Earth.Org and its global audience would like to thank the more than 400 talented photographers from over 60 countries who entered our 2021 Global Wildlife & Natural World Photography Competition. Our entrants include professional photographers, conservationists, wildlife enthusiasts and explorers from across the world who all share a passion for the environment and uncovering our planet’s natural beauty. We will also be talking about the fantastic judges who will be judging the competition to determine the winner.
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Here are the winners of the 2021 Global Wildlife & Natural World Photography Competition:
Overall Best Environmental Photo Category- Tharmapalan Tilaxan, Sri Lanka
Elephants eating plastic from an open garbage dump along the coast of Eastern Sri Lanka, travelling large distances looking for food in order to survive.
Wildlife in Peril Category: Alain Schroeder, Belgium
Brenda, an estimated 3-month-old female sumatran orangutan in surgery, after being under severe threat from the ongoing depletion and fragmentation Indonesia’s rainforest.
Human Impacts on Environment Category- Chin Leong, Singapore
Boy coping with drought in his farmland, a depiction of climate sustainability being critical for the preservation of future generations.
See the winning pictures here.
Photography is an important medium to magnify the relationship between our species and the environment. We asked photographers to capture scenes that illustrate the effect humanity has on wildlife and the imperilled status of many of our kindred species that call the Earth their home. We asked for images of moments that represent environmental degradation and destruction, and best encapsulate how humanity has perpetrated these violences.
But we also wanted photographers to remind us and our viewers of the natural beauty of this world we call home. With so much natural capital and biodiversity being lost, it is helpful to remember that there are still places of real and untouched grace and magnificence. Our hope for this competition is to prove that the wildernesses of Earth are not yet a fantasy, and that life can still thrive in these places if we care enough to recognise it.
Our international panel of judges is currently examining your thoughtful submissions, and will announce the winners on June 22nd, 2021. Hailing from a broad range of backgrounds including wildlife photography, filmmaking, conservation and environmental advocacy, we are eagerly anticipating the results! Winners will be announced on this page and on our social media channels.
If you missed out on submitting content for this year’s competition, we would still love to hear from you! A second edition of our competition will be run in 2022, with more details forthcoming, so be sure to check back on this page and follow us on social media for updates. If you would like to become a part of our global movement and mission, consider becoming an EO photographer. Earth.Org’s official photographers and their content will be regularly featured in our articles and our Instagram and Facebook posts. There is no financial commitment. When we post one of your photographs, we will inform you and ask you to please repost the article or post on your Instagram story.
To all this year’s entrants, we are excited to showcase your work and further connect you to our global community. We hope you continue to do such important things in this world.
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A special and deep-felt thank you to:
Meet the Judges
Sean Lee-Davies is a wildlife conservationist, adventurer and producer who founded Project C: Change, an NGO that raises funds and awareness in Asia to combat the illegal wildlife trade through art, photography and film.He is also the Founder of Awethentic Studio, a production house specialising in branded content, television and film and he has since produced and hosted shows all over Asia, including documentaries for National Geographic, Channel News Asia and TVB.
As one of the first women photographers to work for National Geographic, Annie Griffiths has had an incredible career that has taken her around the world. She has used these experiences to capture the human condition in her work, telling the stories of many different cultures. Annie’s striking photographs have been featured in LIFE, Geo, Smithsonian, and countless other publications, garnering recognition through numerous awards.
She is also the Executive Director of the non-profit Ripple Effect Images – a photographer collective that documents the lives of empowered women in the developing world.
Robin D. Moore, a talented and renowned photographer and conservationist. Having published his highly lauded nature and conservation book In Search of Lost Frogs in 2014, Robin is involved in several conservation and wildlife organisations. His photography work features wildlife, people, and landscapes – all of which are captured with clarity and a singular perspective. His work has been published by National Geographic Magazine, Smithsonian Magazine, The Guardian Travel, and various Vietnamese media outlets.
Based in Vietnam, Tran Tuan Viet takes a humanist approach to telling visual stories of life in contemporary Vietnam.With over 13 years of experience as a photographer, his vibrant and compositionally unique pictures challenge the boundaries of creativity.Viet has won multiple photography awards and his international clients include Google, Samsung, and Canon.His work has been published by National Geographic Magazine, Smithsonian Magazine, The Guardian Travel, and various Vietnamese media outlets.
Pete Oxford is a recognised conservation photographer who has been based in Ecuador for the last thirty years. Through his photography, Pete hopes to sustain and encourage conservation efforts around the world.Pete is a Founder Fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers.He has been featured ten times in the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards, and his work can be found in magazines such as National Geographic, BBC Wildlife, and Time.
Dave Doubilet is an underwater photographer who has spent more than 26,000 hours photographing coral reefs, sharks, shipwrecks and more. Dave has over 75 publications and is currently the most published photographer working with National Geographic. Dave documents the devastation and beauty of the ocean and is currently working on documenting the state of coral reefs under the impact of climate change. Dave strongly believes in the power of photography to educate and ignite change.
We will update this page with the winners of the competition- stay tuned!
