Summary
- Finnish photographer Hannu Ahonen won Nature Photographer of the Year 2026.
- The competition drew 27,108 photographs from 96 countries.
- This gallery contains 60 awarded photographs and all eight frames from the winning portfolio.
- The next competition opens on November 20, 2026.
- The detail that won the overall title
- Two more standout stories
- All awarded photographs
- Birds
- Mammals
- Other Animals
- Plants and Fungi
- Landscapes
- Underwater
- Nature Art
- Humans and Nature
- Black and White
- Animal Portraits
- Nature of De Lage Landen
- Youth
- Fred Hazelhoff Portfolio Award
- What comes next for the competition
- What we think
- Frequently asked questions
A water lily leaf beside its own frozen imprint earned Finnish photographer Hannu Ahonen the Nature Photographer of the Year 2026 title, selected from 27,108 entries from 96 countries.
The results were announced on November 14 at the Nature Talks Photo Festival in the Netherlands, following an edition that had already reached a record number of entries. Ahonen’s photograph, “The One that Left and the One that Stayed”, also won Plants and Fungi.
Below are all 60 photographs that received a category win, runner-up position or highly commended distinction across 12 individual-image categories, plus all eight photographs in the winning portfolio. Each image is identified by its photographer and precise award.
The detail that won the overall title
Ahonen photographed the water lily on a pond that had frozen before snow arrived. Wind had moved some of the leaves away, exposing delicate frozen traces. In the winning image, the original leaf lies beside an icy replica that preserves even its fine veins.
Jury chair Theo Bosboom noted how unusual it is for a plant photograph to win a major nature contest, and how fleeting this scene is: the frozen replica will soon melt, while the leaf will eventually decay as well. The photographer found the scene close to home.
Two more standout stories
In the Youth category for ages 10–17, American photographer Parham Pourahmad won with “Tree of Life”: a coyote searching for rodents beneath a large oak tree in the hills near Stanford University. He had followed the local coyotes for years and waited for the animal to emerge again beneath the tree.
Germany’s Simone Baumeister received the Fred Hazelhoff Portfolio Award for “Eagle Owls in the City: The Invisible Visible”. Her eight images follow eagle owls living among churches, rooftops and streets in German cities, often passing unnoticed by residents.
All awarded photographs
The complete selection follows by category: winner, runner-up and three highly commended photographs. Original artwork titles are retained.
Birds
Category winner: «Painting from the end of the world» — Lucas Mugnier-Lavorel.
Runner-up: «Boatstrike» — Andy Parkinson.
Highly commended: «Parallel universes» — Csaba Daroczi.
Highly commended: «Hiding in the green» — Raphael De Moliner.
Highly commended: «Alpine Law» — Benoît Bussard.
Mammals
Category winner: «Play misty» — Paul Goldstein.
Runner-up: «Hidden Away» — Anna Terlecka.
Highly commended: «Out of the Shadows» — Sergey Bystritsky.
Highly commended: «These Hands» — Sunita Mandal.
Highly commended: «Aspen Shadows» — Devon Pradhuman.
Other Animals
Category winner: «The Pitcher’s Micro-Kingdom» — Marcus Kuan.
Runner-up: «Exploring the Terrain» — Suliman Alatiqi.
Highly commended: «Eyes of Survival» — Ary Bassous.
Highly commended: «Flower of Life» — Zhikai Wu.
Highly commended: «Cold Blood» — Ronald Zimmerman.
Plants and Fungi
Overall winner and category winner: «The one that left and the one that stayed» — Hannu Ahonen.
Runner-up: «Guano Blooming» — Imre Potyó.
Highly commended: «Life and Death» — Jonathan Fieber.
Highly commended: «Interwoven» — Antonio Nuñez Lemos.
Highly commended: «Lamproderma scintillans covered in delicate frozen dew drops» — Kutub Uddin.
Landscapes
Category winner: «In The Circle of Vultures Around the Falls» — J Fritz Rumpf.
Runner-up: «Spiral» — Jeroen Van Nieuwenhove.
Highly commended: «Green pools» — Paco Costa.
