Our Photographer of the Year 2026 is open for submissions. The overall winner, runners-up, and their partners will journey to Nyungwe National Park in Rwanda, staying at the newly built Munazi Lodge, the only lodge inside the park. Expect chimpanzee trekking, canopy walks high above the forest floor, waterfall hikes, and encounters with black-and-white colobus monkeys in one of Africa’s most biodiverse montane forests. Read more about the Photographer of the Year 2026 prizes here . In association with Ukuri and African Parks .
Photographer of the Year is open for entries from 16 February 2026 to midnight on 7 May 2026. Judging will take place from February to June, and the winners will be announced in June.
Here are the best Photographer of the Year submissions for this week
A spotted hyena materialises from dust and darkness, its raised mane catching the backlight at the waterhole, a faint apparition of reflection below. Laikipia , Kenya. © Caeser Senguta A day-old mantis, barely 3mm long, shelters among the stamens of a flower – a tiny predator already mastering the art of hiding. Gauteng, South Africa . © Hendrick Louw Two male lions bring down a warthog beside the Khwai River. Okavango Delta , Botswana. © Jannes Drotsky In the morning mist of Lake Nakuru, a great white pelican flies straight toward a flock preening along the quiet shoreline. Lake Nakuru, Kenya . © Greg du Toit In the quiet of a Saharan morning, a North African gerbil scrambles up a dune slope and digs its daytime refuge. Fifteen minutes later, the desert closes over the entrance and the tiny architect vanishes from the heat. Sahara, Morocco. © Alex Brackx An Ethiopian wolf pup plays with a burrowing tree frog, tossing it into the air – youthful practice for a hunter still learning the skills of survival. Bale Mountains National Park, Ethiopia. © Amit Eshel
At first light in Savute, a female leopard briefly emerges onto a rock, glowing in the dawn before slipping silently back into the grass as suddenly as she appeared. Savute, Chobe National Park , Botswana. © Alex McLean Hands form a circle of protection around a Suri child in Ethiopia’s Omo Valley. Omo Valley , Ethiopia. © Simone Osborne Madagascar’s remarkable helmeted vanga appears briefly in the rainforest – an endangered endemic spotted while tracking silky sifakas through Marojejy’s dense forest. Marojejy National Park, Madagascar . © Heste de Beer The Race. Three zebras charge across a dusty Amboseli lakebed beneath Kilimanjaro, motion blurred into stripes, speed and dust. Amboseli National Park , Kenya. © Joel Lawrence Amid a pride gathered tightly around a carcass, a young cub growls bravely – a small voice learning its place among the pride. Okavango Delta , Botswana. © Caroline Rowbottom Four-month-old Ethiopian wolf pups tumble and spar on the Bale Mountains plateau, play-fighting that quietly establishes rank in Africa’s rarest carnivore. Bale Mountains National Park, Ethiopia. © Amit Eshel A jackal fiercely guards its meal as a vulture lunges in, talons aimed at the jackal’s eye in a brutal contest over scraps. Madikwe Game Reserve , South Africa. © Kevin Dooley A green female mantis basks patiently in the sun, poised in ambush and waiting for the slightest movement from unsuspecting prey. Gauteng, South Africa. © Hendrick Louw Masai giraffes approach a waterhole under cover of night, their tall silhouettes emerging cautiously through drifting dust. Laikipia , Kenya. © Caesar Sengupta Hidden in the fork of a tree, a Serengeti leopard finally reveals itself after a long wait – a master of camouflage. Serengeti National Park , Tanzania. © Alia Noordin A lone dead tree framed by Mount Kilimanjaro and drenched in a flock of hundreds – two quiet giants sharing the Amboseli skyline beneath the vast East African sky. Amboseli National Park , Kenya. © Arun T Pillai A gelada male, hair drenched from recent rains, grazes calmly on the high grasslands while keeping watch over playful youngsters, at home on the dramatic cliffs of the Simien Mountains. Simien Mountains National Park, Ethiopia. © Amit Eshel
“‘Gecko,’ whispered our guide – yet all I saw was a leaf.” Only up close did the remarkable leaf-tailed gecko reveal itself. Moramanga, Madagascar . © Lynn Rosenzweig An interesting, stark surrealist portrait of a gemsbok, its sweeping horns and bold markings perfectly suited to the harsh Kalahari. Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Botswana . © Pepe Arespacochaga Trapped on the riverbank. After crossing the Luangwa, young Nsefu Pride cubs struggle to scale a steep bank as crocodiles wait below. “With the younger 5-month-old cub already taken by a very large croc, this older cub struggled all day to climb the crumbling riverbank, watched helplessly by its mother and the rest of his pride.” South Luangwa National Park , Zambia. © Marc Mol At dusk in Mana Pools, a wild dog feeds on a freshly caught impala, dust hanging thick in the air as the fading sun highlights its silhouette and shadow. Mana Pools National Park , Zimbabwe. © Greg du Toit During the Sardine Run, Cape gannets plunge into the water in relentless dives – from below, it looks like rain made of birds. East London, South Africa . © Geo Cloete Too much of a good thing. A great white pelican wrestles with an enormous catfish, struggling for nearly forty minutes to swallow its oversized prize. Amboseli National Park , Kenya. © Vicki Santello
The rare white lioness of the Birmingham Pride – pale, powerful, and unforgettable to encounter on the plains of Kruger. Kruger National Park , South Africa. © Karin Tieche An Ethiopian wolf feeds on the nectar of red-hot poker flowers – a remarkable behaviour only recently documented, making them the world’s first known pollinating carnivores. Bale Mountains National Park, Ethiopia. © Amit Eshel A 14-year-old leopardess grapples with a crocodile she ambushed on the Zambezi River’s edge – a rare choice for a leopard but one sure to leave her satiated for days. Lower Zambezi National Park , Zambia. © Marc Mol On Lake Nakuru’s alkaline shores, an African fish eagle and a marabou stork dispute a freshly caught fish, locked in a moment of wetland rivalry. Lake Nakuru, Kenya . © Alexandre Bes To comment on this story: Login (or sign up) to our app here - it's a troll-free safe place 🙂.
