1ST PRIZE: JUDITH MIJDERWIJK

I have seen so many photographs of glaciers that I never thought I would choose this theme for the winning shot. Yet, this image holds all the ingredients of a great ice photo: a beautiful composition, notably due to the ceiling that frames it, elements of surprise with the pillar and the light at the end of the tunnel, and a rich palette of blues and translucencies. The right light, at the right time, in the right place. – MYRTILLE DELAMARCHE

Planet Earth is restless; it never stands still. It’s a masterpiece and a work in progress at all times, and this photograph proves it. The deep, rich shades of blue highlight the continuous transformation, capturing the passing of time. The glacier is a gem, and the photograph presents it as it should be presented, on a grandiose display for an incredible piece of jewelry. Excellent use of light, excellent use of space, admirable framing given the conditions. – LIFE FRAMER

Photographer statement – Deep Inside the Glacier, Switzerland. In the depths of the ice cathedral stands a second glistening column, formed by slowly dripping meltwater, frozen into a crystalline sculpture. It supports the icy vault above, a temporary pillar in a world in motion. The ceiling gleams with veined blue ice. Beneath the column, still meltwater flows, smooth as glass. From a distance, cold light enters through the opening, as if from another world.

2ND PRIZE: FRANCES BRUCHEZ

I chose this photo for the perfect balance it strikes between the realism of the flamingos in flight and their shadows on Lake Logipi, and the surreal graphic pattern of the lake itself, created by the algal blooms and the mineral colorations of the water. – MYRTILLE DELAMARCHE

What a spectacular show this planet puts on! Not only did it design gracious birds, but it also decided they should live and fly together, forming astonishing aerial formations. Earth also provided colorful resources for all its inhabitants and the chemistry and mechanics we needed to invent photography. This aerial shot encapsulates the beauty of our home most simply and delicately, filling our hearts with pure joy. – LIFE FRAMER

Photographer statement – Flamingos leaving trails inter in mineral rich and algae lake Logipi, Kenya.

COLIN WATTS

Capturing the movement of our dear planet, the photograph exhibits a good understanding of composition and lighting. The space is well distributed between elements, creating harmony, rhythm, and connection. The eye goes freely from one element to another, from light to shadow, from stillness to motion. Every rotation of our planet is a fairytale. – LIFE FRAMER

Photographer statement – A long exposure taken in the volcanic mountains of the island of Madeira.

VITALY GOLOVATYUK

The photograph is magical! It’s impossible to look away because every time the eye moves, it discovers something new. Reflections overlap, a silhouette steals the stage, powerful colors infuse the frame with energy. With such rich scenery at hand, choosing a minimalist composition was a wise choice to create balance and harmony. The high shooting angle is also a very good choice because it adds a sense of depth otherwise impossible to achieve. – LIFE FRAMER

Photographer statement – Little birdie in the sky / birdie on lake with still reflection of the sky, surrounded by red grass.

STEVEN JOYCE

An image that makes one’s heart stop, the photograph takes us deep into the wonders of our planet. Crevasses, a world of ice not fully discovered or understood yet, is a rare subject matter. And to be able to capture not only the still transformation of ice, its silent movement, but also its scale so precisely is a huge achievement for one frame. The composition is appealing and intriguing, the scenery providing the right amount of contrast and the necessary leading lines to make a strong focal point. – LIFE FRAMER

FLORIAN KRIECHBAUMER

The photograph encapsulates the entire human evolution in a single frame. It’s astonishing to see the speck that humanity represents in the history of our planet. It’s also impressive how much we were able to change the environment in such a short time, destroying or pushing to the brink of extinction so many other species and damaging the face of Earth. Featuring beautiful light and an aesthetically pleasing composition, the photograph slowly reveals its layers of significance. – LIFE FRAMER

Photographer statement – The Gazelle and the Giant, Dubai. The contrast and conflict of human development and natural beauty is evident in this photograph, requiring many visits to the location to finally find and document the conditions visualized here, as a group of gazelle graze peacefully in the soft rolling warm dunes, while the busy and loud cityscape with its sharp shapes and cold colors rise in the background.

IAN ENGLISH

By taking away color, the photographer concentrates on geometry and texture and produces an artful representation of our natural environment. The smooth lines provide guidance and solace, creating both a visually appealing and a calming experience. One can almost feel the wind that has swept the tree away so much that it bent. Excellent choice of shooting angle and use of space, which combined offer a being-there kind of feeling. – LIFE FRAMER

Photographer statement – Windswept Banksia tree in NW Tasmania, Australia.

