As the year draws to a close, we're taking this opportunity to look back on the incredible selection of images submitted to photography competitions in 2024. From stunning photographs of wildlife through to thought-provoking portraits – these are ten of our favorite winners from the many photo contests that we have covered over the last 12 months…
Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Shane Gross, Canada
Nikon D500, Tokina 10-17mm f/3.5-4.5 lens, 1/200 at f/13, ISO 640.
Titled 'The Swarm of Life’, marine conservationist Shane Gross won the world's most prestigious wilidlife contest which is organized annually by the UK's Natural History Museum. He snorkeled in the lake for several hours, through carpets of lily pads to take this fisheye shot taken with the aid of an underwater camera housing and a pair of waterproof strobes.
See more of the winners
Royal Observatory Greenwich Astronomy Photographer of the Year
Ryan Imperio, USA
Nikon D810, Sigma 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary, 1/1000sec at f/8, ISO640
Called Distorted Shadows of the Moon’s Surface Created by an Annular Eclipse, took his winning image during the 2023 annular solar eclipse. Ryan's multiple-exposure image shows the phenomenon known as Baily’s beads, where bright shafts of sunlight peek through the Moon's uneven surface. He used a iOptron SkyGuider Pro star tracker mount to keep his camera perfectly aligned through the eclipse.
See other winners from the contest
LCE Photographer of the Year 2024
Marilyn Taylor, UK
OM System OM-1, 40-150mm f/2.8. 1/200sec at f/14, ISO400.
This stunning image won the inaugural LCE contest, which was announced at the Photography & Video show. I was taken in at a remote location in northern Costa Rica in December 2022. "It was dark, so it was very difficult to see these tiny bats flying like ghosts", explains Marliyn. "We could only photograph for a short time as they soon flew off somewhere else. This was probably one of the most interesting ‘shoots’ I’ve ever been on - it was absolutely fascinating. The fact that I got a couple of super images out of it was a terrific bonus".
See other winners from this contest
International Garden Photographer of the Year
June Sharpe, UK
Canon EOS 5D Mark III with Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM.
1/350sec at f/5.6, ISO 800.
This inventive image won the 17th annual garden photography competition, and shows conifer trees shot in a Kent, England transformed in Photoshop into an abstract, wallpaper-like pattern.
"The layered branches of this conifer reminded me of the dancing cranes often featured in Japanese woodcuts," she told us. "I added a fill layer and used exclusion blending mode to alter the colors and enhance the feeling of movement and sense of the ‘birds’ dancing in a fantasy woodland".
Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2024
Zhonghua Yang, China
Sony A7R III, 24-105mm f/4 G OSS, 1/125sec at f/8, ISO320.
'Red Bean Paste Balls' was shot in Xiangshan, Zhejiang, and shows traditional dumplings being prepared for the Lunar New Year.
See other winners from this contest
Nature Photographer of the Year 2024
Paolo Della Rocca, Italy
Canon EOS R5 with RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS USM. 1/800sec at f/10, ISO1600
Della Rocco took the photograph in Spiti Valley in Northern India of two snow leopards fighting in the show. He of this remarkable capture that “Not even in my wildest dreams did I imagine photographing such a moment".
See more about the competition
Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award
Liping Cao, China
Canon EOS 5D Mark III with EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM. 1/200sec at f/11, ISO 100
With a prize pot of US$1 million, the annual HIPA competion is the richest photo contest in the world. This year the theme was Sustainablity, with the overall prize going to ‘Quiet Power’ whish a wind farm on the shores of Lake George, New South Wales, under some moody clouds – showing a dramatic juxtaposition of the power of nature and renewable energy. Lake George is a freshwater lake that tends to evaporate in periods of prolonged drought. “The lake was already dry when I was there,” Liping told us in an exclusive interview. “I passed by this place by chance at the time and happened to see a big dark cloud and the wind turbines underneath it.”
See more of this year's HIPA Contest winners
Epson International Pano Awards
Kelvin Yuen, Hong Kong
Canon EOS R5 with RF 15-35mm, 25secs at f/5.6, ISO6400
DJI Mavic 3, 24mm, 0.6sec at f/2.8, ISO400
Yuen won the 15th outing of this panoramic photo contest with a series of three stunnning images, two of which we are shown here. Remarkably his image of the lightning was shot with a drone in a mountainous region of China. "The primary goal of this trip was to capture the iconic mountains of Guilin, renowned for its karst formations. On the day I took this photo, I woke up at 3 am and was supposed to hike up for the sunrise. However, a heavy thunderstorm struck out of nowhere, so I decided to shoot the thunderstorm. I flew my drone to wait for the lightning due to safety concerns. The drone surprised me by being functional after 30 minutes of downpour. I took 700 photos with the same compositions, of which more than 40 were lightning shots".
Read more about this year's Epson Pano Awards
Ocean Photographer of the Year
Rafael Fernández Caballero, Spain
A rare Bryde’s whale takes a big bite of sardines off the coast of Mexico. “A feeding frenzy is the biggest show on earth for me. The smallest animals on earth, plankton, attract bait balls of sardines and, in turn, giant whales show up,” says Fernández Caballero. “I was lucky to witness this show off Baja California Sur at the end of 2023. Due to El Niño and warmer temperatures, different species joined the party and I witnessed huge numbers of beautifully colored dorados and large groups of sea lions that were attracted by the bait balls. The highlight was this whale coming out of nowhere with its mouth wide open.”
See more about this year's Ocean Photographer of the Year
Mangrove Photography Awards 2024
Supratim Bhattacharjee
Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 24-105mm f/4L IS USM , 1/1600sec at f/5, ISO250.
The overall winning image shows a girl standing in the ruins of her tea shop in the Sundarbans, India by a cyclone.
See more about this year's contest
