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Photographer of the Year

WEEKLY SELECTION 4 - 2026 PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR

Thursday, 19 March 2026

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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

Africa geographic photographer of the year 2026 — A gorilla holds its young baby close in Bwindi’s dense forest – an intimate portrait. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda. © William Steel

March of survival. A herd of elephants crosses Amboseli’s dry lakebed, making for the distant marshes where water can still be found. Amboseli National Park, Kenya. © Ganapathi Ram R S

Photographer of the Year 2026 — A male dung beetle rolls his prize across coarse Kruger terrain while the female hitches a ride – undeterred by obstacles. Kruger National Park, South Africa. © Abrie du Plessis

Africa Geographic safari — A lioness reclines in the tangled branches of an ancient tree, looking improbably at ease in an awkward throne. Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. © Alia Noordin

Photographer of the year 2026 — In flaming torch flowers. In the Bale Mountains, Ethiopian wolves have been observed licking nectar from red-hot poker blooms – making them an unexpected pollinator. Bale Mountains National Park, Ethiopia. © Amit Eshel

Melody of colours. For a few fleeting seconds, Lilian’s lovebirds gather on dead branches before vanishing again – a brief burst of colour in the early Serengeti light. Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. © John Mihopulos

Half-hidden in the thick forest undergrowth, a young gorilla looks out with wide, reflective eyes – a quiet moment of curiosity in Bwindi’s green tangle. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda. © Morgan Garrett

Africa Geographic Travel

A lioness surveys Samburu with easy authority. Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. © William Steel

Photographer of the year 2026 — “Only later did I notice the oxpecker parent feeding its chick on the rhino’s head.” Tanzania. © Stephen Long

Photographer of the Year 2026 — From above, a pod of hippos circles tightly in the Mara River, their heavy bodies turning the dark water into an elegant, abstract pattern. Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. © William Steel

Photographer of the year 2026 — “Just after dawn on Mt Ololokwe, my Samburu guide stood watching as vultures circled in the rising morning thermals.” Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. © Titch Tetley

Africa Geographic safari — Early morning on Madagascar’s Avenue of the Baobabs, distant headlights glow beneath the silhouettes of trees that have watched centuries come and go, highlighting ghostly figures traversing the road. Avenue of Baobabs, Madagascar. © Simone Osborne

Africa Geographic Travel

Africa Geographic safari — The King and his Courtiers. After the pride had fed through the night, the pride male dragged the buffalo carcass into the shade, followed closely by jackals, hyenas and vultures hoping for scraps. Naibosho Conservancy, Kenya. © Vicki Santello

Africa Geographic safari — Ecosystem engineer. Endemic to the Bale Mountains, the giant root-rat spends most of its life underground, shaping the afro-alpine ecosystem with its burrows and mounds. Bale Mountains National Park, Ethiopia. © Amit Eshel

African safari — As dusk softened the storm light over the Serengeti, an elephant pauses beside a lone vachellia tree and lifts its trunk to sniff the approaching rain. Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. © Greg du Toit

Africa geographic photographer of the year 2026 — Leopard and fly. Moments before the photo was taken, this fly had been sitting on the leopard’s nose, testing the patience of a predator. Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Botswana. © Hannes Lochner

Africa geographic photographer of the year 2026 — Afroalpine survivor. Photographed at around 4,000 metres above sea level in the Simien Mountains, an Ethiopian wolf traverses one of Africa’s most fragile high-altitude ecosystems. Simien Mountains National Park, Ethiopia © Amit Eshel

Africa geographic photographer of the year 2026 — A hyena edges in after a wild dog kill, but the dogs make it clear this meal is not up for negotiation. South Luangwa National Park, Zambia. © Lynn Rosenzweig

Africa Geographic Travel

Africa Geographic safari — A gorilla cradles its baby in the bamboo-cloaked slopes of Volcanoes National Park. Rwanda. © Mitchell Riley

African safari — In the late afternoon light, the super tusker known as Michael lingers in the Amboseli wetlands after the other bulls have moved off, posing briefly beneath Kilimanjaro as birds cross overhead. Amboseli National Park, Kenya. © Alex McLean

Only weeks old, this white rhino calf must already follow its mother through the water – a tender lesson in trust, vigilance and keeping up. KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. © Robin Scholte

The Getaway. At a Kalahari waterhole, a black-backed jackal lunges for a red-headed finch – but today, the finch is quicker. Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Botswana. © Hannes Lochner

A mother lion of the Nsefu Pride watches helplessly from above as a large crocodile targets – and succeeds in taking – her cub below. A tragic chapter in the pride’s ordeal on the Luangwa’s steep banks. South Luangwa National Park, Zambia. © Marc Mol

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