But here’s the twist: you don’t need to be a pro shooter with a backpack full of lenses to follow them. You just need to travel like a storyteller instead of a spectator. Let these award‑winning images be your blueprint, not your ceiling.
Below are five ways to turn the current Nature Photographer of the Year 2025 moment into real‑world adventures you can actually live—camera or no camera.
Follow the Shot, Not the Crowd
Scroll through this year’s winning gallery and you’ll notice something: the most powerful images aren’t from the usual “top 10 bucket list” spots. Sure, there are sweeping mountain ranges and epic African plains, but many winners are from overlooked corners—a misty wetland at sunrise, a forgotten forest track, a tidal flat that looks boring at noon and otherworldly at low tide.
Use that as your compass. Instead of typing “best places to visit in X,” search for “national parks near X,” “wetlands near X,” or “nature reserves around X.” The photographers behind this year’s winning shots didn’t chase hype—they chased conditions: fog, first light, storms rolling through. Pick a region you can realistically reach—maybe it’s not Patagonia, maybe it’s a state park two hours away—and plan your adventure around those conditions. Wake up uncomfortable‑early. Stay out in the drizzle. Be the person on the trail when everyone else has gone in for coffee. That’s when the wild opens up.
Travel at the Speed of Light (Literally)
Look closely at the NPOTY 2025 landscapes and you’ll see a pattern: golden light, long shadows, skies glowing like they’re on fire. The pros aren’t just lucky; they build their entire adventure around sunrise, sunset, and blue hour.
Steal that strategy for your next trip. Structure your days around two simple anchors:
- **Dawn missions**: Pick one location each day you’re willing to stumble out of bed for—a cliffside, a lakeshore, a rooftop, a dune. Prep your bag the night before so all you have to do is roll out, zip up, and go.
- **Dusk chases**: Instead of treating sunset as “dinner time,” treat it like your daily summit. Hike a small peak, paddle a bay, or just wander an old town’s highest streets as the light fades.
You don’t need award‑winning gear—your phone is fine. What matters is showing up when the light is wild. Capture it if you want. Or just stand there and let the sky rearrange you a little.
Let Wildlife Set Your Itinerary
Some of the most jaw‑dropping 2025 winners are wildlife portraits—an Arctic fox vanishing into snow, a bird slicing through a rainstorm, tiny insects glowing under unexpected light. Those photographers didn’t build trips around cities—they built them around species and seasons.
Try this for your next adventure: choose a creature, not a country.
Maybe you’ve been obsessed with:
- **Sea turtles**: Research nesting seasons in places like Costa Rica, Mexico, or Sri Lanka and time your trip to volunteer with a local conservation project.
- **Raptors or owls**: Find migration flyways or wintering grounds near you and plan a road trip to a wildlife refuge.
- **Whales or dolphins**: Look up responsible operators in regions where they’re genuinely common and protected—Norway, Iceland, New Zealand, Baja California.
Use tools like local park websites, birding forums, or nature NGOs instead of generic travel blogs. Build in patience: wildlife photographers may wait hours for a single shot. You can borrow their mindset by allowing “empty” time in your days—long, quiet stretches on a trail, a shoreline, a hide. That’s when the wild forgets you’re a visitor and goes back to being itself.
Turn Every Trail Into a Storyboard
A big theme in this year’s NPOTY winners: narrative. These photos don’t just show a place; they tell a moment—a storm rolling in, a predator stalking, fungi reclaiming a fallen tree. You can weave that same storytelling energy into your trips, even if you never post a thing.
On your next adventure, treat it like you’re shooting your own mini documentary:
- **Opening shot**: The first image of every day—your boots by the door, the view from your tent, the train leaving the station.
- **Conflict**: The steepest section of the trail, the moment you get lost, the surprise storm, the wrong bus. Document it—it’s part of the plot.
- **Turnaround moment**: When the view opens, the sun breaks through, or you finally reach that hidden cove.
- **Closing frame**: A quiet night shot—your headlamp beam, a campfire, city lights from above, condensation on a hostel window.
Use your phone’s albums or stories feature to group each day into a sequence. Sharing it later on social media becomes effortless—and more importantly, you travel more awake, hunting for moments instead of just places.
Pack Like a Photographer, Even If You’re Just There to Feel
Check the behind‑the‑scenes interviews from NPOTY winners and you’ll notice they all talk about the same things: staying dry, staying warm, and staying out longer. Their photos exist because they were physically comfortable enough to wait, wander, and adapt.
You don’t need a trunk of pro gear, but you can borrow their packing priorities:
- **Layered clothing** so you can handle pre‑dawn cold and midday heat on the same trail.
- **A small, weather‑resistant daypack** with room for water, snacks, a light shell, and a scarf or beanie.
- **Dry bags or zip pouches** to keep your phone, power bank, and any small camera safe from rain, sand, or spray.
- **Compact tripod or clamp** if you want stable night shots—or just to set up a self‑portrait and stop living behind the lens.
Most importantly, pack your permission to wander slowly. Photographers know that the magic often happens when they linger after everyone else leaves. Let yourself drift: take the longer path around the lake, follow the side trail to “viewpoint 2,” stay on the shore after sunset to watch the colors drain from the sky. Whether you snap a thousand frames or keep your phone in your pocket, you’re living the same spirit that created those award‑winning images.
Conclusion
Today’s Nature Photographer of the Year 2025 winners are more than viral eye candy—they’re proof that the world is still wild, strange, and unimaginably beautiful for anyone willing to step into it with curiosity and a bit of grit.
You don’t need their exact camera, budget, or passport stamps. You just need their approach: chase light, follow creatures instead of crowds, build your days around moments instead of checklists, and pack to stay out there a little longer than is comfortable.
Let this year’s winning shots be your spark. Pick one landscape, one animal, or one mood that stopped your scroll today—and plan an adventure that lets you stand in that feeling for real. The next unforgettable image won’t just live on your feed; it’ll live in your memory every time you lace up and step back into the wild.