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BigPicture: Natural World Photography
Please note: In response to the latest coronavirus (COVID-19) guidelines from local and state public health authorities, the Academy is temporarily closed to the public. We look forward to welcoming you back when it's safe to do so.
The Academy’s seventh-annual BigPicture exhibit showcases the 49 winning images from our highly-acclaimed nature, wildlife, and conservation photography competition.
Winnowed down from a pool of over 6,400 submissions from 65 countries, the photographs on exhibit share a visually immersive story of our planet—from the incredible hardiness of a mountain hare to a fungi fairytale in a Greek forest—and are accompanied by thought-provoking context and illuminating insights from Academy scientists.

Now accepting submissions!
Calling all shutterbugs: The submissions period for this year's BigPicture competition is now open! Enter your best nature, wildlife, and conservation photographs online by March 1, 2021, for a chance to win cash prizes and international exposure.

View the winning images
Take a sneak peek of 2020’s winning images, explore an interactive map of where they were taken, learn more about the photographers behind the cameras, and sign up for BigPicture news to get the scoop on next year’s competition.

Meet the judges
Chaired by award-winning wildlife photographer Suzi Eszterhas, BigPicture's esteemed panel of six judges includes luminaries like Roie Galitz, Tony Wu, and Sophie Stafford.

Dive a little deeper
Learn more about the facts and stories behind the photos in bioGraphic, the Academy’s online magazine about science and sustainability.

Get the book
Experience the exhibit at home: Wonders, a photography book of more than 100 remarkable images from past BigPicture competitions, is on sale at the Academy Store and other fine booksellers.
Image credits
Slideshow:
First: "Hare Ball" by Andy Parkinson
Second: "Sundew" by Edwin Giesbers
Third: "Amplexus" by Mathieu Foulquié
Fourth: “Guardian Warriors” by Ami Vitale
Fifth: "Rain’s Visitors at Dusk" by Agorastos Papatsanis
Thumbnails:
"Camouflage Between Ferns" by Ruben Perez Novo
“Snowbreak” by Juan Jesús González Ahumada
“Frozen Mobile Home” by Greg Lecoeu
