Billions of butterflies win GDT European Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2024

About the European Nature Photographer of the Year competition

(Image credit: GDT European Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2024)

The European Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition is organized by the German Association for Nature Photography (GDT) since 2001. The internationally renowned competition is one of the most prestigious competitions for modern nature photography, thanks to its highly qualified jury, strict selection criteria and the ban on digital manipulation.

The competition celebrates innovation, creativity and bold compositions, making it a trendsetter for modern nature photography, and an exhibition of the 104 prize-winning images is touring Germany and several other European countries.

This year’s winner of the prestigious European Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition is Jaime Rojo for his photo ‘In the Forest of the Monarchs’ of millions of monarch butterflies covering every available surface as they rest.

He took this spectacular shot in the Mexican butterfly sanctuary El Rosario during an assignment for National Geographic magazine. Millions of monarch butterflies emerge every fall (Danaus plexippus) travel thousands of miles from North America to winter in the branches of oyamel firs (Abies religiosa). The dense clustering of butterflies and the protection of the canopy provide a crucial microclimate for their survival. However, even small changes in the forest can disrupt this delicate balance.

Nearly 18,000 photos were submitted to the competition by nearly 1,000 photographers from 38 countries. An international, five-member jury selected 107 winning images in nine regular categories and two special categories. The eventual winner received €3,000 ($3,250 / £2,500 / AU$4,925) from a prize pool of over €33,500 ($36,250 / £27,900 / AU$55,000), with cash prizes awarded to all first and second place winners in each category.

This year’s judges, including National Geographic Senior photo editor Alexa Keefe, nature photographer and podcaster Matt Maran, marine photographer Rachael Talibart, GDT president Stephan Fürnrohr and conservation photojournalist Marcus Westberg had different backgrounds, approaches and sometimes very different answers to the supposedly simple question of what makes a great photo. Marcus Westberg put it this way: “We could call it a case of agreeable disagreement.” Ultimately, the jury agreed on Jaime Rojo’s image as the winner. His photo was praised for its rich detail and timeless beauty, with one jury member noting that the photo offers “a slow awakening to its majesty…a testament to the power of photography.”

After observing a pair of nesting black woodpeckers (Dryocopus martius) I decided to put on a camouflage skin at a suitable distance for a few days. I installed the shelter behind a pine tree so as not to disturb the birds and at the same time make my image more visually exciting by photographing through the branches. Once I found a good angle, all I had to do was wait for the adults to appear. Here you see the male approaching with food for the hungry offspring in the breeding cave.

In a deciduous woodland in North Kent, England, lives a young red fox (Vulpes vulpes) explores the area around his den. As part of a six-year project to document the grounds and wildlife of a castle nine miles from where I live, I installed a camera trap on a path at the edge of the forest. The hillside location allowed me to capture both the giant beech trees and the cautious animal against the dim sky.

In June 2023, I heard about an explosive spread of willow ermine moth caterpillars (Yponomeuta rorrellus) along the Waal River near Boven-Leeuwen, not far from my hometown, Arnhem, Netherlands. I drove to the site the same evening and couldn’t believe my eyes: a gigantic old willow tree and much of the surrounding vegetation wrapped in white silk. And millions of caterpillars crawling around everywhere. It is clear why the work of these caterpillars is often compared to that of the famous artist Christo who covered the Reichstag in Berlin and countless other buildings and trees with silk. After a few months, the membranes disappeared and the willows sprouted new leaves – the caterpillar invasion left no lasting damage.

During a visit to the Lossiny Ostrov National Park (Russia) I found several parasol mushrooms (Macrolepiota procera). The pronounced lamellae under the cap of one of the mushrooms immediately caught my attention. With the help of a flashlight I wanted to emphasize their elegant structures. I deliberately underexposed the image slightly to emphasize the beautiful curves of the slats. The result reminds me of the front curtain in a theater.

A common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) crawls across the seabed at night in search of prey. Thanks to a sophisticated combination of tactile skills and night vision, octopuses are among the most effective nocturnal hunters in the sea. Everything about how octopuses perceive the world is beyond our imagination. In addition to their unique eyes, octopus skin contains special light-sensitive proteins called opsins that allow the entire body to sense light. Given all this, it’s not surprising that these animals use more than two-thirds of their brains for visual processing. Although color blind, octopuses use polarized vision to enhance contrasts and detect enemies, conspecifics and even camouflaged prey. Last but not least, the position of the eyes on an octopus’ head and its horizontal pupils ensure that the animals have 360° vision without ‘blind spots’. Who can beat that?

The Montseny brook salamander is endemic to the Montseny Mountains in Spain.Calotriton Arnoldi) is probably the most endangered amphibian species in Europe. It is estimated that populations of this species could decline by 80% in less than one to twenty years due to severe droughts and water extraction in the few streams where the species still occurs. A major ex-situ breeding initiative, funded by an EU-funded LIFE programme, is the only hope for this amphibian’s survival. The Calafell Environmental Research and Education Center (CREAC) is part of this ambitious conservation programme. Andrea Jhulyana, the center’s biologist, diligently feeds the hundreds of salamanders kept at the center. The animals will eventually be released into their natural habitat.

On the day this photo was taken, my father picked me up after school and we drove to an agricultural area on the edge of the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park. We were able to take some nice pictures and on the way home in the car I saw a young stonechat sitting on a fence and repeatedly flying to the ground to hunt for small insects. Once he returned and sat on the fence next to a lock – as if he wanted to keep watch.