Wildlife Photography at its Finest: Stunning Images from the 2024 World Nature Photography Awards

The Editor’s Note of the CNN Call to Earth series discusses the partnership between Rolex’s Perpetual Planet initiative and CNN to raise awareness and educate people about sustainability issues. The goal is to inspire positive action to address environmental challenges facing our planet.

Recently, a photo of two gannets fighting for a fish in Scotland’s Shetland Islands won first prize at the World Nature Photography Awards. The image captured by Tracey Lund from the United Kingdom was chosen from thousands of submissions, earning her a $1,000 prize. The photo was taken from a boat using a DSLR camera in waterproof housing while on holiday.

Thousands of gannets diving into the sea to catch fish made for a remarkable sight, according to Lund. She took 1,800 photos that day, but only two were usable. Other categories in the awards included animal portraits, plants, fungi, invertebrates, amphibians, reptiles, and mammal behavior.

Ivan Pedretti from Italy won the Planet Earth’s landscapes and environments category with a stunning photo of winter in Stokksnes, Iceland. The image captured the contrast in colors between the white mountains and black dunes with yellow grass, creating a magical scene.

The World Nature Photography Awards were launched in 2020 to promote photography and support environmental causes by planting a tree for each entry. The organization believes that photography can influence people to see the world differently and change their habits for the planet’s good. Co-founder Adrian Dinsdale expressed joy at the high caliber of entries in the awards, stating that the winners never fail to amaze with their stunning images.