World Nature Photography Awards 2026 Winners Announced

Key Takeaways

• Australian photographer Jono Allen wins World Nature Photographer of the Year for Mãhina, a stunning portrait of a rare white humpback whale calf in Tonga.
• The 2026 competition drew thousands of entries from 51 countries across six continents, with winners across 14 categories.
• Gold winners include Mary Schrader’s gorilla-and-butterfly portrait from Uganda, Charlie Wemyss-Dunn’s diving bear in Alaska, and Miki Spitzer’s drone shot of a geothermal pool in Iceland.
• The 2027 edition is now open for entries at early-bird rates until March 30, 2026.

The World Nature Photography Awards (WNPA) have announced the winners of their seventh annual competition, naming Australian marine photographer Jono Allen as the 2026 World Nature Photographer of the Year.

Allen’s winning image, Mãhina, captures a rare white humpback whale calf gliding through the deep blue waters of Vava’u, Tonga, alongside her protective mother. The competition attracted thousands of entries from photographers across 51 countries and six continents, competing in 14 categories ranging from Animal Portraits to Urban Wildlife.

Grand Prize: Jono Allen’s “Mãhina”

The name Mãhina means “moon” in Tongan — a fitting title for a white humpback calf that appeared to glow like a beam of light as she traveled with her mother. Only about 1 in 40,000 humpback whales are born with this lack of pigmentation, making sightings exceptionally rare.

“Sharing this moment with Mãhina and her protective mother is a memory that will live with me forever,” Allen said. “It was undoubtedly one of the most extraordinary days I have ever experienced in the ocean — and perhaps ever will.”

Allen’s photograph also carries a conservation message. Humpback whales were once hunted to the brink of extinction, and the presence of rare individuals like Mãhina is a testament to the success of conservation efforts. As Allen put it, she is “a living reminder of what is possible when conservation works.”

Animal Portraits and Wildlife Standouts

Mary Schrader (USA) took Gold in the Animal Portraits category with Shared Wonder, a tender image of a young gorilla in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable Forest observing a butterfly that had drifted into the scene. The photograph captures a fleeting moment of cross-species curiosity beneath the forest canopy.

In the Animals in Their Habitat category, British photographer Charlie Wemyss-Dunn won Gold for Splash, a dramatic overhead shot of a brown bear launching headlong into a creek in Alaska’s Katmai National Park to catch spawning sockeye salmon. Wemyss-Dunn used a polarizing filter to cut water glare and a fast shutter burst to freeze the moment two salmon dart away from the bear’s outstretched claws.

More Category Highlights

Several other Gold winners stood out across the competition’s 14 categories:

• Behaviour — Mammals: Water Ballet by Vaidehi Chandrasekar (Singapore) — a giraffe in Botswana’s Makgadikgadi landscape expelling a shimmering arc of water droplets at sunset.
• Behaviour — Amphibians and Reptiles: Stoicism in a Sandstorm by Dewald Tromp (South Africa) — a Namaqua chameleon enduring a desert sandstorm in the Namib.
• Planet Earth’s Landscapes: The Eye of the Dragon by Miki Spitzer (Israel) — a drone photograph of a geothermal pool in central Iceland that resembles a dragon’s eye.
• People and Nature: The Wildlife Photographer by Deena Sveinsson (USA) — a curious bull moose investigating abandoned camera gear in Grand Teton National Park after a snowy morning.
• Nature Photojournalism: Chimp Paradise 30 by Alain Schroeder — a category new to this year’s competition highlighting the intersection of nature and documentary storytelling.

Competition Stats and What’s Next

Now in its seventh year, the WNPA was founded in 2020 with the dual goal of promoting the world’s best nature photography and inspiring people to connect more deeply with the natural world. The organization partners with Ecologi to plant a tree for every competition entry submitted.

“As the awards continue to grow, so too does the diversity and quality of work submitted from across the globe,” said co-founder Adrian Dinsdale. “This year’s winning images are a powerful reminder of both the wonder of our planet and the importance of protecting it.”

The 2027 World Nature Photography Awards are already open for entries, with early-bird rates available until March 30, 2026. Photographers can find complete entry details on the WNPA website.

Tips for Aspiring Wildlife Photographers

Looking at this year’s winners, a few practical lessons stand out for photographers hoping to enter competitions like the WNPA:

• Tell a story. The strongest entries — from Allen’s conservation narrative to Schrader’s cross-species moment — go beyond beautiful composition to convey meaning.
• Be patient. Many winners describe waiting hours or returning to the same location repeatedly. Charlie Wemyss-Dunn hiked two hours to his cliff-edge vantage point in Katmai.
• Use the right tools. Wemyss-Dunn’s polarizing filter and fast burst mode were essential to his winning shot. Matching your camera settings to the situation makes the difference.
• Consider unusual perspectives. Miki Spitzer’s drone shot and Wemyss-Dunn’s overhead angle show that a fresh viewpoint can elevate a familiar subject.

Featured image: Photo by Oliver Tsappis on Unsplash.