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.
MAMMALS
Thomas Vijayan, Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Pallas’s cat in snow, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
BABY ANIMALS
Robin Ulery, Winter Garden, Florida
Sandhill crane and chick, Johns Lake, Winter Garden, Florida
OTHER WILDLIFE
Vincent Pommeyrol, Saint jean d’Heurs, Auvergne, France
Sardine run with striped marlin, Magdalena Bay, South Pacific, Mexico
MOBILE
Jeffrey Rees, Auburn, Massachusetts
Wasp on a dandelion covered in pollen, Auburn, Massachusetts
LANDSCAPES & PLANTS
Gary Grossman, Portland, Oregon
Volcanic garden, Cascade Lakes, Oregon
BIRDS
Jean-Simon Bégin, Québec, Canada
Tree swallows, Québec, Canada
YOUNG NATURE PHOTOGRAPHERS
Alankritha Kalingarayar, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
Red panda, Singalila National Park, Indo-Nepal Border, India
PEOPLE IN NATURE
Lewis Abulafia, San Diego, Texas
Man in ice cave, Iceland
MAMMALS
Stephen Napoli, Berkeley, California
Bison, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
MOBILE
Jami Bollschweiler, Clinton, Utah
Bull moose, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
BIRDS
Jason Klassi, Los Angeles, California
Western screech owl, Santa Monica Mountains, Los Angeles, California
YOUNG NATURE PHOTOGRAPHERS
Gustav Parenmark, Gävle, Gavleborgs lan, Sweden
Small weevil walking across a leaf at night, Gävle, Sweden
OTHER WILDLIFE
Patrick Olmsted, Dahlonega, Georgia
Alligator and painted turtles, Circle B Bar Reserve, Lakeland, Florida
PORTFOLIO
Brian Clopp, Henderson, Nevada
Rare desert kit foxes, Simpson Springs, Utah
PEOPLE IN NATURE
Minqiang Lu, Guangzhou City, Guangdong, China
Cliff honey pickers, Yunnan Province, China
BABY ANIMALS
Joyce Tipton, Fulshear, Texas
Young vervet monkey on a porch, Samburu National Park, Kenya
LANDSCAPES & PLANTS
Tim Jones, La Crescenta, California
Comet NEOWISE above Cathedral Gorge State Park, Nevada
OTHER WILDLIFE
Renee Capozzola, Palos Verdes Estates, California
Blacktip reef sharks, Fakarava, French Polynesia
MAMMALS
Lin Teichman, Lafayette, California
Honduran white bats, Northern Costa Rica
OTHER WILDLIFE
Bill Ravlin, Okemos, Michigan
Common eastern bumblebee on coneflower, Okemos, Michigan
YOUNG NATURE PHOTOGRAPHERS
Josiah Launstein, Blairmore, Alberta, Canada
Mountain bluebird feather, Pincher Creek, Alberta, Canada
LANDSCAPES & PLANTS
Tom Hausler, Dripping Springs, Texas
Scenic winter morning, Yellowstone National Park
MOBILE
Marie Laforge, Englewood, Florida
Colorful shells, Siesta Beach, Florida
PEOPLE IN NATURE
Minqiang Lu, Guangzhou City, Guangdong, China
Cliff honey picker, Yunnan Province, China
YOUNG NATURE PHOTOGRAPHERS
Nathan Rees, Southington, Connecticut
Great blue heron with catch, The Villages, Florida
OTHER WILDLIFE
Bill Ravlin, Okemos, Michigan
Oblong wool carder bee, East Lansing, Michigan
BABY ANIMALS
Tyler Reber, Falls Church, Virginia
White-tailed deer and fawn, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia
BIRDS
Bill Klipp, Key West, Florida
Gentoo penguins, New Island, Falkland Islands
MAMMALS
Cindy Jones, Teton Village, Wyoming
Coastal brown bear at river’s edge, Katmai National Park, Alaska
LANDSCAPES & PLANTS
Prathamesh Ghadekar, Badlapur (West), Maharashtra, India
“The Magic Tree,” a timelapse of fireflies, Aaja Parvat, Shahpur, Maharashtra, India
BABY ANIMALS
Minqiang Lu, Guangzhou City, Guangdong, China
White-headed langurs, Guangxi, China
PEOPLE IN NATURE
Minqiang Lu, Guangzhou City, Guangdong, China
Traditional rope skating to cross a river, Yunnan Province, China
BIRDS
Ira Meyer, Oxnard, California
Adélie penguins, Kinnes Cove, Antarctica
MAMMALS
Shelby Huff, Duvall, Washington
Grizzly bear and cub, Knight Inlet, British Columbia
OTHER WILDLIFE
Lori Franzen, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Green darner with morning dew, Ann Arbor, Michigan
LANDSCAPES & PLANTS
Laura Hedien, Grayslake, Illinois
Supercell mammatus with lightning, Tilden, Nebraska
YOUNG NATURE PHOTOGRAPHERS
Gustav Parenmark, Gävle, Gavleborgs lan, Sweden
Tiny cherry weevil sitting on top of a plant, Gävle, Sweden
MAMMALS
Savannah Rose Burgess, Jackson, Wyoming
Beaver pulling aspen tree branch, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
MOBILE
Marie Laforge, Englewood, Florida
