National Wildlife's 2022 Photo Contest Honorable Mentions
SURPRISE! As our photo contest judges review the thousands of images submitted to our contest each year, some frames jump out with intense emotional punch. That was certainly the case in our 2022 contest, which drew more than 30,000 photos from some 3,100 photographers around the world.
The 2022 winners and honorable mentions presented here, from each of our nine different categories, reflect nature in all its rich variety. “I am always in awe of the breadth and beauty of the images submitted by photographers from around the world,” says Lisa Moore, editorial director of National Wildlife magazine. “From elegant birds in flight to vulnerable baby animals to the majesty of wilderness, these photos are reminders of what we are working to conserve for the next generation.”
Each and every photographer who entered their work in National Wildlife’s 2022 Photo Contest displays a love of nature and an appreciation of how photography can inspire people to care about wildlife and wild lands. Each entry also helps support the National Wildlife Federation’s mission to protect wildlife species and their habitats — a mission that’s more important today than ever before.
Whether avid amateurs or longtime professionals, nature photographers who share their gifts help the rest of us see the world through new eyes—and inspire us to save what we see.
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MAMMALS
Thomas Vijayan, Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Pallas’s cat in snow, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
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BABY ANIMALS
Robin Ulery, Winter Garden, Florida
Sandhill crane and chick, Johns Lake, Winter Garden, Florida
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OTHER WILDLIFE
Vincent Pommeyrol, Saint jean d’Heurs, Auvergne, France
Sardine run with striped marlin, Magdalena Bay, South Pacific, Mexico
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MOBILE
Jeffrey Rees, Auburn, Massachusetts
Wasp on a dandelion covered in pollen, Auburn, Massachusetts
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LANDSCAPES & PLANTS
Gary Grossman, Portland, Oregon
Volcanic garden, Cascade Lakes, Oregon
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BIRDS
Jean-Simon Bégin, Québec, Canada
Tree swallows, Québec, Canada
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YOUNG NATURE PHOTOGRAPHERS
Alankritha Kalingarayar, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
Red panda, Singalila National Park, Indo-Nepal Border, India
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PEOPLE IN NATURE
Lewis Abulafia, San Diego, Texas
Man in ice cave, Iceland
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MAMMALS
Stephen Napoli, Berkeley, California
Bison, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
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MOBILE
Jami Bollschweiler, Clinton, Utah
Bull moose, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
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BIRDS
Jason Klassi, Los Angeles, California
Western screech owl, Santa Monica Mountains, Los Angeles, California
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YOUNG NATURE PHOTOGRAPHERS
Gustav Parenmark, Gävle, Gavleborgs lan, Sweden
Small weevil walking across a leaf at night, Gävle, Sweden
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OTHER WILDLIFE
Patrick Olmsted, Dahlonega, Georgia
Alligator and painted turtles, Circle B Bar Reserve, Lakeland, Florida
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PORTFOLIO
Brian Clopp, Henderson, Nevada
Rare desert kit foxes, Simpson Springs, Utah
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PEOPLE IN NATURE
Minqiang Lu, Guangzhou City, Guangdong, China
Cliff honey pickers, Yunnan Province, China
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BABY ANIMALS
Joyce Tipton, Fulshear, Texas
Young vervet monkey on a porch, Samburu National Park, Kenya
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LANDSCAPES & PLANTS
Tim Jones, La Crescenta, California
Comet NEOWISE above Cathedral Gorge State Park, Nevada
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OTHER WILDLIFE
Renee Capozzola, Palos Verdes Estates, California
Blacktip reef sharks, Fakarava, French Polynesia
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MAMMALS
Lin Teichman, Lafayette, California
Honduran white bats, Northern Costa Rica
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OTHER WILDLIFE
Bill Ravlin, Okemos, Michigan
Common eastern bumblebee on coneflower, Okemos, Michigan
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YOUNG NATURE PHOTOGRAPHERS
Josiah Launstein, Blairmore, Alberta, Canada
Mountain bluebird feather, Pincher Creek, Alberta, Canada
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LANDSCAPES & PLANTS
Tom Hausler, Dripping Springs, Texas
Scenic winter morning, Yellowstone National Park
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MOBILE
Marie Laforge, Englewood, Florida
Colorful shells, Siesta Beach, Florida
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PEOPLE IN NATURE
Minqiang Lu, Guangzhou City, Guangdong, China
Cliff honey picker, Yunnan Province, China
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YOUNG NATURE PHOTOGRAPHERS
Nathan Rees, Southington, Connecticut
Great blue heron with catch, The Villages, Florida
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OTHER WILDLIFE
Bill Ravlin, Okemos, Michigan
Oblong wool carder bee, East Lansing, Michigan
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BABY ANIMALS
Tyler Reber, Falls Church, Virginia
White-tailed deer and fawn, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia
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BIRDS
Bill Klipp, Key West, Florida
Gentoo penguins, New Island, Falkland Islands
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MAMMALS
Cindy Jones, Teton Village, Wyoming
Coastal brown bear at river’s edge, Katmai National Park, Alaska
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LANDSCAPES & PLANTS
Prathamesh Ghadekar, Badlapur (West), Maharashtra, India
“The Magic Tree,” a timelapse of fireflies, Aaja Parvat, Shahpur, Maharashtra, India
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BABY ANIMALS
Minqiang Lu, Guangzhou City, Guangdong, China
White-headed langurs, Guangxi, China
