25 Award-Winning Images From The 12th International Landscape Photographer Of The Year

Some photos win awards, sure, but the 12th International Landscape Photographer of the Year feels like a whole globe-sized showdown, with landscapes stealing the spotlight like they paid for it. From Max Terwindt’s Reykjanesbaer, Iceland to J. Fritz Rumpf’s sand dunes in Death Valley, these aren’t just pretty backdrops, they’re moments that look frozen mid-slap in the face.

What makes it messy, in the best way, is how many different categories are fighting for attention at once. You’ve got Lukas Trixl’s Mount Taranaki, Joyce Bealer popping up again with both “Plants Grow In The Peruvian Andes” and “Sunrise In Patagonia,” and Karol Nienartowicz double-teaming the list with both Salar De Gorbea in Chile and Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah in New Mexico. Meanwhile, the Stormy Sky Award goes to a supercell over New Mexico, the Lone Tree Award crowns Yemen’s Queen Socotran Bottle Tree, and the Seascape Award sends a spiral wave crashing off an iceberg in Greenland.

By the time the Black And White Award hits the Skeleton Coast and the Snow and Ice Award lands on Hokkaido’s Harunire Tree, you realize this isn’t one story, it’s a pileup of worlds colliding.

Top 101 Photographs Of The Year: Reykjanesbaer, Iceland, By Max Terwindt

International Landscape Photography Awards

Photograph Of The Year Winne: Mount Taranaki, New Plymouth, North Island, New Zealand, By Lukas Trixl

International Landscape Photography Awards

Photographer Of The Year Third Place: Plants Grow In The Peruvian Andes, By Joyce Bealer

International Landscape Photography Awards

Photograph Of The Year Second Place: Speulder Forest, Veluwe Area, The Netherlands, By Albert Dros

International Landscape Photography Awards

The Stormy Sky Award: A Supercell Storm Cloud Captured In New Mexico, USA, By Dennis Hualong

International Landscape Photography Awards

The Lone Tree Award: The 'Queen' Socotran Bottle Tree (Dendrosicyos Socotranus), Socotra, Yemen, By Benjamin Barakat

International Landscape Photography Awards

Top 101 Photographs Of The Year: A Series Of Dark Sculptures Rises From The Reddish Sands Of The Central Sahara Desert, Tassili N'ajjer National Park, Algeria, By Henrique Murta

International Landscape Photography Awards

Photographer Of The Year Third Place: Sunrise In Patagonia, Chile, By Joyce Bealer

International Landscape Photography Awards

Photographer Of The Year Overall Winner: Sand Dunes Bathed In Delicate Twilight, Death Valley National Park, California, USA, By J. Fritz Rumpf

International Landscape Photography Awards

Top 101 Photographs Of The Year: Stu Lagil Canyon, Iceland, By Marcin Zajac

International Landscape Photography Awards

Photographer Of The Year Third Place: Patagonia, Argentina, By Joyce Bealer

International Landscape Photography Awards

Photographer Of The Year Third Place: Patagonia, Argentina, By Joyce Beale

International Landscape Photography Awards

This is similar to the AITA about not tipping after a sandwich shop owner commented when prices increased.

Photographer Of The Year Second Place: Salar De Gorbea, Atacama, Andes, Chile, By Karol Nienartowicz

International Landscape Photography Awards

Photographer Of The Year Second Place: Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah, New Mexico, USA, By Karol Nienartowicz

International Landscape Photography Awards

The Snow & Ice Award: The Harunire Tree (Nakagawa District, Hokkaido, Japan), By Kung-Fu

International Landscape Photography Awards

The Seascape Award: A Spiral Wave Crashes Off The Tip Of An Iceberg, Disko Bay, Greenland, By Jeroen Van Nieuwenhove

International Landscape Photography Awards

Black And White Award: Sand Dunes On The Skeleton Coast, Namibia, By Torston Pull

International Landscape Photography Awards

Top 101 Photographs Of The Year: Hanksville, Utah, USA, By Daniel Viñé Garcia

International Landscape Photography Awards

Top 101 Photographs Of The Year: Isle Of Harris, Scotland, United Kingdom, By Geraint Evans

International Landscape Photography Awards

Photographer Of The Year Second Place: Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah, New Mexico, USA, By Karol Nienartowicz

International Landscape Photography Awards

Photographer Of The Year Second Place:

International Landscape Photography Awards

Photographer Of The Year Overall Winner: A Riverbed Snaking Between White Sand Dunes, Lençóis Maranhenses, Brazil, By J. Fritz Rumpf

International Landscape Photography Awards

Photograph Of The Year Third Place: White Pocket, Northern Arizona, USA, By Dave Drost

International Landscape Photography Awards

Photographer Of The Year Overall Winner: Snowy Landscape In The Fjords Of Norway, By J. fritz Rumpf

International Landscape Photography Awards

Photographer Of The Year Overall Winner: A Storm Over A Field In Lençóis Maranhenses, Brazil, By J. Fritz Rumpf

International Landscape Photography Awards

When Max Terwindt’s Reykjanesbaer sets the icy tone, it’s hard not to wonder how anyone could top New Plymouth’s Mount Taranaki next.

Then Joyce Bealer shows up again, and suddenly “third place” feels like a recurring character, not a finish line.

Just as the calm starts to sneak in, Dennis Hualong’s supercell over New Mexico and Jeroen Van Nieuwenhove’s spiral wave off Greenland slam the mood back into action.

And once Torston Pull’s Skeleton Coast dunes and Kung-Fu’s Harunire Tree in Hokkaido hit the screen, the whole lineup starts to feel like one long, brutal, beautiful argument.</p>

What makes this year’s competition memorable is how different each winning image feels. Some scenes look calm and dream-like, others dramatic and powerful, yet all of them leave a strong impression.

These photographers didn’t just record landscapes; they revealed personality, mood, and story. Their work will continue to be shared, discussed, and admired long after the awards have ended.

In this contest, the landscapes don’t just compete, they refuse to share the frame.

Next, see whether the poster was wrong after taking back a $35 tip from a $105 mani-pedi.