Landscape photographers, we have a real treat: Natural Landscape Photography Awards has announced its 2023 winners. This year’s overall winner is Canadian landscape and nature photographer Blake Randall. His icy landscapes are so magical that they’ll make you love winter, even if you’re a sworn summer person.

Now in its third year, the Natural Landscape Photography Awards was established to promote the best nature and landscape photography. This year, a whopping 11,176 images were submitted to the competition from 54 countries by 1,023 photographers.

The contest has three distinctive categories, including Grand Scenic, Intimate Landscapes, and Abstract & Details. A unique “Project” section was created for the competition, through which photographers could submit 6-10 images that relate to one another in some way. There are also several Special Awards based on sub-themes within the genre of landscape photography. These include Black and White, Aerial, Common Places, Water Worlds, Mountains, Environmental, and Nightscape.

Overall winner

This year’s Photographer of the Year is Blake Randall from Ontario. Upon receiving the grand prize, he commented:

“I am deeply honored to receive the Natural Landscape Photography Award’s Photographer of the Year award. Since its inception, the NLPA awards have set the gold standard for landscape photography – preserving the authentic experience of capturing our planet’s unaltered natural beauty in contrast to the growing popularity of AI and computer-generated imagery.

The competition has consistently showcased an exceptional lineup of talented photographers, many of whom I have looked up to and who have been a personal inspiration to me since I started my photography journey. The images presented in the competition reflect the kind of photography I aspire to achieve, making this award extra special and something I will be proud of for the rest of my life.

I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the judges and NLPA founders for selecting my work and creating an outstanding competition. Congratulations to all my fellow winners who join in celebrating the true artistry of photography!”

The emphasis on authenticity

The contest has seen work from digital and film photographers alike. And the emphasis here is on photographers, those who value realism and authenticity. Let me explain.

The organizers have set strict rules to prevent the submission of overly digitally manipulated photos and AI work. As we’ve seen, it’s become increasingly common in landscape photography. The results of this competition are a fantastic showcase of not only remarkable work but also the true beauty of the natural landscape. The contest notes that the judges checked every RAW file from images that made it to the final judging phase. So, hopefully, this contest won’t give us any unpleasant surprises.

The overall and category winners received $24,420 in prizes. This includes $13,500 in cash, FLM Tripods, Nature Photographer’s Network subscriptions, and over 100 copies of our perennial fine art coffee table book. You can get one of these for your library, too, and enjoy the exquisite work of the photographers who submitted their images to the competition.

And now, let’s take a look at the category winners and enjoy these remarkable landscapes together. Take a look at more images on the contest’s website, and find the 2021 winners here.

Project of the year – Tiago Mateus

Category winners