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PEOPLE IN NATURE
Minqiang Lu, Guangzhou City, Guangdong, China
Traditional rope skating to cross a river, Yunnan Province, China
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BIRDS
Ira Meyer, Oxnard, California
Adélie penguins, Kinnes Cove, Antarctica
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MAMMALS
Shelby Huff, Duvall, Washington
Grizzly bear and cub, Knight Inlet, British Columbia
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OTHER WILDLIFE
Lori Franzen, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Green darner with morning dew, Ann Arbor, Michigan
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LANDSCAPES & PLANTS
Laura Hedien, Grayslake, Illinois
Supercell mammatus with lightning, Tilden, Nebraska
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YOUNG NATURE PHOTOGRAPHERS
Gustav Parenmark, Gävle, Gavleborgs lan, Sweden
Tiny cherry weevil sitting on top of a plant, Gävle, Sweden
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MAMMALS
Savannah Rose Burgess, Jackson, Wyoming
Beaver pulling aspen tree branch, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
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MOBILE
Marie Laforge, Englewood, Florida
Waves on a shell, Englewood, Florida
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BIRDS
David Slikkers, Holland, Michigan
Bald eagles, Homer, Alaska
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PORTFOLIO
Amit Roy, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Evolution of adaptive behavior in invertebrates, India
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PEOPLE IN NATURE
Linda Scher, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Fisherman on frozen lake, Notsuke Peninsula, Hokkaido, Japan
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YOUNG NATURE PHOTOGRAPHERS
Allan Qi, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
Single mushroom, Wutong Mountain, Shenzhen, China
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MAMMALS
Timothy McNeal, Madison, Wisconsin
Cottontail rabbit, Estes Park, Colorado
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LANDSCAPES & PLANTS
Maria Ricciardi, Chicago, Illinois
Aldeyjarfoss sunrise over the water, Iceland
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BABY ANIMALS
Connie Rathbun, Omaha, Nebraska
Canada goose goslings under mother’s wing, Omaha, Nebraska
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MOBILE
Joan Pogalies, Madison Ohio
Kayaker at sunset, Lake Erie, Madison, Ohio
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OTHER WILDLIFE
Bill Ravlin, Okemos, Michigan
Solider fly (genus Sargus), Cayo District, Belize
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YOUNG NATURE PHOTOGRAPHERS
Mustafa Ghulam Samdani, Jessenice u Prahy, Mladikov, Czech Republic
Two young elephants, Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya
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OTHER WILDLIFE
Brandon Guell, Miami, Florida
Gliding tree frogs on palm fronds covered in eggs, Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica
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LANDSCAPES & PLANTS
Ian M Adrian, Tucson, Arizona
Apache plume, Chiricahua National Monument, Arizona
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BIRDS
Marie Laforge, Englewood, Florida
White egret, Venice, Florida
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MAMMALS
Celia Kujala, Milan, Michigan
Steller sea lions, Norris Rocks, Hornby Island, British Columbia, Canada
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BIRDS
Andy Raupp, Montello, Wisconsin
Cedar waxwing, Elgin, Illinois
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YOUNG NATURE PHOTOGRAPHERS
Benjamin Barker, Santa Barbara, California
Barrel shot of waves, U.S. Virgin Islands
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MAMMALS
Jean-Simon Bégin, Québec, Canada
Female moose, Québec, Canada
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OTHER WILDLIFE
Saurabh Chakraborty, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Newly hatched olive ridley sea turtles, Rushikulya, Odisha, India
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MAMMALS
Hal Livings, Fredericksburg, Texas
Opossum and black-crested titmouse, Llano, Texas
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BABY ANIMALS
Song Linji, Weihai, Shandong, China
Eurasian hoopoe, Wutong Mountain, Huancui District, Weihai, Shandong, China
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LANDSCAPES & PLANTS
Dave Welling, Canoga Park, California
Pacific madrone bark, Washington State
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PORTFOLIO
Susan Allen, Port Republic, New Jersey
Horseshoe crabs and red knots: A story of the Delaware Bay, New Jersey
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PEOPLE IN NATURE
Kathleen Greeson, Signal Mountain, Tennessee
People silhouetted against clouds in summer, Chattanooga, Tennessee
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MOBILE
Barbara Saffir, McLean, Virginia
Bald cypress trees, Stumpy Lake Natural Area, Virginia Beach, Virginia
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BABY ANIMALS
Barbara Fleming, Colorado Springs, Colorado
African elephant mother and calf, Amboseli National Park, Kenya
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LANDSCAPES & PLANTS
Gary Grossman, Portland, Oregon
Berries encased in ice after winter storm, Portland, Oregon
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OTHER WILDLIFE
Amos Nachoum, Pacific Grove, California
Mobula rays, Sea of Cortez, Baja California, Mexico
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BABY ANIMALS
Jamie Felton, Lake Worth, Florida
Eastern screech owl and chick, Lake Worth, Florida
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MAMMALS
Savannah Rose Burgess, Jackson, Wyoming
Cougar family feast, Jackson, Wyoming
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OTHER WILDLIFE
David Morring, Richardson, Texas
Strawberry poison dart frog hanging off a leaf, Isla Bastimentos, Panama
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BIRDS
S Anjani Kumar, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India
Brown fish owl, Nallamala Forest, Andhra Pradesh, India
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YOUNG NATURE PHOTOGRAPHERS
Nathan Rees, Southington, Connecticut
Smooth green snake, Monhegan Island, Maine