LUCA PEDERNESCHI

The winding path towards the majestic peak amongst stars and fog is a memorable view no observer will soon forget. The soft shades of pink and purple, the mix of sharpness and blur, and the exquisite lateral light that puts everything in perspective are just a few features that make this an exceptional photograph. It’s clear that the photographer put a lot of intention, thought, and love into making this picture, treating nature photography as portraiture. – LIFE FRAMER

Photographer statement – Starneedle. These monolithic giants rise like silent sentinels beneath a dense blanket of stars. As low, drifting clouds wrap around the jagged stone, the boundary between earth and sky dissolves into a shroud of mystery. This fleeting fragment captures the raw, timeless majesty of our planet, frozen just moments before the mist completely consumed the landscape.

ALI GREPLOVA

Nature is surprisingly surreal sometimes, but its performance is visible only to those patient and loving enough to notice it. The photograph captures the decisive moment of a landscape, the short period when everything aligns in such a way that it completely transforms itself. What a privilege to be allowed to take part and experience this transient moment. The color palette with that deep, burned shade of orange is something we all will be carrying with us from now on. – LIFE FRAMER

Photographer statement – Namibia. The dunes of Sossusvlei. Morning light hits the ridge of the dune, carving sharp shadows into its folds. At its base, a single tree holds the whole scene together. This moment lasts only a few minutes before the sun climbs higher and the shadows disappear.

MONICA ROCK

Our planet provides outstanding, fleeting moments like this one relentlessly. But it takes a sensitive photographer to notice the beauty in the ordinary and find the most flattering way to share it with the rest of us. This composition impresses through the masterful use of leading lines, which create a bright vantage point and invite reverie. The photograph is not the chase for the perfect shot but a mindful breath out that reminds us we are exactly where we need to be. – LIFE FRAMER

JONAH LANGE

What’s most impressive about this shot, alongside impeccable technical skills, is the way the narrative develops from the top to the bottom of the frame. Down on Earth, hell is being unleashed: the storm threatening to destroy everything within reach. But above the stormy cloud, there is peace and tranquility, stars shining undisturbed. Paradoxically, both sides of the story are beautiful. – LIFE FRAMER

Photographer statement – Under the Stars. This incredible low-precipitation supercell did nothing but put on an incredible show in far southeastern Colorado. As day turned to night, the storm began to weaken, but not before revealing an amazing updraft with a view of the stars above. The lightning bolt was the icing on the cake!

BETTINA BRUNSWIG

Reminding us of the impact we have on our planet, the photographer fills the frame with bleak human-made structures. They are made using the resources the planet generously provided for us, but are we returning the kindness? The regularity of the patterns and the intense contrast create a powerful image, almost hurtful, and help convey the dark message. – LIFE FRAMER

THOMAS LAFUENTE

Proving that photography truly is painting with light, this extremely long exposure shows just how wonderful our planet is. In the absence of light and its ever-lasting movements, this picture and our existence, really, wouldn’t be possible. But not only the technical process should be appreciated. The narrative goes further by placing a cathedral in the distance, a symbol of human civilization and faith, a symbol of gratitude for our lives. A complex image with a rich message. – LIFE FRAMER

Photographer statement – Would you see this image as a photograph, or would you imagine it as a painting? Abstract, semi-abstract… I would probably have chosen the latter. Yet it is not. At least not in a conventional way. Not painted by a human hand, but by the sun, the water and the air. A three month long uninterrupted analogue exposure. Captures inside of a beer-can pinhole camera. No electricity used. Simple physics and chemistry. A projection of reality, imprinted on a layer of emulsion. The invisible, energy and time, captured inside a o.5L. aluminium can. Cheers, to the beauty of light and to the beauty of life. This is a photograph of the Lofoten Cathedral above the polar circle in Northern Norway. Captured during three months from Spring Equinox 2025 to Summer Solstice 2025.

IRENE BECKER

The photographer found the best shooting angle and perspective to show the impact of agriculture on the environment. Depleted, hurt, reduced to geometrical, unnatural shapes, the Earth is transforming to feed us and support our lifestyle. The narrative is enhanced by the low-contrast color palette and by filling the frame with human-made patterns. Even though people themselves are small, their impact isn’t negligible at all. – LIFE FRAMER

Photographer statement – Land in Transition. Across Northern Nigeria, land and life exist in constant negotiation. This ongoing documentary series follows that relationship as it unfolds–rivers bending through cultivated fields, ancient trees standing watch over eroding earth, and seasonal dust storms sweeping across it all in an uneasy equilibrium. Rather than a catalogue of separate scenes, the work traces a single, interconnected system in constant flux, revealing how people adapt to a landscape that refuses to stay still.

