Bored Panda reached out to Tracey Lund, the grand prize winner, and Martin, one of the people behind the scenes of the World Nature Photography Awards.

To learn more about the competition, we asked Martin to share more about the selection process of the winning images. He replied: “All entries are judged anonymously to ensure that each image is assessed on its merits alone. Each judge works independently to score every image as they see fit. They have no knowledge of the photographer’s name or nationality.”

In order to evaluate each picture, the judges use specific criteria to determine the winners. Martin shared more about it: “Each image is scored against three criteria – subject matter, originality, and narrative. We’re always keen to see images that surprise us a little, that offer something out of the ordinary when it comes to wildlife and nature photography. The highest scoring image in each category receives gold, with the top-scoring gold image going on to collect the grand prize.”

To learn what set Tracey Lund’s picture apart from all the other submissions, we asked Martin to elaborate on the significance of the grand prize winning photo.

“Tracey’s image was the one that scored the most points amongst our gold winners. We immediately feel the drama of that moment, as we’re transported right into the heart of the struggle between the two gannets for the precious catch. It succeeds in opening up a story in our minds as we begin to imagine what happens in the few seconds that follow this shot. What’s more, the image has a really impactful composition, with the gannet sweeping in from the left to try and snatch the fish from its rival,” explained Martin.

With the announcement of the call for entries for the 2025 competition, we were curious about the key themes or focuses that the World Nature Photography Awards team is looking for in submissions. Martin shared: “Our criteria remain the same. Images that offer up an unexpected or little-known subject matter are invariably the ones that attract our attention and make it through to the shortlist for judging.”

Regarding the ongoing global environmental challenges, we asked Martin how the World Nature Photography Awards aims to contribute to raising awareness and promoting conservation efforts through its platform and activities.

“We were founded with a strong purpose that is very much tied to the current climate crisis. Our belief is that photography can go a long way in influencing people to see the world from a different perspective and change their own habits for the good of the planet. Our winning images cannot fail to remind us of the importance of saving planet Earth for future generations. And on a practical level, we plant a tree for each entry into the competition,” wrote Martin.

Martin reminded viewers: “This year, for the first time, we’re incredibly excited to offer affordable wall art of our winning images for sale in our new online store. The store features prints and canvases of some of this year’s winners, as well as some winning images from previous years. We’ve also made the commitment to plant a tree for each piece of wall art sold.”

The grand prize winner Tracey Lund shared more about her photo and participation in the competition.

First of all, Tracey walked us through the moment that she captured the two gannets under the water and what inspired her to choose this particular subject and perspective.

“I was heading to the Shetland Islands to photograph all the wildlife it had to offer but had two species I wanted to concentrate on, which were otters and gannets. Underwater photography is something I've always wanted to do, but it's a whole new world when it comes to photography. I contacted the local guide there, Richard Shucksmith, an amazing guide and photographer. Richard organizes the RIB which takes you out to photograph the gannets off the shore. You head out to sea in the RIB and the gannets are flying all around. These birds dive at high speed into the water from great heights. It's an amazing spectacle to witness, let alone try and photograph. I've photographed diving gannets above the water many times over the years and it's not easy, the sky is full of birds, lots of action, and a case of choosing the right bird at the right time... it's chaos. This time around, I really wanted to try and photograph what goes on under the water. It's not often you get these opportunities.”

The photographer shared what equipment and techniques she used to achieve such a striking photograph.

“The image was taken with a Nikon D4, Sigma 15mm diagonal fish-eye lens, in a Nauticam underwater housing.

The camera was in a waterproof housing attached to a polecam system. For this experience, I was not in the water at the time of taking this image. I'm hanging over the side of the RIB and the camera is lowered into the water and the trigger is on the pole. As the gannets were diving around us, if I felt the gannets were diving in front of the lens, I took the images. At no point could I see what I was actually taking pictures of. At the end of the day, I headed back to the hotel to download my images. I had taken a total of 1800 images, the majority of them were pictures of heads, beaks, and bubbles but there were two images that stood out, this being one of them,” shared Tracey.

We asked Tracey to share if she believes that her background or personal experiences influenced her approach to nature photography and ultimately led to her success in this competition.

“I've photographed wildlife more seriously for the last 24 years. It has helped me with my mental health after dealing with a very toxic and damaging relationship. Since then I have concentrated on my photography and tried to show the passion I have for wildlife through my images. There is no better feeling than being out there with your camera and the wildlife accepting you into their world. I like to try and show their personalities and this is often by getting down to their level. I am now a trained judge and I have found that this also helps in my selection process when it comes to competitions. I feel that impact and storytelling plays a big part with images and competitions.”

With the increasing accessibility of digital photography and editing tools, we asked Tracey her opinion on how important it is for photographers to maintain the authenticity and integrity of their images, particularly in nature photography.

“My images have minimal editing (cropping, exposure, contrast clarity, etc.) and any good competition would stick to these rules. I feel wildlife images should be left to how they were taken in the camera and not be altered beyond reality with the use of editing tools. For me, this is classed more as digital art. AI is making competitions harder to judge, I've had first-hand experience of this where images have been entered but have been created by the use of AI. There are some competitions and associations that, in their category of wildlife, allow for manipulation to be carried out (changing of background, use of various layers, etc.), to me, this is not true wildlife, and yes, the images are stunning but not real and I feel a true wildlife image cannot compete against these images.”

As the grand prize winner, Tracey’s work will now be available for purchase as wall art. We asked how it feels to have her photography appreciated on such a wide scale.

“I have been selling my images for quite a while now, whether from being an exhibitor or on my website. It's always a great feeling when people want to purchase your images to have at home on their walls. I love receiving pictures of the finished result. Often the reasons they are bought are because they have made them smile when they saw the image, have brought up a memory, or simply love the species. For me, if it is making someone feel good, then what more could you want,” replied Tracey.