When nature photographer Konrad Wothe first encountered a dipper darting behind a waterfall, his film camera wasn’t able to focus quickly enough on the bird to capture the unusual occurrence. But after two decades, Wothe was lucky enough to spot another bird that had decided to nest behind a waterfall. The resulting shot of the dipper behind a mesmerizing pattern of water has earned the photographer and filmmaker the GDT Nature Photographer of the Year 2025 title.
“It’s been over two decades since I first witnessed a dipper darting through a waterfall,” Wothe, a photographer and documentary filmmaker with a background in biology, explained. “The small passerine bird was flying back and forth to a nest tucked away safely behind a dense curtain of water. Of course, I attempted to capture the dipper on film, but my analogue camera gear did not allow me to freeze this split-second moment in sharp focus.”