Waves on a shell, Englewood, Florida
BIRDS
David Slikkers, Holland, Michigan
Bald eagles, Homer, Alaska
PORTFOLIO
Amit Roy, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Evolution of adaptive behavior in invertebrates, India
PEOPLE IN NATURE
Linda Scher, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Fisherman on frozen lake, Notsuke Peninsula, Hokkaido, Japan
YOUNG NATURE PHOTOGRAPHERS
Allan Qi, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
Single mushroom, Wutong Mountain, Shenzhen, China
MAMMALS
Timothy McNeal, Madison, Wisconsin
Cottontail rabbit, Estes Park, Colorado
LANDSCAPES & PLANTS
Maria Ricciardi, Chicago, Illinois
Aldeyjarfoss sunrise over the water, Iceland
BABY ANIMALS
Connie Rathbun, Omaha, Nebraska
Canada goose goslings under mother’s wing, Omaha, Nebraska
MOBILE
Joan Pogalies, Madison Ohio
Kayaker at sunset, Lake Erie, Madison, Ohio
OTHER WILDLIFE
Bill Ravlin, Okemos, Michigan
Solider fly (genus Sargus), Cayo District, Belize
YOUNG NATURE PHOTOGRAPHERS
Mustafa Ghulam Samdani, Jessenice u Prahy, Mladikov, Czech Republic
Two young elephants, Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya
OTHER WILDLIFE
Brandon Guell, Miami, Florida
Gliding tree frogs on palm fronds covered in eggs, Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica
LANDSCAPES & PLANTS
Ian M Adrian, Tucson, Arizona
Apache plume, Chiricahua National Monument, Arizona
BIRDS
Marie Laforge, Englewood, Florida
White egret, Venice, Florida
MAMMALS
Celia Kujala, Milan, Michigan
Steller sea lions, Norris Rocks, Hornby Island, British Columbia, Canada
BIRDS
Andy Raupp, Montello, Wisconsin
Cedar waxwing, Elgin, Illinois
YOUNG NATURE PHOTOGRAPHERS
Benjamin Barker, Santa Barbara, California
Barrel shot of waves, U.S. Virgin Islands
MAMMALS
Jean-Simon Bégin, Québec, Canada
Female moose, Québec, Canada
OTHER WILDLIFE
Saurabh Chakraborty, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Newly hatched olive ridley sea turtles, Rushikulya, Odisha, India
MAMMALS
Hal Livings, Fredericksburg, Texas
Opossum and black-crested titmouse, Llano, Texas
BABY ANIMALS
Song Linji, Weihai, Shandong, China
Eurasian hoopoe, Wutong Mountain, Huancui District, Weihai, Shandong, China
LANDSCAPES & PLANTS
Dave Welling, Canoga Park, California
Pacific madrone bark, Washington State
PORTFOLIO
Susan Allen, Port Republic, New Jersey
Horseshoe crabs and red knots: A story of the Delaware Bay, New Jersey
PEOPLE IN NATURE
Kathleen Greeson, Signal Mountain, Tennessee
People silhouetted against clouds in summer, Chattanooga, Tennessee
MOBILE
Barbara Saffir, McLean, Virginia
Bald cypress trees, Stumpy Lake Natural Area, Virginia Beach, Virginia
BABY ANIMALS
Barbara Fleming, Colorado Springs, Colorado
African elephant mother and calf, Amboseli National Park, Kenya
LANDSCAPES & PLANTS
Gary Grossman, Portland, Oregon
Berries encased in ice after winter storm, Portland, Oregon
OTHER WILDLIFE
Amos Nachoum, Pacific Grove, California
Mobula rays, Sea of Cortez, Baja California, Mexico
BABY ANIMALS
Jamie Felton, Lake Worth, Florida
Eastern screech owl and chick, Lake Worth, Florida
MAMMALS
Savannah Rose Burgess, Jackson, Wyoming
Cougar family feast, Jackson, Wyoming
OTHER WILDLIFE
David Morring, Richardson, Texas
Strawberry poison dart frog hanging off a leaf, Isla Bastimentos, Panama
BIRDS
S Anjani Kumar, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India
Brown fish owl, Nallamala Forest, Andhra Pradesh, India
YOUNG NATURE PHOTOGRAPHERS
Nathan Rees, Southington, Connecticut
Smooth green snake, Monhegan Island, Maine
The 54th annual National Wildlife® Photo Contest is now open for submissions. First- and second-place winners in multiple categories receive cash prizes, and scores more receive honorable mentions—as well as the chance to see their photos published in print or online.
Amateur and professional photographers, this contest is for you. Show us your most memorable images of wildlife and wild lands, from around the world and your own backyard. Your photos inspire our millions of members and supporters to care about wildlife and to act on its behalf. By submitting your work, you also support the National Wildlife Federation’s mission, ensuring wildlife and people thrive in a rapidly changing world. Good luck!
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