One in 1,000 Threatened species category: Maybe this is the one in 1,000 that survives against the odds, returning to this same beach to nest in several decades. Photograph: Kendra Campbell/Australian Geographic

The Grand Prize of the 2025 Environmental Photography Award was presented to photographer Angel Fitor for the image Unseen Unsung Heroes, winner in the “Ocean Worlds” category. Angel Fitor (Spain) has dedicated his life to giving a voice to aquatic ecosystems.

Winner: Recovering Nature | Naturalia: Chronicle of Contemporary Ruins. Far from being pessimistic, and at a time when humanity’s domination over nature has never been so extreme, this photo aims to wake our consciousness Photograph: Jonk Jimenez/Environmental photographer of the year

A writing mentor once told me that a great story takes you on a journey inside an interesting mind. The best writers can get you to read about almost anything. The fragile world of exotic cats : Narwhal

Ghost of the desert” … a sand cat in Libya. In 2017 wildlife photographer Mohammed Almuntasir posted a YouTube video of the nocturnal feline in the Libyan Sahara, much to the surprise of naturalists, who hadn’t known it was there. Photograph: Mohammed Almuntasir / Guardian

After a long search in the Mabamba Swamps in Uganda, the shoebill in flight #shoebill #uganda Photo ; Ingo kober / Smithsonian Magazine

Mat Bell’s eye-catching photograph is one of the shortlisted entries for the Australian Geographic nature photographer of the year 2026 . An Adélie penguin to propel itself from the water to the safety of an iceberg. Photograph: Mat Bell/Australian Geographic

Walrus Nursing, Judges’ Choice: Three walruses, including a baby, sit on an iceberg in Norway. By Richard Rothstein / 2026 Ocean Conservancy Photo Contest - A panel of judges, who are wildlife photographers, graded the images on impact, creativity, lighting and composition.

Nature Reclaimed, Bingqian Gao captured a seahorse in Dominica on a mooring rope. “The image reveals an unexpected interaction between the artificial and the natural”. Bingqian Gao / 2026 Ocean Conservancy Photo Contest

Northern gannets plunge into the water to hunt in Shetland. This image won the British Waters Wide Angle category. By Kat Zhou / UPY2024

The Silver Ocean Within the Ocean, honorable mention: A diver swims near a massive school of fish near Okinawa, Japan, as photographed by Akira Asahina. Akira Asahina / 2026 Ocean Conservancy Photo Contest

In March 2025, the moon partially blocked the sun from the perspective of parts of Europe and other regions, allowing a partial solar eclipse to grace the skies. British photographer James McBeath was prepared to capture the moment. He spent hours tracking the eclipse from a park in Leeds

When Germany Built a Flying Train 125 Years Ago, a City Coalesced Beneath It. It Has Moved Royalty, Commuters and Tourists—and One Elephant—Ever Since When there was no room on the ground, towns in the Wupper Valley built a suspension railway that became a source of pride and connection Smithsonian

This photograph documents a girl named Shargha, looking calm and casual as she milks a stoical-looking yak. Guardian

Puffin Landing, honorable mention: A puffin flies in for a landing at Machias Seal Island off the coast of Maine, photographed by Michelle Hare. Michelle Hare / 2026 Ocean Conservancy Photo Contest

Existing Together, honorable mention: An overhead view by Bill Ehman captures an adult and juvenile humpback whale in Hawaii, with a paddleboarder taking a photograph nearby. Bill Ehman / 2026 Ocean Conservancy Photo Contest

Aristocrat Tomato Man (Maxon Inc), 1934 Lloyd Weed of the Maxon Inc advertising agency created Aristocratic Tomato Man to suggest the superior quality of Heinz ingredients. In this picture Lord Tomato Man looks as though he’s been duffed up. Image: Courtesy of History of Advertising Trust

All I want is to return home’: The hills of the Hauts Plateaux near Lake Tanganyika have been the scene of fighting for decades. Families just trying to survive Misa Byaombe, a farmer and mother of nine from the village of Rugezi, has been displaced for a year. Guardian.org

