30 Winning Photos Of The 2021 Nature Photographer Of The Year Awards

Here are 30 winning photos of the 2021 nature photographer of the year awards.       

1. Winner, Fred Hazelhoff Portfolio Award: “Emotional Range” By Lea Lee Inoue
“Emotional Range: A Photographic Portfolio of a Round Tailed Ground Squirrel Family

Several years back, when moved out to the base of the Superstition Mountains in Arizona, I noticed a round-tailed ground squirrel family.

I decided to photograph them, hoping to show that these animals think, feel and have emotions too. Often people think that dogs and cats are the only animals that have feelings. Could it be that people think this because observation is easier with a pet?

My hope is that through photography I can show all animals think and feel emotion. With this understanding, love and respect is developed for the natural world. Conservation is the natural effect of this endearment. This is a paradigm shift in thought – that conservation can begin early, at a ground level – with each person awakening to the natural world. With this realization comes animal respect, conservation and welfare.”