Here are the Top 105 entries in our 2024 Photographer of the Year! We will announce the overall winner and two runners-up at the beginning of July. Each of the three winners (the overall winner plus two runners-up) will become a personal sponsor of a wild Hwange lion research collar. Winners and their partners will also join our CEO Simon Espley on the Photographer of the Year conservation safari in Botswana. Read more about the Photographer of the Year 2024 prizes here .
Photographer of the Year is now closed for entries. Final judging will take place throughout the month of June 2024.
Photographer of the Year is sponsored by Imvelo Safari Lodges . In association with Southern African Conservation Trust (SACT) and WILDCRU .
This is Gallery 2 of the Top 105. To see the other Photographer of the Year Top 105 galleries, click here: Gallery 1 ; Gallery 3 ; Gallery 4
An endangered golden monkey, endemic to the high mountains of the Greater Virunga ecosystem, pauses mid-snack to contemplate the photographer. Volcanoes National Park , Rwanda. © Amish Chhagan Giraffes can dance. Two young giraffes engage in gentle necking. “It was as if these two giraffes were practising – their slow motions were so elegant.” Maasai Mara National Reserve , Kenya. © Vicki Jauron “A youthful leopard emerges from a day-long slumber atop a mashatu tree. As it descends, the leopard seamlessly melds with the tree’s sinuous roots, becoming almost indiscernible from a distance.” Northern Tuli Game Reserve , Botswana. © Hannes Lochner Thunderbirds pause for a close-up. These southern ground-hornbills were spotted in Kruger National Park . South Africa. © Ilna Booyens “We watched this flap-necked chameleon cross the road with boomslang in pursuit, before the snake finally executed the coup de grâce .” Thornybush Game Reserve , South Africa. © Greg du Toit A lesser flamingo preening in reflective watercolour. Cape Town , South Africa. © Braeme Holland Cattle stride along the coastline of the Wild Coast. Eastern Cape, South Africa . © Lucy Gemmill “Mahmoud Farouk stands in Karnak Temple as a beam of light illuminates the space and reveals ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs. Karnak Temple is the largest religious complex in Egypt. Mahmoud has worked there for over 50 years, having started there as a young boy working with his father.” Luxor, Egypt. © Rachelle Steele “Rain in the Central Kalahari is always a welcome blessing. But, before the life-giving rain falls, a pride of lions must seek shelter from the preceding sandstorm. These cubs and lionesses huddled together with their eyes nearly closed to protect them from the stinging sand.” Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Botswana . © Dewald Tromp “A silverback gorilla looks out over a new plantation of bamboo – a conservation effort aimed at expanding Volcanoes National Park. The gorillas often venture out of the forest in search of eucalyptus trees grown by local farmers. By expanding the forest, there is hope that there will be more space for gorillas and less human-wildlife conflict.” Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda . © Richard de Gouveia While riding horses across the desert, I was lucky enough to sleep outside next to this welwitschia. In the early hours of the morning, once the moon had set, I was drawn to capture the 1000+-year-old plant under the stillness and brightness of the stars.” Damaraland , Namibia. © Wiktoria West Two wildebeest create a golden glow as they kick up dust at sunset. Mashatu Game Reserve , Botswana. © Joe Misika A tiny nocturnal mouse lemur hides from the day in the trunk of a palm. Lokobe Nature Reserve, Nosy Be, Madagascar. © Andrew Macdonald Two large male hippos battle it out for prime territory along the Zambezi River. Mana Pools National Park , Zimbabwe. © Christopher Scott “After three days of searching, we finally came across this shoebill with a catch.” Lake Victoria, Uganda . © Prelena Soma Owen Motherhood, with scars. Three Hamar women bear scars from the bull-jumping festival. At the festival, men demonstrate their prowess by running over the backs of bulls. During the festivities, women ask to be whipped by the men, with the ritual demonstrating their loyalty. In return, the men are forever indebted, the scars serving as a reminder that the men are obligated to help the women when they are in need. Tumi, Omo Valley , Ethiopia. © Aimin Chen A black-collared barbet peers out from its nesting hole, keeping a watchful eye on its surroundings. Bwabwata National Park, Namibia. © Joost Meyer The wards of Serengeti cheetah mother, Helen, play on the plains. Here, Helen’s daughter, right, plays with the cheetah cub Bahati, which Helen adopted after it was abandoned by its own mother after the cub was injured by a warthog. Serengeti National Park , Tanzania. © Zita Quentin “I waited 10 hours to get this image! We knew the leopard Bahati had hidden her cubs in a den alongside a river. We parked in the river crossing about 70m from the den and waited. Seven hours passed, but Bahati never appeared. We had to return to camp as it was getting dark. We returned first thing the next morning and waited another three hours before Bahati arrived. After briefly nursing her cub, she picked it up and carried it across the river.” Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. © Ivan Glaser A young Knysna dwarf chameleon rests amidst dead leaves at night. Knysna, Western Cape, South Africa. © Matthias Deuss The Last Supper. As Mara North’s River Pride move off their hippo kill, nearly 50 hyenas descend on the carcass. Mara North Conservancy, Kenya. © Alex McLean “When the sky cleared, several beams of sunlight peeked through the foliage, highlighting this intimate moment between mother vervet monkey and infant. The scene reminded me of my own baby daughter, who had sadly passed eight months prior. As part of our healing journey, my wife and I went back to the beautiful Luangwa River, after which our daughter ‘Luana’ was named.” South Luangwa National Park , Zambia. © Roderick Jongschaap A new perspective reveals the many nesting chambers of a sociable weaver nest. Sossusvlei , Namibia. © Hugh Michler As the pride pauses for an early morning drink, something catches the large male’s eye – piquing a cub’s interest. Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Botswana. © Lukas Walter The leader of a five-cheetah coalition launches an attack on a wildebeest calf. Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. © Thomas Vijayan Synchronised flight: crowned cranes fly over Ngorongoro Crater. Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania. © Burkhard Ley To comment on this story: Login (or sign up) to our app here - it's a troll-free safe place 🙂.