A swimming pool built exclusively for senior foreign professionals at Icomi. The town of Serra do Navio, was designed by the architect Oswaldo Arthur Bratke and listed by the Brazilian National Institute of Historical and Artistic Heritage, stands in the devastated landscape Ruined Utopias Guardian

A manatee swims in Crystal River, Florida, backlit by the sun. This peaceful scene highlights both the beauty and vulnerability of a species that continues to depend on protected habitats and conservation efforts for survival. David Fleetham / 2026 Ocean Conservancy Photo Contest

Two dolphins swim up to the camera. The recognized images from this year's Ocean Conservancy Photo Contest. Laura Murchie / 2026 Ocean Conservancy Photo Contest / Smithsonian Magazine

The forest envelops a building in what was formerly a Pirelli rubber estate, now designated the Metropolis of the Amazon wildlife refuge, an environmental conservation area in Marituba, Pará state. RESILIENT - forest cities, was funded by the Gerda Henkel Foundation. photo by Christian Braga

A ruined building is enveloped by a strangler fig in Velho Airão, a former rubber-producing town in Amazonas state. When projects failed, companies left and the towns were abandoned. Supported by Open Society Foundations Content : Christian Braga for project RESILIENT / Guardian

The Royal Canadian Geographical Society and the U.S.-based Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution have embarked on a “once-in-a-generation” journey to survey Quest and Terra Nova, two of the most important ships connected to the expeditions of Ernest Shackleton & Robert Falcon Scott. Smithsonian

The Crimson Vortex and Sapphire Blossoms of Andromeda by Chuhong Yu and Zuoming Wang The Royal Observatory Greenwich in London invites photographers to submit their finest shots of stars, auroras, and galaxies. The 18th edition of its Astronomy Photographer competition drew nearly 4,000 entries

Brazil’s Second Largest Meat-Packing Plant Profits From Cattle Laundering, Illegal Deforestation, and Pressure on Indigenous Land Minerva Foods, has direct ties to a destructive supply chain. Bruna Bronoski. Rainforest investigation Fellow | Fernando Martinho | O Joio e O Trigo | Pulitzer Center

I’m working with 195in365, a global impact-driven initiative focused on raising awareness and educating audiences around our changing climate through storytelling, travel and on-the-ground documentation across the world’s 195 countries

Profit for the financier from the Destruction. The Tibecocha oil palm plantation in Peru stretches across 17,000 acres of what was once rainforest. Each year, these plantations generate about $50 million in revenue for the Ocho Sur group. Florence Goupil | Business Insider | Pulitzer Center

Voyage to the end of the world: floating lab to explore life in Arctic. An eight-month expedition will set off from Norway on a mission to find new species before the changing climate and pollution changes the largely unknown complex ecosystems northern ocean for ever #hope Guardian

Old railway infrastructure in Santana from the Icomi mineral extraction project, which contributed to the formation of Amapá state. Christian Braga for project RESILIENT Ruined utopias: the afterlife of the Amazon’s forgotten company towns / Guardian

Earth might be home to 20 million insect species. 3x as many as recently found Additional estimates have come to the consensus that our planet hosts roughly six million species. But new research reveals that those counts may be drastically underestimated. Who Knows? Smithsonian Magazine

The ruins of a small family home built from ‘Volkswagen-standard’ bricks in Vila Cristalino in the 1970s, when Companhia Vale do Rio Cristalino, was owned by Volkswagen the carmaker’s estate, promoted as a model of modern agriculture and became a symbol of environmental and labour conflicts

Hard to believe America almost lost its national bird. Bald eagles were hunted and shot for their feathers during the early 20th century. Then came DDT, a popular pesticide, that had a devastating effect on the bird and populations crashed Courtesy Smithsonian Magazine

On a back road in western Connecticut, a weather-beaten display of American pride drew my attention, prompting me to pause my drive. I’ve long had an interest in photographing unusual representations of the American flag — Old Glory. #connecticut Photograph; Nancy Kaye / Smithsonian Magazine

