Nature is the eternal inspiration of artists. Nature photographers rarely face difficulties when it comes to finding inspiration, since the encounters with animals or seeing a mesmerizing landscape scenery is always a great way to display their emotions.

People have been fascinated by the photos of the winners of the Nature Photographer of the Year 2020 contest organized by The German Society for Nature Photography.

The organization stated:

“Due to the coronavirus pandemic, voting was not carried out during the annual general meeting but was completed online for the first time ever in GDT’s history with great participation by its members.”

Participants competed in seven categories, Birds, Mammals, Other Animals, Plants and Fungi, Landscapes, Nature’s Studio, and the special category, Water.

1. Winner, Other Animals. Danger In The Mud. Crocodile In A Drying Pool By Jens Cullmann

“A total of 5,046 images was submitted. After a pre-jury procedure (Alexandra Wünsch, Torsten Bittner und Jon A. Juarez), it was the GDT members’ turn to make their choices from ten images in each of the seven categories.”

The overall winner, category winners, and runners-up were given generous prizes by the partner of the organization, AC-Foto, and the overall winner received an Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III 12-40mm kit from Olympus Europe, GDT’s premium partner.

2. Overall Winner, Mammals. A Hare’s Dream By Peter Lindel

The photo of a European hare taken in the north of his hometown helped Peter Lindel from Dortmund, Germany, come first in the Mammals category and made him the overall winner this year.

The photo was titled “A hare’s dream.”

According to GDT:

“Compared to many international nature photography hotspots, this region has little to offer. [But] Peter Lindel [invested] a lot of time and blood, sweat, and tears working on this project on his doorstep. In these times, as everyone is urged to stay home, the generally classic subject of a hare gains special significance. It is also a beautiful statement for long-term exploration of a single species and region.”

Lindel added:

“The European hare, once a common inhabitant of the open country all over Germany, has become a rare sight. While the large number of hares that I used to spot every morning on my way to work in the fields and meadows north of Dortmund, prompted me twelve years ago to explore this area with my camera, it has now become increasingly time-consuming to find hares and present them in an appealing photograph.”

3. 4th Place, Other Animals. Toad King By Kevin Prönnecke

4. 3rd Place, Other Animals. School Of Mackerel, Cocos Island By Henry Jager

5. Winner, Plants And Fungi. New Life In A Dead Forest. Dead Forest, Bavaria By Radomir Jakubowski

6. 5th Place, Mammals. Eyelashes By Herman Hirsch

7. 2nd Place, Mammals. Glowing Fox. Arabian Red Fox In Kuwait City By Mohammad Murad

8. 4th Place, Mammals. Curious Glances. Raccoons, North Hesse By Jan Piecha

9. 8th Place, Plants And Fungi. Raso De La Bruma By Stefan Pütz-Cordes

10. 7th Place, Mammals. Close-Up By Dr. Siegmar Bergfeld

11. 4th Place, Nature’s Studio. Stargazer By Christian Wappl

12. 5th Place, Birds. Song Of The Dawn By Maximillian Hornish

13. Winner, Special Category: Water. The Play Of Water. Hraunfossar, Island By Britta Strack

14. 2nd Place, Nature’s Studio. The White Coastline. Meltwater Lake, Greenland By Stephan Fürnrohr

15. Winner, Birds. Take-Off. Coyote Panics Geese By Flurin Leugger

16. 2nd Place, Landscapes. Masai Mara Sky By Jose Fragozo

17. 4th Place, Landscapes. Into The Sea By Uwe Hasubek

18. 5th Place, Other Animals. Stefan Imig

19. 5th Place, Landscapes. Yukon Gold Rush By Axel Gomeringer

20. Winner, Nature’s Studio. Flooded With Light. Blackbird, North Hesse By Jan Piecha

21. 5th Place, Nature’s Studio. Refraction. Refraction Of Light In The Cobweb By Burkhard Hillert

22. 2nd Place, Special Category: Water. Milk And Honey, Reflection Of The Chalk Coast By Sandra Bartocha

23. 6th Place, Other Animals. Sunspider By Radomir Jakubowski

24. 7th Place, Birds. Summer’s Eve By Thomas Hempelmann

25. 3rd Place, Plants And Fungi. Max Fellerman

26. 8th Place, Birds. Walk Along The Beach By Karsten Mosebach

27. 2nd Place. Plants And Fungi. Klaus Tamm

28. 6th Place, Landscapes. Eyjafjallajökull Volcanic Eruption By Kerstin Langenberger

29. 3rd Place, Mammals. Cut And Run! By Winfried Wisniewski

30. 4th Place, Birds. Ducks Tufted. Ducks And Pochards By Christoph Kaula

Sources:
www.bbc.co.uk
www.insider.com
www.gdtfoto.de