Even the most adamant homebodies can appreciate the might and beauty of the great outdoors through these photos. The 2018 Outdoor Photographer of the Year Awards were especially created to commemorate the most stunning images captured in nature in the past year, be it a breathtaking photo of the eternally-frozen arctic landscape or a portrait of a family of cheetahs on a rare rainy day in the African savannah.
This year’s overall winner was British photographer Robert Birkby for his depiction of a herd of enduring sheep huddling for warmth during a blizzard in the South Pennines region of England. His image was chosen as the best from a total of 20,000 candidates across 9 categories.
The head judge of the competition, Steve Watkins described this year’s winner in the following words, 'Robert's image captures just about every aspect of what is required to be a top-level outdoor photographer; from the willingness to go the extra mile to be out there shooting in extreme conditions to the calmness and clear thinking then necessary to pull together a technically brilliant and creatively compelling composition’.
Here we have collected the winning images in each of the 9 categories of the competition, as well as the runners-up, all for your viewing pleasure.
The Winning Image, As Well As the Winner In the Light on the Land Category
Author: Robert Birkby (UK)
OPOTY 2018 Overall Winner and Light on the Land Winner Robert Birkby
Light on the Land Runner-Up
Author: Daniel Laan (Netherlands)
OPOTY 2018 Light on the Land Runner-up Daniel Laan
At the Water's Edge Winner
Author: Roberto Marchegiani (Italy)
OPOTY 2018 At the Water's Edge Winner Roberto Marchegiani
At the Water's Edge Runner-Up
Author: Alex Wrigley (UK)
OPOTY 2018 At the Water's Edge Runner-Up Alex Wrigley
Young Outdoor Photographer of the Year Winner
Author: Riccardo Marchegiani (Italy)
OPOTY 2018 Young Outdoor Photographer of the Year Winner Riccardo Marchegiani
Young Outdoor Photographer of the Year Runner-Up
Author: Anya Burnell (UK)
OPOTY 2018 Young OPOTY Runner-Up Anya Burnell
Small World Winner
Author: Stefan Gerrits (Finland and Netherlands)
OPOTY 2018 Small World Winner Stefan Gerrits
Small World Runner-Up
Author: Jay Birmingham (UK)
OPOTY 2018 Small World Runner-Up Jay Birmingham
Under Exposed Winner
Author: Greg Lecoeur (France)
OPOTY 2018 Under Exposed Winner Greg Lecoeur
Under Exposed Runner-Up
Author: Pier Mane (Italy and South Africa)
OPOTY 2018 Under Exposed Runner-Up Pier Mane
Wildlife Insight Winner
Author: Salvador Colvée Nebot (Spain)
OPOTY 2018 Wildlife Insight Winner Salvador Colvée Nebot
Wildlife Insight Runner-Up
Author: Jose Fragozo (Portugal)
OPOTY 2018 Wildlife Insight Runner-Up Jose Fragozo
Live the Adventure Winner
Author: Greg Lecoeur (France)
OPOTY 2018 Live the Adventure Winner Greg Lecoeur
Live the Adventure Runner-Up
Author: Alex Palmer (UK)
OPOTY 2018 Live the Adventure Runner-Up Alex Palmer
Spirit of Travel Winner
Author: Matt Parry (UK)
OPOTY 2018 Spirit of Travel Winner Matt Parry
Spirit of Travel Runner-Up
Author: Peter Racz (Hungary)
OPOTY 2018 Spirit of Travel Runner-Up Peter Racz
View from Above Runner-Up
Author: Roie Galitz
OPOTY 2018 View from Above Runner-Up Roie Galitz
View from Above Winner
Author: Tom Putt (Australia)
OPOTY 2018 View from Above Winner Tom Putt