White backed vultures stretch their wings for the first time before release at Shamwari after a 1,042 km, 18 hour journey, in the world’s largest vulture translocation, led by Shamwari, Vulpro, DHL and WeWild Africa. #vulture #africa Photo Wiktoria West / Smithsonian Magazine

A Ford warehouse established in 1928 in Fordlândia, on the banks of the Tapajós River, to produce rubber for the US market. Corporate towns founded to extract raw materials for processing and export, with no regard for the forest, its peoples or its future. Supported by Open Society Foundations

One of the most ambitious Amazonian projects involved Daniel Ludwig, then one of the world’s wealthiest men, who constructed an entire pulp factory in Japan, transported it across the ocean. The project, cost more than $1bn, ended in failure. Photograph: Christian Braga

Marilyn Stafford FotoReportage award 2026 – Johanna Alarcón won the prize given to female photographers addressing social issues with a focus on positivity. A Georgian farmer. The Final Days of Georgian Nomads project by Natela Grigalashvili / Guardian

Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photography Contest. Category. The American Experience / ‘Wonderful Day in the Neighborhood‘ Some type of factory in Carson, California #america #california #factory Photo ; Anthony Ayala

Devotees gather on the banks of the Ganges to offer prayers. A woman holds a lit 'diya' (earthen lamp) before releasing it into the water. In Varanasi, the river is worshipped as a divine mother, and this ritual symbolizes the offering of one's inner light to the divine. Photo Shubhodeep Roy

Vienna, Austria Workers move a large sculpture, created by German artist Ottmar Hörl, based on the Young Hare by Renaissance painter Albrecht Dürer, before it is placed on the roof of the Albertina Museum to mark its 250th anniversary Photograph: Max Slovencik/AFP/Getty Images/Guardian

The Statue of Liberty became a symbol of freedom and possibilities for immigrants passing through Ellis Island so it’s fitting that she’s something of an immigrant herself. France gave the monument, to the United States as a token of international friendship Smithsonian Magazine

“The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled." Plutarch The Civil Rights Movement was not a single act, it was a sustained act of collective will. Built in courtrooms, and classrooms through the quiet courage of students who simply refused to turn back Smithsonian Magazine

A tribal woman is seen with her cows painted with colorful motifs, offering incense to them as part of a religious ritual during Gai Gauhari festival in Madhya Pradesh. #india #people Photo Somenath Mukhopadhyay / Smithsonian Magazine

The Quiet Revolution August 28, 1963, more than 250,000 people gathered on for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Dorothy Height (1912–2010) was there, working alongside the “Big Six” civil rights leaders as the only woman on the Council of the United Civil Rights Leadership team.

Born into a working-class family in 1873, Frances Alice Kellar grew up in Coldwater, Michigan. she was raised largely by her mother, who took on domestic work to make a living. Kellor, had to work from a young age; she left high school to work full time, as a reporter at a local newspaper.

Hobart Satellite trails are a visible sign of human impact on the night sky. As constellations of satellites expand, long streaks of reflected sunlight appear in astronomical images. This is tied to a new, form of sky brightness. Photograph: David Nolang. Beaker Street science photography

Hygrocybe firma is a fungus whose very small, red sporing bodies appear in Tasmanian forests. It has a biotrophic relationship with surrounding vegetation, where the mycelium lives inside or in close contact with plant roots. The red colour pops. Photo: Charlie Chadwick ; Beaker St science award

A patterned aperture breathes light into the terminal, designed to diffuse visibility. Below, the polished marble floor creates a perfect mirror, doubling the form into an elegant illusion that expands the very perception of space and luminosity. #china #beijing Photo Anton El Haddad Smithsonian

Genghis Khan Is Remembered for His Vast Empire and Fearsome Warriors. This Exhibition Explores His Cultural Legacy The Royal Armouries Museum will show nearly 250 rare artifacts—from saddles to early paper money—that reveal a side of the Mongol Empire that’s often neglected Smithsonian Magazine