The 2024 European Nature Photographer of the Year competition, organized by the Society for Nature Photography eV (GDT), has unveiled its winning images, showcasing the breathtaking diversity and artistry in nature photography. This year’s top honor went to Jaime Rojo for his stunning image “In the Forest of Monarchs”, capturing the ethereal beauty of monarch butterflies in their natural habitat.
The competition featured awe-inspiring images across various categories, from wildlife and landscapes to abstract nature photography, each reflecting the photographers’ dedication to revealing the raw, often unseen aspects of Europe’s natural world. These 20 incredible winning photos offer a powerful reminder of nature’s fragility and resilience, celebrating both the technical skill and profound passion of photographers who are committed to preserving and sharing the beauty of our planet.
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#1. Overall Winner: “In the Forest of the Monarchs” by Jaime Rojo (ES)
” Overwintering monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) hang tightly packed in the trees of Mexico’s El Rosario Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary. It is cool and relatively humid at these high elevations, and the monarch butterflies have adapted to live in the same ecological conditions as the trees, mostly oyamel firs (Abies religiosa) . The butterflies are well protected from the elements by the tree canopy and also by their congregation in huge numbers, but even the slightest changes in the forest canopy can negatively affect the delicate microclimate to which the butterflies have adapted. Despite the conservation efforts that led to the establishment of the sanctuary, deforestation was still a problem in the early 2000s. A Mexican-led international coalition of governments and conservation nonprofits set up a trust fund during this time to work with local communities to reduce the rate of deforestation, which has been steadily declining since 2009.”
#2. Birds – Winner: “Approach” by Luca Melcarne (FR)
#3. Birds – Runner up: “Angry bird by Kjell” Vikestad (NO)
#4. Mammals – Winner: “Twilight wanderer” by Robert Canis (GB)
#5. Mammals – Runner up: “Shaking off the snow” by Daniel Valverde Fernandez (ES)
#6. Other animals – Winner: “Christo was here” by Theo Bosboom (NL)
#7. Other animals – Runner up: “Fireworks” by Ingo Arndt (DE)
#8. Plants and Fungi – Winner: “Curtain” by Svetlana Ivanenko (RU)
#9. Plants and Fungi – Runner up: “Final glow” by Katarzyna Gubrynowicz (PL)
#10. Landscapes – Winner: “Blaze of colours” by Check My Dream (FR)
#11. Landscapes – Runner up: “Of sand and wind” by Ugo Mellone (IT)
#12. Underwater World – Winner: “Nightcrawler” by Angel Fitor (ES)
#13. Underwater World – Runner up: “Blue and Red” by Francesco Visintin (IT)
#14. Man and Nature – Winner: “Nurturing hope” by Jaime Culebras (ES)
#15. Man and Nature – Runner up: “New World” by Grzegorz Długosz (PL)
#16. Atelier Natur – Winner: “Flowers at the bottom of the lake” by Ádám Fáth (HU)
#17. Atelier Natur – Runner up: “Flamingo” by Jan Leßmann & Hermann Hirsch (DE)
#18. Youth up to 14 years – Winner: “The young guardian” by Alberto Román Gómez (ES)
#19. Youth 15 – 17 years – Winner: “Great spotted woodpecker meeting” by Louis Werner (DE)
#20. Rewilding Europe Award: “Iberian lynx” by Staffan Widstrand
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