The Nature inFocus photography competition 2025 has announced its winners at the prestigious Nature inFocus festival held at Jayamahal Palace in Bengaluru, India. The competition drew an impressive 16,000 image submissions from more than 1,250 photographers representing over 38 countries worldwide, making it one of the most competitive wildlife photography contests of the year.
Among the standout winners is young photographer Tinnapat Netcharussaeng, who captured "Nautilus on the Move" during a nighttime blackwater dive in Anilao, Philippines. The winning photograph shows a female Paper Nautilus clinging to a drifting leaf, using it as a temporary refuge in the open sea. This remarkable underwater shot demonstrates the photographer's skill in capturing marine life in their natural habitat during challenging nighttime diving conditions.
In the Wildscape category for animals in their habitat, Sergey Bystritsky's "Thief in the Spotlight" took top honors. The image was captured in Vashlovani National Park, Georgia, where the photographer used soft lighting with flashes and fabric to guide a fox into view among a cluster of unusually shaped trees. The technical skill required to create such controlled lighting in a natural setting while maintaining the wild atmosphere makes this photograph particularly noteworthy.
The Conservation category winner, "Edge of Two Worlds" by Rajat Chordia and Vidhan Dwivedi, presents a stark reality of human-wildlife conflict. The photograph shows a young leopard feeding on a cow carcass beside garbage and fast-moving traffic in Udaipur, India. This powerful image highlights the challenges wildlife face as urban development encroaches on their natural territories.
Amit Eshel's "Ancient Rivals" won the Animal Behavior category with a dramatic scene from Ellesmere Island, Canada. The photograph captures an Arctic wolf showing signs of a recent hunt while a muskox herd forms a defensive circle with horns facing outward to protect their calves. This image perfectly demonstrates the age-old predator-prey relationship in one of the world's most challenging environments.
The Creative Nature category was won by Bidyut Kalita's "Blue Aura," featuring a cranefly settling on a thin leaf in Goalpara, India. The photographer used a steady mobile light to trace the insect's motion and a speedlight from another angle to freeze its body, creating an artistic effect where the cranefly appears sharp while its delicate legs glow in a soft blue aura.
Federica Cordero's "The Canopy Watcher" claimed victory in the Animal Portraits category. The image shows a young male chimpanzee lounging effortlessly on a twisted vine in the forests of Uganda. The relaxed posture of the chimpanzee and the natural forest setting create an intimate portrait that captures the personality of this intelligent primate.
The Coexistence category winner, "Urban Oasis" by Sarthak Agrawal, showcases flamingos feeding peacefully at Ras Al Khor wildlife sanctuary in Dubai, with the city's towering skyline visible in the background. This urban wetland hosts over 25,000 migratory birds each winter and continues to thrive amid rapid development, filtering water, storing carbon, and sustaining life even as the city expands around it.
Several other remarkable entries received special mentions and runner-up positions, including Suliman Alatiqi's "Cooling on the Coast," which shows a Komodo dragon resting in shallow coastal water in Indonesia after the photographer spent days working with local rangers. Raghuvamsh Chavali's "Patterns in the Sky" captured a flock of birds sweeping across the sky in a synchronized arc beside a towering city building in Canada, serving as a reminder that nature's rhythms continue even in dense urban spaces.
The competition's diverse range of winning images, from intimate animal portraits to dramatic wildlife behavior and conservation stories, demonstrates the incredible diversity of our natural world and the skill of photographers who dedicate themselves to documenting it. These award-winning photographs not only showcase artistic excellence but also serve as powerful tools for wildlife conservation and environmental awareness.
