The Powerful Winning Photos From the Nature inFocus Awards 2024

Jeremy Gray

Left: A spectacled bear resting on a tree branch surrounded by hanging moss. Right: A Steller's sea eagle swooping over turbulent ocean waters, wings outstretched, with icy waves in the background.

The Nature inFocus Photography Awards 2024 winners showcase some of the best and most impactful nature images in the world, with a particular emphasis on wildlife and conservation.

Warning: Readers may find some of the photographs featured in this article upsetting due to depictions of animal death.

Supun Dilshan won this year’s title of “Photographer of the Year” for a powerful portfolio showcasing the struggles of Sri Lankan elephants.

Two elephants interact with a wire fence in a lush, wooded area. One elephant is on a dirt path, while the other pulls on the fence. Dense greenery and trees surround them, creating a natural jungle setting.
Photographer of the Year Supun Dilshan’s award-winning profile shows the plight of Sri Lankan elephants as they grapple with habitat destruction and people figure out how to live alongside the elephants safely. | Nature inFocus Awards 2024
Aerial view of a herd of elephants walking through shallow water. The elephants form a clustered, linear formation as they move, with visible ripples in the water around them. The scene captures the natural movement of the large animals.
© Supun Dilshan

Human-elephant conflict in Sri Lanka is a significant issue, posing a grave threat to both elephants and people. Sri Lanka has the highest number of annual elephant deaths of any country and the highest number of people killed by elephants. In 2022 and 2023, over 800 elephants died because of human conflict in Sri Lanka. While data on human deaths is not available for these years, in 2019, 121 Sri Lankans were killed in human-elephant conflict.

Aerial view of a group of people surrounding an elephant and its calf lying in a grassy area. The elephant is resting near a small pool of water. The setting is outdoors, with dry grass and vegetation surrounding the scene.
© Supun Dilshan

“It’s heartbreaking to see development at loggerheads with the places these wild animals call home. Their habitat is already shrinking at an alarming rate due to multiple anthropogenic factors. But with the rise of linear infrastructure, especially in regions like India and Sri Lanka, we’re only going to see more of these come up. This is one of the greatest threats to wildlife today,” says the President of Wildlife Conservation Trust, Anish Andheria.

Aerial view of a blue car driving on a road bordered by dense green forest. The shadow of an elephant walking along the roadside is visible on the asphalt.
© Supun Dilshan

Andheria was one of six judges, alongside wildlife photographers Dhritiman Mukherjee and Shivang Mehta, wildlife biologist Nandini Velho, filmmaker Malaika Vaz, and Nature inFocus co-founder, Kalyan Varma.

The six-member panel evaluated a record-breaking 14,180 entries submitted by photographers from 42 countries.

Aerial view of an elephant lying motionless beside a railway track amidst green grass and earth tones. The tracks run horizontally through the center of the image. Sparse patches of grass are visible surrounding the scene.
‘Lost to the Tracks’ by Supun Dilshan. The photographer also won the Ramki Sreenivasan Conservation Photography Award in this year’s Nature inFocus Awards. | Nature inFocus Awards 2024

Category Winners

Alongside Dilshan’s portfolio victory, the competition also selected winning images across numerous categories, including Animal Behavior, Wildscape and Animals in Their Habitat, Creative Nature Photography, Animal Portraits, the Ramki Sreenivasan Conservation Photography Award (which Dilshan also won), and a special category for young photographers. All category winners and runners-up are featured below.

