A landscape photography competition that prioritizes the “integrity of the subject” and eschews deceptive digital editing techniques and artificial intelligence has announced its winners.
The Natural Landscape Photography Awards is in its fourth year and it was set up by four landscape photographers — Tim Parkin, Matt Payne, Alex Nail, and Rajesh Jyothiswaran — to “promote the best landscape and nature photography by digital and film photographers who value realism and authenticity in their work.”
The competition established its rules which are designed to stamp out images that are misrepresentative of reality. For example, compositing different images together; removing elements from a photo; distorting objects in the photo; multiple exposures, are all banned from the competition. The organizers check the RAW files of the finalist for compliance.
Andrew Mielzynski. Winner of Photographer of the Year. “During the pandemic, I went out for a walk with my camera in a local park in Toronto, Canada during a fierce winter storm. I ran across this scene which seemed very chaotic with many interwoven trees. I loved how the snow, driven by the high winds, got embedded in the bark of the tree trunks. I took a few frames, trying to simplify the scene in front of me and settled on this one, loving the tones, the depth and the minimalism.”
Andrew Mielzynski. Winner of Photographer of the Year. “Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, Canada, is well known for its natural beauty. Light dances on the water surface of a small stream, covering brightly colored stones. The vibrant stones, the light, and the lovely flow of the stream all combine to make this image unique.”
Runner-up Photographer of the Year. | Tobias Richter
Third place in Photographer of the Year. | Sho Hoshino
Fourth place in Photographer of the Year. | David Kingham
Winner of Project of the Year. | David Southern
Runner up in Project of the Year. | Thomas Spinner
Winner of Photograph of the Year. | John Hardiman
Runner-up in the Grand Scenic category. | Ciaran Willmore
Highly commended in the Grand Scenic category. | Niall McLaughlin
Winner of the Intimate Landscape category. | Brent Clark
Third place in the Intimate Landscape category. | Peter Meyer
Aerial winner. | William Patino
Third place in the black and white category. | Joy Kachina
Third place in the Nightscape category. | Takeshi Kameyama
Third place in the Abstract or Details category. | Thomas Spinner