugli was runner-up with “National bird”. The remaining selected photographs range from avian behaviour to unusual compositions and landscapes.
Winner — Secret paths — Jan Wieczorek.
Runner-up — National bird — Jonas Janss Haugli.
Amazonian refreshment — Thomas Kuhn.
Water rocket — Csaba Daroczi.
Silent supper — Christoph Kaula.
Border conflict — Michal Michalski.
Sky surfer — Sandra Kenyon.
Adélie penguins in the Ross Sea — Ole Jørgen Liodden.
Lifeline — Bernt Østhus.
Angel of death — Andy Parkinson.
Mammals
Lorenzo Shoubridge won Mammals with “The cat and a thousand lanterns”. Overall winner Imre Potyó also took second place in this category with “Into the hole”.
Winner — The cat and a thousand lanterns — Lorenzo Shoubridge.
Runner-up — Into the hole — Imre Potyó.
A seal’s worst nightmare — Audun Rikardsen.
Tiny giants — Bart Heirweg.
In the sea of dunes — Tom Way.
Black wolf — Danny Green.
The florist — William Steel.
Exit stage right — Preeti John.
Just before dusk — Luca Lorenz.
Little housemates — Marc Siegle.
Other Animals
Christian Morawitz won Other Animals with “Spider universe”, followed by Imre Potyó’s “In the moonlight”. Among the selected works is Agorastos Papatsanis’s “Microcosm”, an image of an ant set against the illuminated gills of a mushroom. This GDT selection is distinct from the Greek photographer’s category victory at the Natural History Museum’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year.
Winner — Spider universe — Christian Morawitz.
Runner-up — In the moonlight — Imre Potyó.
“Microcosm” by Agorastos Papatsanis contrasts the illuminated radial gills of a mushroom with the silhouette of an ant.
Microcosm — Agorastos Papatsanis.
Furry ghost — Marco Colombo.
David and Goliath — Luis Wittmer.
Little spiders — Florian Lottersberger.
Goose barnacles — Theo Bosboom.
Sun gliders — William Steel.
Pretty on pink — Jan Leßmann und Hermann Hirsch.
Maternal care — Norbert Kaszás.
Plants and Fungi
Fortunato Gatto won Plants and Fungi with “Forest at the edge”, with Daniel Böttcher runner-up for “Lined up”. The overall winner’s connection to this category adds further weight to the competition’s attention to organisms that are easily overlooked.
Winner — Forest at the edge — Fortunato Gatto.
Runner-up — Lined up — Daniel Böttcher.
Order within chaos — Olaf Karwisch.
Autumn fantasy — Jose Luis Gigirey.
Gloria — Csaba Daroczi.
Unequal pair — Hannu Ahonen.
Current — Csaba Daroczi.
Symphony in green — Przemysław Ziemacki.
Autumn colours — Josef Hackhofer.
We are family — Marek Mierzejewski.
Landscapes
Antje Kreienbrink won Landscapes with “Midnight” and Orsolya Haarberg was runner-up with “Umbra”. Volcanic colour, changing light and the geometry of landscapes are among the themes of this selection.
Winner — Midnight — Antje Kreienbrink.
Runner-up — Umbra — Orsolya Haarberg.
River of fire — Lukas Schaefer.
Dreamlike — Fortunato Gatto.
Spectrum of light — Mauro Tronto.
Mirror image — Mauro Tronto.
Creation — Katarzyna Gubrynowicz.
Wind spirit — Orsolya Haarberg.
Cloud dance — Orsolya Haarberg.
Etched by the rain — Manuel Plaickner.
Underwater World
Ángel Fitor won Underwater World with “Human-made catastrophe”, followed by Henley Spiers’s “Turbulent feeding patch”. The category includes underwater behaviour and imagery that draws attention to pressures on aquatic ecosystems.
Winner — Human-made catastrophe — Angel Fitor.
Runner-up — Turbulent feeding patch — Henley Spiers.
At the heart of the wave — Guenard Bruno.
Sand dweller — Francisco Javier Murcia Requena.
Lost in blue space — Henley Spiers.
