Stunning Photo Competition Shines a Light on Earth’s Amazing Biodiversity

Jul 12, 2024

Matt Growcoot

On the left, a bear sits on a cliff covered in greenery, overlooking a foggy, bird-filled chasm. On the right, sunlight filters through a dense forest, illuminating hanging lichen and branches. — Kathleen Borshanian, left, Jaime Rojo, right.

The California Academy of Sciences has revealed the winners of its BigPicture Photography Competition which celebrates Earth’s biodiversity and highlights the threats it faces.

Now in its 11th year, a stunning photo of fir trees being weighed down by monarch butterflies took home the Grand Prize.

Sunlight filters through the dense forest canopy, illuminating tall trees covered in thick foliage. The light creates a mystical, hazy atmosphere, with beams cutting through the mist and highlighting the texture of tree bark and leaves. — Grand Prize Winner: “The Forest of the Monarchs” by Jaime Rojo. Streaked with sunlight and crowded together for warmth in winter, Monarch Butterflies blanket fir trees in El Rosario Sanctuary. “I requested special permits to work outside the sanctuary’s operating hours and made this photograph shortly before sunset,” says Rojo.

Dubbed The Forest of the Monarchs, photographer Jaime Rojo captured this unique image after spending years studying the iconic butterflies in Michoacan, Mexico.

Previously published on the cover of National Geographic, these rare images show monarch butterflies huddling together to conserve warmth in their remote winter habitat in Mexico’s mountainous forests.

A stunning underwater photograph showing a vibrant coral reef with various colorful corals. Above the water, the sky is filled with dramatic, streaked clouds illuminated by a setting sun, creating a serene and contrasting scene between the underwater and above-water environments. — Landscapes, Waterscapes, and Flora Winner: “In Celebration” by Geo Cloete, capturing a blanket of sea anemones blooming in a South African tidepool.

A deceased reindeer with large antlers lies on a snowy landscape under a clear, blue sky. In the background, a white arctic fox is barely visible as it fades into the snowy surroundings. Distant mountains and plains are faintly seen on the horizon. — Photo Story Winner: “Ghosts of the North” by Peter Mather is a 5-photo series that documents the eerie, ghostlike nature of the Arctic’s elusive wildlife.

A slender snake is coiled around dry, spiky vegetation in a dark, sandy desert landscape. The sky above is a deep, twilight blue with scattered clouds, creating a moody atmosphere. The snake's body and the plant are sharply illuminated, contrasting with the dim background. — Terrestrial Wildlife Winner: “Beauty of the Desert” by Hema Palan, depicting a sand racer slithering between the branches of a bush in India’s Thar Desert.

A firefighter wearing protective gear and a helmet uses a hose to extinguish flames while standing amid a forest fire. Smoke billows around the burning greenery as the firefighter works to contain the blaze, surrounded by trees and dense underbrush. — Human/Nature Winner: “Good Fire” by Maddy Rifka, showing a Hoopa Valley tribal member lighting a patch of forest brush on fire during a cultural burn.

Underwater image of several gannets diving and swimming in search of fish, with their wings tucked close to their bodies and beaks pointed downward. The water appears slightly murky, and the light filters through, illuminating the birds' streamlined bodies and wings. — Winged Life Winner: “Underwater Harmony and Chaos” by Franco Banfi, illustrating the chaos and beauty of the Northern gannet’s daily fight for food and survival.

An underwater scene shows a school of tadpoles swimming among dense aquatic plants with long, thin stems and broad leaves. Sunlight filters through the water, illuminating the tadpoles and creating a vibrant, lively atmosphere. — Aquatic Life Winner: “Tadpole Migration” by Shane Gross, chronicling hundreds of polliwogs as they journey from a lake’s depths to the water’s surface in Vancouver Island.

A mystical forest scene illuminated by numerous glowing yellow fireflies. The dark, shadowy trees create a contrasting backdrop for the bright, scattered lights, creating an enchanting and tranquil atmosphere reminiscent of a fairy tale. — Art of Nature Winner: “Stardust Forest” by Kazuaki Koseki, fireflies illuminate a forest in Yamagata, Japan.

A whale swims in deep blue water with fishing gear entangled around its tail, causing it to drag a buoy and ropes behind. The whale is seen from behind, with sunlight filtering through the water from above. — Human Nature Finalist: “Hopeless” by Alvaro Herrero, a haunting image of this ill-fated, entangled humpback whale captures the grim reality these magnificent marine mammals face in oceans around the world.

A small black bear cub sits on a grassy cliff edge overlooking a misty canyon, with seagulls flying around. The cliff is lush with green vegetation and wildflowers, under a serene, hazy sky. — Terrestrial Wildlife Finalist: “A Moment in the Sun” by Kathleen Borshanian, showing an Arctic Blue Fox on the cliffs of the Pribilof Islands enjoying a rare moment of sunshine on the usually foggy isle.

A cluster of delicate, dew-covered white flowers stands out against a dark, blurred background. The photograph has a mysterious and ethereal feel, with the sharp focus on the flowers contrasting with the soft, muted surroundings. — Landscapes, Waterscapes, and Flora Finalist: “March of the Spider Orchids” by Georgina Steytler, it shows a lone white spider orchid emerge from the brush in southern Australia and unfurl its spindly arms in a bid to attract a male wasp to copulate with it by mimicking the scent of a female wasp. It wants the wasp’s pollen.

These images originally appeared on bioGraphic, an online magazine about nature and regeneration and the official media sponsor for the California Academy of Sciences’ BigPicture Natural World Photography Competition.

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