This year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 People’s Choice winners illustrate the powerful links between art, adventure, and environmental awareness. One recipient describes the process as “more than just another photographic adventure,” calling it a “dream that had been with me for years.”

A short-eared owl took a brief rest after an evening hunt on the West Plains, captured on December 11 by photographer Buck Domitrovich. This rare glimpse showcases the calm moment between hunts for one of nature’s skilled predators, highlighting local wildlife in a quietly dramatic scene.

Churchill, a remote town of just 800 residents in Northern Canada, sees thousands of travelers congregate each fall for a rare look at wild polar bears along the Hudson Bay shoreline. Renowned among wildlife photographers and environmental enthusiasts alike, it’s a bucket-list destination for close encounters with Arctic creatures.

Seventeen gripping photographs shine a light on the brutality and beauty of the animal kingdom. Through the 2025 Nature inFocus Photography Awards, these images underscore the power of photography to reveal nature’s harsh truths and its undeniable majesty.