Each year, the Nature’s Best Photography Awards showcases some of the most beautiful and rarely seen aspects of wildlife. But in the Outdoor Adventure category, we don’t just get to admire landscapes; we also get an understanding of the courage it takes to truly enter them.
From frozen summits to tropical seas, here’s eight award-winning photos that will make you itch to pack a bag, tighten your boots and step into the wild.
1. Skiing The North (Rogers Pass, British Columbia) — Category Winner
In this image, we see a lone skier arcs across a vast, untouched slope beneath the winter sun, high in Canada’s Selkirk Mountains. As seen in Skiing the North, Rogers Pass lies within Glacier National Park: an alpine corridor of nearly 521 square miles (1,350 km²) that’s famed for its deep powder, avalanche chutes and breathtaking isolation.
Glacier National Park, as a whole, is the perfect pilgrimage site for backcountry skiers and mountaineers alike. It demands both technical skill and humility before nature’s power.
2. Reflected Serenity (Honeymoon Island State Park, Florida)
In this image, we see the beach in the aftermath of a summer rainstorm: cleared, with a sunset vibrant enough to transform the sand into a golden mirror. “I captured my husband’s reflection in a shallow pool of light — a brief moment of calm that became Reflected Serenity,” explained the photographer behind the shot, Tiffany Glöckner.
Honeymoon Island State Park is a protected area that spans across 385 acres (156 hectares) of the Gulf of Mexico. At sunset, it mirrors the sky in rose and gold. As we can see from this image, an outdoor adventure can be as simple as standing still, but only if you do it long enough to notice the world breathing back at you.
3. Night With The Ancients (Baobab Alley, Madagascar)
Under a sprawl of southern stars, here we see the towering silhouettes of Madagascar’s legendary baobab trees (Adansonia grandidieri). These trees are so old that many of them predate recorded history. Their massive trunks — some of which are over 100 feet tall and 30 feet wide — glow beautifully against the night sky. Madagascar, in particular, is home to over six of all eight species of the baobab.
4. Cowboy Riding In The Snow (Shell, Wyoming)
Shot at sunrise in the wide basins of Wyoming, Cowboy Riding in the Snow is photographer David Swindler’s (who also shot the category winner) tribute to the rugged spirit of the West. Silhouetted against a horizon washed in gold, we see a horse and its rider crest a hill through windblown drifts.
The Bighorn Basin stretches across more than 10,000 square miles. It’s a landscape of wild openness, where adventure requires equal parts grit and grace. The scene we see here feels timeless. For travelers and photographers alike, scenes like these are what prove the Bighorn Basin to be bucket-list country.
5. Whitewater Boating (Mt. Robson Provincial Park, Canada)
In Whitewater Boating, we see Canada’s Fraser River at its absolute wildest. This is the longest river in British Columbia, at over 850 miles, where turquoise water turns white and aerated as it churns against ancient rocks. Here, in the shadow of Mount Robson — which towers at 12,972 feet, the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies — we see a team of brave rafters captured from above in perfect sync.
6. Spy Hopping Humpback Whale (Monterey Bay, California)
In Spy Hopping Humpback Whale, photographer Torie Hilley has captured a breathtaking moment of connection between species. A humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) rises vertically from the ocean’s surface, trying to catch a peek of the people aboard a boat. This quirk, known as “spy hopping,” is a common cetacean surfacing behavior.
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is a vast 6,094-square-mile haven that teems with marine life. The whale’s proximity to the whale-watching boat shows just how fragile the boundary is between us and the wild.
7. Underwater Artist (Ari Atoll, Maldives)
Deep beneath the Indian Ocean, we see a moment of creative determination. In Underwater Artist, a scuba diver kneels on the seabed of Ari Atoll, with a brush at hand, painting away on a canvas propped against the coral-strewn floor.
Ari Atoll, divided into North Ari (Alifu Alifu) and South Ari (Alifu Dhaalu) is nothing short of a natural marvel within the Maldives archipelago. Its warm, nutrient-rich waters support an astonishing array of marine life, from the whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) and reef manta rays (Mobula alfredi) to elusive scalloped hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna lewini). Painting underwater is no small feat, either. The diver must contend with buoyancy, water resistance and highly limited visibility.
8. Snorkeling With Penguins (Booth Island, Antarctica)
Beneath the frigid Antarctic waters, a group of gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua) shoot like live arrows through blue light of the ocean. Each bird slices through the current, leaving trails of silver bubbles in their wake. Above them, sunlight filters down in shimmering bands.
For von Ritter Zahony, this image is the realization of a lifelong fascination with the world beneath the surface. “Even as a child,” he recalls, “I discovered my passion for the world ‘under the surface.’” That curiosity evolved into a lifelong pursuit of underwater photography, “Man only protects what he sees and knows,” he says. Through his lens, we’re reminded of our shared duty to protect the natural world.
Thinking of adding adventures like these to your bucket list? Take this science-backed test to find out if you’re one with nature: Connectedness To Nature Scale