This competition is exclusive to members of the German Society for Nature Photography (GDT) and the stunning images of the natural world that they have captured, which are grouped into categories.
A total of 6,400 photographs were taken in 11 different countries, and these are the results of the competition.

This beautiful picture of a male kestrel perched on cherry blossom won the “Birds” category and was declared the overall winner of the competition.

Overall Winner: Thomas Hempelmann

"Outstanding pictures often come unexpected like this one of a male kestrel that could hardly have chosen a more beautiful perch. I was cycling home from a rather unsuccessful photo outing when I spotted a bird of prey perching on a lamp post. I stopped and got my camera out to take a few quick pictures. I was happy enough to have found a photo subject after all, although the pictures were nothing to get excited about. But when the kestrel rose up and then settled between the white blossoms that I had already spotted from the corner of my eye, my heart began to beat faster as I had imagined such a situation many times before. While I was still pondering whether to take off my 2x extender to include more of the tree in the picture, he was already gone again. In the end it was only a few seconds that made my day and I whistled loudly with joy all the way home."

Thomas Hempelmann is 23 years old and studies landscape ecology and conservation in Greifswald in the north of Germany. He has been fascinated by birds since his childhood and he tries to capture the beauty of nature in the most artistic way possible. His pictures of local wildlife help to show that all areas around us have a lot to offer.

www.thomashempelmann.de

Winners of Other Categories

This brilliant capture of a hippo in the Masai Mara National Park won the “Mammals” category.

This unusual picture of stag beetles was the winner of the “Other Animals” category.

This atmospheric picture of ferns and foxgloves won the “Plants and Fungi” category.

This stunning picture of a winter’s sunrise won the “Landscapes” category.

This amazing capture of a wave lit up by the rising sun won the “Nature’s Studio” category.

You can view the full shortlist of pictures for each category on the GDT website here
Just click on a picture to view it at a larger size. There are some beautiful ones there.

All are welcome!!
And please feel free to share all discussions you enjoy.