Highly commended: «The Cave of Illusion» — Juan Garcia Lucas (Pixelecta).
Highly commended: «Catherine Wheel» — Gergo Rugli.
Underwater
Category winner: «Beneath Aquatic Constellations» — Matt Pérez.
Runner-up: «Living Sun» — David Mas.
Highly commended: «Party of 3» — Suliman Alatiqi.
Highly commended: «The Guardian» — James Ferrara.
Highly commended: «Different scales» — Nicolas Remy.
Nature Art
Category winner: «Peach Blossoms in the Snow» — Xuzhong Liu.
Runner-up: «Tropical bird» — Jurrie Renskers.
Highly commended: «Please open wide» — Karin de Jonge.
Highly commended: «Space Sailor» — Jodi Frediani.
Highly commended: «Rebirth from Destruction» — Yuan Minghui.
Humans and Nature
Category winner: «Evolution» — Petr Bambousek.
Runner-up: «Helping Hands» — Lukas Schaefer.
Highly commended: «Edge of Two Worlds» — Rajat Chordia & Vidhan Dwivedi.
Highly commended: «Brainception» — Dan Mele.
Highly commended: «Silhouettes» — László Tóth.
Black and White
Category winner: «Storm on the sea» — László Tóth.
Runner-up: «Canopy Crawler» — Sage Ono.
Highly commended: «Common pond skater turns into a mammal» — Karin de Jonge.
Highly commended: «Through the storm» — David Pattyn.
Highly commended: «From Dusk till Dawn» — Ronald Zimmerman.
Animal Portraits
Category winner: «A seal’s worst nightmare» — Audun Rikardsen.
Runner-up: «Gliding» — Pierre Watson.
Highly commended: «Eyed cortex» — Filippo Carugati.
Highly commended: «Side-eye» — Bret Charman.
Highly commended: «Fluorescent Frogfish» — Gabriel Jensen.
Nature of De Lage Landen
Category winner: «Fairies» — Enikő Kálovics.
Runner-up: «Eurasian eagle owl in early spring» — Edwig Vanhassel.
Highly commended: «In the mist» — Kaat Dirckx.
Highly commended: «Breath of the Wild» — Mathijs Frenken.
Highly commended: «Splitgills» — Elles Rijsdijk.
Youth
Category winner: «Tree of Life» — Parham Pourahmad.
Runner-up: «Buzzing Past» — Flynn Thaitanunde-Lobb.
Highly commended: «The Pulse of Fireflies» — Vidyun R Hebbar.
Highly commended: «Deer dreams» — Daniil Malikov.
Highly commended: «Full Moon» — Panitbhand Paribatra Na Ayudhya.
Fred Hazelhoff Portfolio Award
“The Invisible Visible” consists of eight photographs, shown here in the order provided in the official selection.
Winning portfolio: «Eagle owls in the city: “The invisible visible”» — Simone Baumeister.
What comes next for the competition
Submissions for Nature Photographer of the Year 2027 open on November 20, 2026, and close on March 21, 2027, at 23:59 Western European Time. The 2026 competition launch provides background on the entry process that led to this year’s awards.
What we think
Ahonen’s photograph is a strong reminder that a compelling subject does not require a rare animal or an expedition to a distant country. He noticed a subtle change in familiar surroundings and paid attention to it. Observation and timing did the rest.
The range of approaches across this year’s results is equally rewarding. Some photographers build a picture around an animal’s habitat; others work through abstraction, minute detail or light. Baumeister’s portfolio also shows how photography can reveal wildlife living quite literally next door.
For nature photographers, one practical exercise after viewing these images may be to revisit a familiar place with more patience and less pressure to find something conventionally spectacular.
Frequently asked questions
Who won the overall NPOTY 2026 title?
Finland’s Hannu Ahonen won with “The One that Left and the One that Stayed”, which also took first place in Plants and Fungi.
Is a Greek photographer listed among the official 2026 awardees?
No Greek photographer appears in the published winners, runners-up or highly commended list. This does not describe the full entry field.
When does NPOTY 2027 open?
Entries are scheduled to open on November 20, 2026, and close on March 21, 2027.
