Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2023

Overview

Since 1965, nature's many astonishing sights have been immortalised annually by the Natural History Museum, London. If a photographer took a stunning shot of the animal kingdom, odds are that it made its way to the institution's prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, which it developed and produced, and has been using to celebrate those exceptional snaps of the world around us for a huge 58 years.

It's a hotly contested field, with the latest round attracting 38,575 entries from 93 countries. From that hefty number, more than 100 have been highlighted for their stunning looks at plant and animal species alike — and they're on display right here in Sydney. Each year, the Australian National Maritime Museum joins in the fun by hosting the local leg of this spectacular exhibition, which runs from Saturday, April 1–Tuesday, October 31 in 2023.

The magical morels by Agorastos Papatsanis, Greece.

That vast amount of entries not only demonstrates how much we all love creatures great, small, cute, majestic and everything in-between, but also how deeply we adore both taking and looking at snaps of them as well. While checking out the eye-popping results, expect to say "awwwww" more than once.

Entry is free for museum members and $25 for adults, with this year's showcase featuring everything from polar bears and bees to snow leopards and flamingos — plus forest greenery, sea stars and the sights beneath Antarctica's ice.

Images: Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London.

Top image: House of bears by Dmitry Kokh, Russia.