Playing by necessity — Henley Spiers.
Two astronauts — Jonathan Fieber.
At home in a feather star — Luis Arpa.
Underwater labyrinth — Jan Leßmann.
Bubble Baby — Natascha Klein.
Man and Nature
Petr Bambousek won Man and Nature with “Evolution”, while Lukas Schaefer finished second with “Helping hands”. These images explore human involvement in natural systems, from conservation to exploitation.
Winner — Evolution — Petr Bambousek.
Runner-up — Helping hands — Lukas Schaefer.
Deceptive mercy — Aubry Schaefer.
A river of timber — Gheorghe Popa.
Blood bath — Peter O’Neill.
A tragic end — Alex Hyde.
Alter ego — Gianluca Damiani.
Barbecued golden eagle — Audun Rikardsen.
Education behind concrete walls? — David Slawik.
Hotel Dracula — Niklas Banowski.
Nature’s Studio
Hermann Hirsch and Jan Leßmann won Nature’s Studio with “Between the mountains”, with Florian Lottersberger runner-up for “Sea of broken glass”. Light, forms, movement and abstraction take centre stage.
Winner — Between the mountains — Hermann Hirsch und Jan Leßmann.
Runner-up — Sea of broken glass — Florian Lottersberger.
Modern art in nature — Henrik Schultz.
The great wyrm — Tomasz Niedzwiedz.
The silk scarf — Silke Hüttche.
I saw a peacock in my dreams — Hannu Ahonen.
Rain of fire — Philipp Egger.
Black panther hunting — Andrew Rouse.
Rise like a phoenix — Simone Baumeister.
When our sense of scale vanishes … — Sandra Westermann.
The younger photographers
Young Photographers, up to 14
The younger age group is represented by Marla Schwarze’s “Winter gold” and Grzegorz Stachera’s “The fragility of life”.
Winter gold — Marla Schwarze.
The fragility of life — Grzegorz Stachera.
Young Photographers, 15–17
In the 15–17 group, the gallery presents “Swan lake” by Szymon Bartołd and “First light” by Lubin Godin.
Swan lake — Szymon Bartołd.
First light — Lubin Godin.
The special awards
Fritz Pölking awards
Michiel van Noppen received the Fritz Pölking Prize for “Tales of the forest keepers”, a project about the threatened Baird’s tapir, the rare Jícaro Danto tree and efforts to protect their connected habitat. Tobias Gjerde won the Fritz Pölking Junior Prize with “The magic of the Nordic wilderness”, his second consecutive junior win.
Tales of the forest keepers — Michiel van Noppen.
The magic of the Nordic wilderness — Tobias Gjerde.
Rewilding Europe Award
Jan Wieczorek won the Rewilding Europe Award with “Urban beavers”, a black-and-white image of beavers in an urban setting. Christoph Kaula was runner-up with “Managed revival”; the five selected works explore different sides of wildlife recovery.
Winner — Urban beavers — Jan Wieczorek.
Runner-up — Managed revival — Christoph Kaula.
Peaceful European bison — Fabian Thorand.
The call of the eagles — Silke Hüttche.
A new generation — Lewis Jefferies.
What we think
“Hidden worlds” works as a photograph even before the viewer knows its subject. The tiny fungus, blue-toned light and bats behind it create a sense of scale far removed from the actual scene. Potyó achieves that because he knows the location exceptionally well and understands where to look.
It is refreshing to see the overall prize go not to another spectacular large-animal encounter, but to a miniature ecosystem that most people would walk past. This is macro photography doing more than magnification: it reveals a connection between organisms that we might never otherwise notice.
Agorastos Papatsanis’s selection also matters to photographers working with fungi and small-scale nature subjects in Greece. “Microcosm” uses a very different visual approach to give a tiny scene real presence. Both photographs make a practical point for image-makers: observation and patience often matter more than finding an obviously dramatic subject.
Frequently asked questions
Is this the same competition as London’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year?
No. European Wildlife Photographer of the Year is run by Germany’s GDT, while Wildlife Photographer of the Year is organised by London’s Natural History Museum. Both announced separate results in October 2026.