Animal Behavior

Aerial view of a sandy ocean floor with a large, swirling school of fish forming patterns. Several sharks swim among the fish, creating dynamic shapes. The water is clear, accentuating the fish and sharks' movements.
Winner — ‘Sharks in School’ by Angela Albi and August Paula | Nature inFocus Awards 2024
Diver silhouetted against a bright light source, surrounded by a dark, dotted background that resembles starry space. The illumination creates an ethereal, underwater galaxy-like effect with varying shades of blue.
Runner-up — ‘Midnight Predators’ by Tibor Litauszki | Nature inFocus Awards 2024
A close-up of a dragonfly perched on a green twig against a black background. Its wings are semi-transparent with delicate patterns, captured in motion, creating a blur effect.
Runner-up — ‘The Tiny Titan’ by Padmanava Santra | Nature inFocus Awards 2024

Wildscape and Animals in Their Habitat

A spectacled bear sits on a tree branch surrounded by hanging moss in a lush, green forest. The bear is facing sideways, with its head slightly raised, blending into the dense foliage around it.
Winner — ‘He Looks to the Heavens’ by Jacquie Matechuk | Nature inFocus Awards 2024
A black and white photo of a small lizard inside a vehicle, perched on the frame of a window. Outside the window, a blurred view of buildings and a moving vehicle is visible. The scene conveys a sense of travel and motion.
Runner-up — ‘Can I Get a Ride?’ by Ramprasad Dutta | Nature inFocus Awards 2024

Creative Nature Photography

Minimalist image of thin, curved black lines on a white background, resembling grass blades. Small orange dots are scattered along the lines, adding contrast and interest to the composition.
Winner — ‘Balancing Act’ by Kai Kolodziej | Nature inFocus Awards 2024
A single, delicate seed with a wing-like structure floats against a dark background, illuminated by soft, circular bokeh lights. The atmosphere is serene and ethereal, highlighting the natural beauty of the seed in mid-air.
Runner-up — ‘Spinning Seeds’ by Tibor Litauszki | Nature inFocus Awards 2024

Animal Portraits

A leopard climbs a large tree at night, while another leopard looks up from the base. The scene is surrounded by dense foliage and illuminated by artificial light, creating a dramatic contrast against the dark night sky.
Winner — ‘Tree Huggers’ by Pruthvi B | Nature inFocus Awards 2024
A buffalo partially submerged in water with strands of green grasses draped over its head and horns, creating a natural camouflage. The dark background emphasizes the contrast with the bright green vegetation.
Runner-up — ‘Crowned by Nature’ by Prashanthan Yogendranathan | Nature inFocus Awards 2024
A Steller's sea eagle fishes in icy waters, its wings spread wide above turbulent waves. The large bird is poised to catch prey, with snowy ice formations visible in the background, highlighting a cold, wintry scene.
Runner-up — ‘On Thin Ice’ by Philippe Ricordel | Nature inFocus Awards 2024

Ramki Sreenivasan Conservation Photography Award

A weathered window with multiple panes, some of which are cracked, revealing a cloudy sky behind. A small part of a wall with peeling paint is visible through the left-most pane.
Runner-up — ‘An Unlikely Refuge’ by Chaitanya Rawat | Nature inFocus Awards 2024

Young Photographer

A green praying mantis with bulbous eyes peeks through a hole in a lush green leaf, with veins clearly visible. The background shows a blurred yellow hue through the hole, adding contrast to the vibrant scene.
Winner — ‘Through the Looking Leaf’ by Salahuddin Ahmed | Nature inFocus Awards 2024
Aerial view of a river delta with colorful sediment patterns flowing into dark water. To the right, a cluster of white dots resembles a group of small boats or floating objects. The scene has a surreal, abstract quality with vivid colors.
Runner-up — ‘Is That a Big Fish?’ by Rohan Shah | Nature inFocus Awards 2024
An elephant's trunk and tusks are partially visible through dense foliage and trees. In the background, there's a river and lush green landscape under a cloudy sky. The focus is on the natural scenery and the hidden presence of the elephant.
Runner-up — ‘Who’s There?’ by Danuja Palihawadana Arachchi | Nature inFocus Awards 2024

Alongside the featured winners, the Nature in Focus competition also honors additional images with “Special Mentions.” These photographs can be viewed on the Nature inFocus Awards 2024 website.

Image credits: Photographs provided courtesy of the Nature inFocus Awards. Individual photographers are credited in the image captions.

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