10 beautiful images from the 2025 GDT Nature Photographer of the Year awards

A curious lion cub, a brave wolf spider, and a frolicking fox. The post 10 beautiful images from the 2025 GDT Nature Photographer of the Year awards appeared first on Popular Science.

May 4, 2025 - 18:07

“It’s been over two decades since I first witnessed a dipper darting through a waterfall,” photographer Konrad Wothe says. “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.”

Twenty years later and armed with a faster camera, Wothe captured the magical moment a white-throated dipper crashed through a waterfall. The image (seen below) earned Wothe top honors at the 2025 GDT (German Society for Nature Photography) Nature Photographer of the Year awards.

Wasseramsel (Cinclus cinclus), fliegt durch Wasserfall, Alpen, Oberbayern, Deutschland / Dipper (Cinclus cinclus), flying through waterfall, Alps, Bavaria, Germany, Europe — **“Dipper flying through waterfall”**
White-throated dipper flying through waterfall.
*Credit: Konrad Wothe / GDT Nature Photographer of the Year 2025* Konrad Wothe

More than 8,000 images were submitted for consideration at this year’s awards. Visit GDTfoto for a full gallery of the winners and scroll some of our favorites below.

puffin raises its head against pink sky — **“Courtship display”**
Puffin courtship display during the mating season in Newfoundland.
*Credit: Karsten Mosebach / GDT Nature Photographer of the Year 2025* Karsten Mosebach

ostrich legs and one head — **“…a matter of perspective…”**
A flock of ostriches photographed on the way to De Hoop Nature Reserve in South Africa.
*Credit: Peter Mrasek / GDT Nature Photographer of the Year 2025*

a wild cat with a grouchy face leaps towards the camera on snow — **“Grumpy Cat”**
The Pallas’s cat (*Otocolobus manul*) lives in the wilderness of Mongolia where this photograph was taken at -35° Celsius.
*Credit: Dr. Beate Oswald / GDT Nature Photographer of the Year 2025* Beate_Oswald

a fox trots amongst purple flowers — **“Red fox in heathland”**
While on the lookout for fallow deer and stonechats, I was surprise by this red fox.
*Credit: Angelika Krikava / GDT Nature Photographer of the Year 2025*

a snow leopard attacks a dog — **“Life and death”**
A stray dog from Rumbak in Hemis National Park (Ladakh) being attacked by a snow leopard.
*Credit: Ulrich Heermann / GDT Nature Photographer of the Year 2025*

cliffs at sunset — **“On fire”**
Painted Cliffs on Maria Island (Tasmania, Australia)
*Credit: Uwe Hasubek / GDT Nature Photographer of the Year 2025*

a snake eyes a spider — **“Not for the faint of heart”**
The body of a melanistic viper is a risky spot for a wolf spider to warm up.
Location: Wurzacher Ried (one of the most important peatlands in southern Germany)
*Credit: Ulrich Hopp / GDT Nature Photographer of the Year 2025*
Dr. Ulrich Hopp

a rainbow circle over lush green landscape — **“Full-circle rainbow”**
Photographed during a doors off helicopter flight over Iceland’s highlands at an altitude of approx. 300 metres – a rare spectacle.
*Credit: Peter Schwager / GDT Nature Photographer of the Year 2025*

a larger and smaller sea turtle — **“A sense of belonging”**
With this photograph, I tried to depict the familial interaction between two sea turtles off the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe.
*Credit: Joshi Nichell / GDT Nature Photographer of the Year 2025* Joshi Nichell

The post 10 beautiful images from the 2025 GDT Nature Photographer of the Year awards appeared first on Popular Science.