Nature TTL Photographer of the Year
The 2025 competition saw over 8,000 images competing for the title of Nature TTL Photographer of the Year 2025, with photographers submitting images from all around the world.
The Overall Winner took home a £1,250 cash prize, whilst the Young winner secured a £250 camera voucher prize.
Nature TTL Photographer of the Year 2025
‘Ancient Rivals’ by Amit Eshel
“An Arctic wolf’s face tells the story of what happened just moments earlier.
The muskox herd stands in a defensive circle, adults facing outwards with their formidable horns, shielding their calves within. It is a proven strategy against predators, but not this time. During the chase, the wolf pack seized on the chaos, catching a couple of newborn calves that had fallen behind.
It did not take long for the wolves to tear apart their tender prey. While not enough to feed the entire pack, they chose not to risk another assault on the muskox formation to target an adult, and instead moved on in search of easier prey during the spring calving season.
White Arctic wolves are exceptionally rare, found only on a few remote islands of the high Canadian Arctic and possibly northern Greenland. It is estimated that just 200 wolves live on Ellesmere Island, which is slightly smaller than Great Britain.
Witnessing such a raw interaction between predator and prey evokes ancient times and reminds us that these remarkable animals endure and must be protected.“
Young Nature TTL Photographer of the Year 2025
‘Imposter’ by Maksymilian Paczkowski
“I visited my favourite local pond to photograph birds. Among the reeds, European starlings often gather in large flocks to rest. But the pond lies directly beneath the training flight path of a nearby military airport, and each passing jet startles the birds- as in this picture, where nature’s rhythm collides with the noise of the skies above.“
Wild Portraits
WINNER – Andrey Gudkov
“The family of lions came to the watering hole when it was already dark. They appeared from the deep darkness of the night, almost silently! Two adult lionesses remained standing a little to the side of the water. Three young lions, still teenagers, lazily played at the edge of the water. Suddenly it began to rain, with large drops hitting the dusty ground. The whole entourage created a stunning moment.”
RUNNER-UP – Aaron Sanders
“This Banded Sea Krait carved effortlessly through the sunlit shallows fringing the remote volcanic island of Manuk in the Banda Sea. Known for its rich marine biodiversity, Manuk is a renowned haven for these striking snakes, and each encounter with them is always a thrill. Though highly venomous predators, their behaviour towards divers tells a different story, composed, inquisitive, and seemingly unbothered by our presence. I watched as this individual wove through the reef with calm confidence, its body moving with ribbon-like fluidity through the dappled light. It swam parallel to me as I finned alongside, before gently veering in my direction, briefly nosing at the dome of my camera before continuing on its way.“
HIGHLY COMMENDED – Amit Eshel
HIGHLY COMMENDED – Panos Laskarakis
Animal Behaviour
WINNER – Amit Eshel
“An Arctic wolf’s face tells the story of what happened just moments earlier.
The muskox herd stands in a defensive circle, adults facing outwards with their formidable horns, shielding their calves within. It is a proven strategy against predators, but not this time. During the chase, the wolf pack seized on the chaos, catching a couple of newborn calves that had fallen behind.
It did not take long for the wolves to tear apart their tender prey. While not enough to feed the entire pack, they chose not to risk another assault on the muskox formation to target an adult, and instead moved on in search of easier prey during the spring calving season.
White Arctic wolves are exceptionally rare, found only on a few remote islands of the high Canadian Arctic and possibly northern Greenland. It is estimated that just 200 wolves live on Ellesmere Island, which is slightly smaller than Great Britain.
Witnessing such a raw interaction between predator and prey evokes ancient times and reminds us that these remarkable animals endure and must be protected.“
RUNNER-UP – Charlie Wemyss-Dunn
“An Alaskan brown bear launches into a creek in Katmai National Park to try and catch one of the many sockeye salmon spawning in large numbers. Each year in August, large concentrations of brown bears congregate on the rivers and creeks waiting for the annual run of salmon from the coast. To get this perspective, I walked two hours from camp and positioned myself on top of a cliff to get a unique perspective looking down on a deep pool of swirling salmon below. I used a polarizing filter to cut glare and bring out the red skin of the fish.“
HIGHLY COMMENDED – Sandesh Kadur
HIGHLY COMMENDED – Lalith Ekanayake
Camera Traps
WINNER – Roman Willi
“I have been observing a beaver living in a pond in Switzerland for a around two years now. A few months ago, I decided to set up a cameratrap at one of the three paths he regularly uses to get branches. To get the right moment was quite a challenge and i had to tweak the motion sensor settings a few times. Weeks passed and in November 2023 I left for a month to go to Costa Rica. After I came back, I went through over 2500 images and this one was my favorite.“
RUNNER-UP – Thomas Vijayan
“The Siberian tiger is a master of survival in the frozen wilderness, yet photographing it in the wild is always a challenge of patience and foresight. Planning this shot was a special one. Knowing that the tiger avoids stepping into icy waters, I anticipated it might use a fallen tree as a natural bridge. After weeks of preparation and careful placement of a trap camera, the moment unfolded exactly as I had envisioned. To capture this magnificent predator balancing gracefully across the frozen stream was both a triumph of planning and an unforgettable reward of luck.”
