Travel

Outdoor Photographer of the Year Announces Winners (PHOTOS)

1/9
Wildlife Insight Winner: Alice van Kempen. Lower Sabie, Kruger National Park, South Africa. In Africa, poachers slaughter an elephant every 15 minutes to supply the demand for ivory – that’s 96 beautiful creatures a day. In 2016, as of the middle of September, there had been 36 elephants killed by poachers in the Kruger National Park alone – the highest number since 1982. With this in mind, I wanted to create a photograph to reflect the situation the elephants are in. I chose to capture the sad look of one of the elephants; a dark image that lets you focus on the tusks. (Alice Van Kempen / Outdoor Photographer of the Year)

1/9
Wildlife Insight Winner: Alice van Kempen. Lower Sabie, Kruger National Park, South Africa. In Africa, poachers slaughter an elephant every 15 minutes to supply the demand for ivory – that’s 96 beautiful creatures a day. In 2016, as of the middle of September, there had been 36 elephants killed by poachers in the Kruger National Park alone – the highest number since 1982. With this in mind, I wanted to create a photograph to reflect the situation the elephants are in. I chose to capture the sad look of one of the elephants; a dark image that lets you focus on the tusks. (Alice Van Kempen / Outdoor Photographer of the Year)

From a symmetrical moment in nature of two cheetahs to a stunning black and white photo of a frigid snowstorm, the winners of this year’s Outdoor Photographer of the Year photo competition beautifully captured the essence of the outdoors.

The competition aims to raise awareness and showcase the most compelling work in landscape, wildlife, nature, travel and adventure from around the globe.

The Outdoor Photographer of the Year competition works in partnership with Fjällräven, an outdoor gear and equipment known for their trendy Kanken backpacks. The overall winner of this year’s competition will have the chance to travel to the Scandinavian Arctic to photograph the Fjällräven Polar dogsled expedition. Category winners received prize money of around $250 and the brand’s iconic Kanken backpack.

This year’s competition received more than 17,000 submissions by both professional and amaetur photographers from over 50 countries. As a result of this year’s contest, Ammonite Press plans to publish Outdoor Photographer of the Year: Portfolio II, which includes 160 of the best submissions.

For more information on the judge’s thoughts of this year’s competition, watch the video below.