This image: Fields of Water – Irrigated plots form a geometric landscape where cultivation depends on careful management of seasonal water.

CLAUDIU FALUB

So colorful, so vast, so beautiful, our planet provides endless moments of awe. The composition and framing of the leading lines flatter the subject matter, which isn’t the caravan but the entire scenery. The caravan, like the curves of a dune, is just a detail, a speck on the grand canvas of the desert. The image puts humanity’s role in perspective: we are passengers on Earth’s journey. – LIFE FRAMER

Photographer statement – Across the Dunes – A caravan makes its way through the vast dunes of the Sahara.

JONATHAN RENOUF

Planet Earth is a sum of interconnected elements, and this photograph manages to capture them all. The space is harmoniously divided into sky, ocean, and land, into natural and human-made, into light and darkness. The color palette offers magical shades of violet and purple, creating a surreal landscape. It looks like a fairytale scenery. How lucky are we to inhabit it? – LIFE FRAMER

Photographer statement – A single lightning strike over Jersey’s west coast lights up the sea and the sky, whilst above the thunderclouds the stars twinkle serenely. Planet Earth’s ocean, land, atmosphere and our relationship to the universe all caught in one transient moment.

NICOLAS CASTERMANS

What a beautiful composition with golden sunlight and vivid colors! There is a sense of depth that goes beyond the horizon, an invisible thread that links past and present as if the scenery were taken from mythical times. The photograph is picturesque and intriguing, revealing a way of life and a connection to nature most of us are estranged from. Placing the curve of the hill on the frame’s diagonal merges the layers and brings everything together. Well done! – LIFE FRAMER

Photographer statement – Before Us. Some places still feel untouched, not because no one lives there, but because people have learned to belong to the landscape rather than transform it. In Colombia’s Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, the Kogi still live in close relationship with the forests and mountains that sustain them.

MARKUS VAN HAUTEN

Focusing on one element and filling the frame with patterns and textures is a bold choice. The shapes and colors are incredible; the way the entire image flows from one edge to another is mesmerizing. The photograph is abstract and artful, appealing and intriguing, dynamic and profound. We can’t even begin to imagine that Earth is capable of creating such beauty and grace. – LIFE FRAMER

Photographer statement – Colors of Iceland: One of the countless rivers of Iceland.

JUTTA JACOBI

A perfect reflection, symmetric and absorbing, the photograph plays with our perception of reality. Nevertheless, it is quintessentially natural, and we consider it normal that water can be both fluid and solid, transparent, white, blue, or reflective. Amazing how a single element can take so many forms. The framing is simple, but the composition is not, highlighting the photographer’s artistic voice and intentional choices. – LIFE FRAMER

Photographer statement – Svalbard, Norway.

JACKI MANTHE

Seeing this picture, one completely understands the thrill storm chasers experience. The storm attracts like a magnet; it’s impossible to look away. The image highlights our obsession with photographing natural phenomena, ignoring risks and travelling to the end of the world just for a swift chance to glance at them. Regardless of how much we know about our planet, we will always yearn to know more. – LIFE FRAMER

Photographer statement – I’ve been drawn to storms since childhood, but chasing was something I thought was only in the movies. Until 2012, when I found myself facing divorce and discovered a storm chasing tour company. It was at the same time I decided to set my photography aside in an effort to save my marriage.

13 years later – no husband, no photography business, no purpose – I decided enough was enough. If I didn’t get doing the things I wanted to do, I’d die without having ever experienced them. I booked my storm chasing tour on a whim, fully assuming it would be a once in a lifetime thing. But immediately after returning home, I realized it was something my soul needed.

Because my camera had mostly sat on a shelf collecting dust all those years, I didn’t bother bringing it with me. Not to mention, I had been a portrait photographer before, so what was the point? My phone camera was good enough to capture memories.

The trip inspired me not only to begin educating myself on meteorology and forecasting but also reminded me how I felt being behind the camera – even if just my phone. When I got home, I pulled my camera out and began shooting again – this time nature, skies, and landscapes.

One year later I am employed as a driver for the same tour company I was a guest of, I know a bit more about storm chasing, and my photography has completely transformed from when I first started 16 years ago.

Over the next year I have a long list of things I intend to learn regarding the technical parts of my camera and how to use it to its full capacity, proper editing techniques, and a plethora of things to further my storm chasing knowledge.

I don’t know where any of this will realistically take me at 41 years old. The dream is to become a traveling photographer, maybe working for National Geographic or something of the sort. I know the odds of accomplishing that are slim to none, but the ability to marry two things that set my soul on fire and inspire me to grow has given me a long missing sense of purpose. For me – this is the stuff being alive is for.