Spotlight

Cameras are great, but it’s what is done in photography with that technology that really matters. To that end, PetaPixel regularly shines a Spotlight on the incredible photos and videos created by talented artists from around the world.
Split image: Left side shows a pangolin walking on the ground against a black background. Right side features a close-up of a pangolin’s face and overlapping scales, highlighting its unique texture.

Photographers’ Incredible Pangolin Photos Help Save Endangered Animals

The Remembering Wildlife photography book series has released its 10th book, 10 Years of Remembering Wildlife. The series has raised nearly $1.6 million for wildlife conservation to date and features incredible wildlife photos from some of the world's most talented and renowned photographers. This milestone book focuses on pangolins, one of Earth's most threatened species.

Two people sit in a field of tall grass at sunset; the person in the foreground wears a blue jacket and takes a photo, while the person in the background, in red, looks down at something in their hands.

How a Mobile Photography Darkroom Empowers Vulnerable Children

The Sirkhane Darkroom a mobile photography darkroom, brings education, passion, and most importantly, hope, to overlooked communities in Turkey where children face limited access to education and safety, especially in the aftermath of devastating earthquakes that regularly rock the region.

A collage of three images: tall cacti under a purple sky with a moon, women in blue dresses with red and black abstract background, and two emperor penguins with a chick standing on snow.

20 Award-Winning Photos From 1839 Awards’ Photographer of the Year

1839 Awards announced the winners of its International Photographer of the Year Contest. The winning photographers in the Professional and Non-Professional categories demonstrate excellent artistic and technical achievement in photography, as do the additional winning photographers across many diverse categories.

A hand holds a green Kodak film canister on a wooden surface, flanked by two strips of damaged, partially visible black-and-white film negatives.

What Happens When You Shoot Film That Expired in 1946?

"Expired film is always unpredictable," says photographer and YouTuber Mathieu Stern, known for his "weird lens" videos. "But what happens when the film expired almost a century ago? Can you still get an image?" To find out, Stern shot with the oldest rolls of film he could get his hands on, including one from as far back as 1946.

A rattlesnake coiled on a rock under a starry night sky with the moon shining, alongside a puffin flying through falling snow on the right side of the split image.

Award-Winning Photos Show the Beauty and Resilience of Wildlife

Alongside the Rewilding Europe Award winners unveiled yesterday, the German Society for Nature Photography (GDT) recently announced the winner of its annual Fritz Pölking Prize, named for the late award-winning German nature photographer and writer, who passed away in 2007 at 71 years old.

A woman standing outdoors in a grassy field holds a large professional camera with a long telephoto lens, smiling at the camera. The sky is blue with scattered clouds.

How ‘Girls Who Click’ Empowers Young Women in Nature Photography

Girls Who Click (GWC), a San Francisco Bay Area–based nonprofit founded by award-winning wildlife photographer Suzi Eszterhas, has opened applications for its flagship Ambassador Mentorship Program, with entries accepted until October 13. The organization is dedicated to helping young girls and women become powerful, influential nature photographers.

A lioness crouches and drinks water from a pond, staring directly at the camera. The photo is in black and white, highlighting her intense gaze and muscular form.

It Took a Photographer 10 Years to Finally Nail the Perfect Lion Photo

Some photographs happen in an instant. Others take years to arrive. For more than a decade, I carried a very specific picture in my mind: a lion at complete ease, drinking from still water, everything calm and in balance. I knew how it should look, the light, the posture, the mood, but in the field, the moment always slipped away.

A collage of three microscope images: left, close-up of a flower's reproductive parts; top right, green algae cells next to a metal surface; bottom right, glowing cellular structures in purple and green.

Nikon Small World in Motion Winners Reveal Hidden Microscopic Wonders

The 15th annual Nikon Small World in Motion winners showcase the world's best and most dynamic microscopic videography. The first-place video shows the self-pollination of a thymeleaf speedwell, while another prize-winning video captures actin and mitochondria in mouse brain tumor cells, demonstrating the diversity of the microscopy on display this year.

A collage of three photos: a stone bridge over a river in a city, people walking through a covered, illuminated shopping street at night, and a woman with dark hair wearing a white top and heart necklace.

Photographer Captures the Stillness and Emotional Depth In Everyday Life

Modern photography is often defined by speed, filters, and fleeting trends, yet Kerwin Mallari has carved a distinctive path by focusing on stillness, intuition, and the subtle beauty of everyday life. Surrounded from an early age by his father’s extensive collection of photographs, he developed a profound appreciation for the stories that images can tell.