HIGHLY COMMENDED – Rafal Wyszyński
HIGHLY COMMENDED – Amit Eshel
Landscapes
WINNER – Matteo Strassera
“This image, though it resembles an abstract painting, captures an aerial view of an Icelandic river, its flows weaving through black sandbanks like delicate brushstrokes.
The blueish colour is a very rare characteristic given by particles in the water coming from the melting of millennial glaciers. These particles are carried by the river flow and will find their way to the ocean.
Embedded in this weave are golden traces, a faint remnant of the course of a river that carried sulphurous sediments, now vanished due to scarce precipitation.”
RUNNER-UP – Ales Krivec
“This photograph was taken on a freezing winter morning in the Julian Alps of Slovenia. I set out before sunrise, hoping for mist and icy conditions. As the sun rose behind the lone tree, its rays broke through the frozen branches and illuminated tiny ice crystals in the air, creating a spectacular halo. The moment was fleeting, lasting only a few minutes, but it captured the quiet magic of winter’s rare phenomena.”
HIGHLY COMMENDED – Matteo Strassera
HIGHLY COMMENDED – Ales Krivec
Small World
WINNER – Roman Willi
“A wasp spider (Argiope bruennichi) feasting on its prey in its web. Capturing this shot was particularly challenging, I had to position myself extremely close to the ground while ensuring I didn’t disturb the delicate web. With my custom-built setup, I had to maneuver carefully, staying just inches from the spider to get the perfect shot. It took me quite a few attempts to get it right.”
RUNNER-UP – Yuan Minghui
“I found a low angle and shot with the sky as the background. I used a small aperture to showcase the subtle composition of the net cocoon. The simple elements and composition make the structure and details of the moss moth’s web cocoon more prominent.“
HIGHLY COMMENDED – Joao Pontes
HIGHLY COMMENDED – Simon Biddie
Underwater
WINNER – Daniel Sly
“Two giant cuttlefish are locked in a mating embrace, their bodies shifting through vibrant colours as part of an intricate courtship display. In the background, a third male hovers, waiting for a chance to intervene in this delicate dance of dominance and reproduction. The pair in the lower half of the frame had been mating for several minutes, while the lingering male edged closer, attempting to insert himself into the action. Captured during the giant cuttlefish aggregation at Whyalla, this moment reveals the intense competition and drama that unfold beneath the water’s surface.”
RUNNER-UP – Fabi Fregonesi
“You can see many of these blennies when diving in Curaçao, and you can see many photos of them around. So, in this case, for the photo to stand out you need to find a different way of capturing the animal. From time to time the blennies open their mouth to eat something around, so I planned to take a photo of this exact moment. After some dives focusing on this photo, I was finally able to capture one that seems that the blenny is really surprised with something. This is the final result.”
HIGHLY COMMENDED – Matthew Sullivan
HIGHLY COMMENDED – Mats Forsberg
The Night Sky
WINNER – Matteo Strassera
“Spending summer nights on the Teide plateau is always exciting. Thanks to its clear skies, it is possible to enjoy a view of the cosmos at a height of 2500 metres, in the middle of the ocean. In the picture, Pico del Teide can be recognised on the left, reaching a height of 3700 metres.”
RUNNER-UP – Andreia Costa
“After an exhausting journey to the summit of the Acatenango volcano, the reward reveals itself before our eyes: the majestic Fuego volcano erupts, releasing incandescent lava into the night sky, in perfect tune with the stars. The spectacle of nature unfolds in a mesmerizing contrast between the deep darkness of the night and the intense glow of the eruption.”
HIGHLY COMMENDED – Ivan Pedretti
Urban Wildlife
WINNER – Emmanuel Tardy
“The silent plight of a sloth in a fragmented habitat. This image illustrates the sad reality of coexistence between wildlife and human expansion. A sloth clings to a gray post, surrounded by barbed wire, a cruel symbol of the fragmentation of its natural habitat. Its shaggy coat and its gaze seem to bear the weight of our impact on its environment.
A habitat in peril, the scene captures the essence of the challenges faced by these arboreal creatures. Forced to cross urbanized areas, this sloth must navigate a hostile landscape, far from the trees that constitute its natural refuge. Barbed wire and posts now replace the branches that should be its domain.”
RUNNER-UP – Roman Willi
“A pair of common frogs (Rana temporaria) in amplexus having to cross a road to get to their spawning grounds. With a long exposure and a custom-built wide-angle macro setup, I captured this image to illustrate the dangers the frogs have to face.”
HIGHLY COMMENDED – Yuan Minghui
HIGHLY COMMENDED – Alex Pansier
Youth Award
WINNER – Maksymilian Paczkowski
“I visited my favourite local pond to photograph birds. Among the reeds, European starlings often gather in large flocks to rest. But the pond lies directly beneath the training flight path of a nearby military airport, and each passing jet startles the birds- as in this picture, where nature’s rhythm collides with the noise of the skies above.“
RUNNER-UP – Bence Oláh
“I usually go to a lake near the capital to take photos, and I also took this picture there on a frosty morning. I took some photos of the ducks as they fly away. I used a telephoto lens and a long exposure to achieve this interesting look and a special atmosphere. A little bit of experimentation was also needed to find the perfect shutter speed to get the perfect result.”