Thank you to all the participants of this year’s Summer Photo Contest! We received over 160 incredible submissions from supporters who shared photographs that inspire them to protect our planet and all its inhabitants. The entries beautifully capture moments from across the U.S. and beyond, featuring epic scenes from national parks to the intimate beauty of supporters’ own backyards.

We hope these inspiring photos encourage others to appreciate and care for our shared environments, reminding us all of the vital connection we have with nature and the responsibility we share to protect it for future generations. 

Explore all of the stunning submissions below!

1st Place

Allan Woolway, Sarasota, FL
Population Connection supporter since 2026

A pair of cardinals interacting with each other mid-air.

“I’ve photographed cardinals for years, always chasing the bright male first. His unmistakable red draws the eye instantly. The olive-gray female always felt like the supporting cast, but this image changed everything for me. Looking closer, her color caught me off guard. With wings fanned mid-flight, a rosy-orange wash across her feathers did something beautiful: it bridged the two birds’ colors. Her muted tones aren’t a lesser version of his fire. Instead, they act as a quiet translator, balancing his vibrant energy with her own understated elegance.”

1st Place

Paul Wilson, Portland, OR
Population Connection member since 1998

The lone Wānaka Tree in Lake Wānaka, New Zealand

“The Wānaka Tree, situated in  the foothills of Mount Aspiring National Park (part of the World Heritage property Te Wahipounamu – South West New Zealand), evokes the fragility of life. At low water levels it’s accessible on foot, and since it became a tourist attraction in the last dozen years, it has been climbed on and had limbs sawed off. Its long-term viability depends on visitors’ ability to resist their careless and destructive impulses. On a much larger scale, the survival of unspoiled habitat and the arrest of climate change depend on the human population’s ability to resist the urge to grow and consume unceasingly.”

1st Place

Jeanie Cole, Fairbanks, AK
Population Connection member since 2015, ZPG Society

Two locals guide tourists along the Okavango Delta in Botswana in a dugout canoe called a mokoro

“Humans have relied on the resources of the Okavango Delta for millennia. Regional Indigenous people supplement their subsistence lifestyle by offering mokoro tours. A mokoro is a dugout canoe typically carved from an African sausage tree and propelled by a pole. Since the 1990s, many mokoros have been constructed from fiberglass to protect the larger sausage trees from being cut down.

With increasing demands on resources and formalized land use policies due to expanding human populations, Indigenous peoples face many challenges to preserving their traditional lifestyle and culture.”

1st Place

Tanya Krejberg, Ontario, CA
Population Connection supporter since 2025

A leopard chilling in a tree at Tarangire National Park in Tanzania

“Nature has given me some of my most meaningful experiences, from photographing wildlife to exploring wild places. Seeing those environments firsthand reminds me that ourchoices have lasting impacts. Managing our footprint responsibly is essential to protecting biodiversity and preserving the beauty and resilience of the natural world for future generations.

Capturing this leopard resting high in a tree in Tanzania was a reminder of how extraordinary and fragile these moments are, and why nature is worth protecting.”

1st Place

Steve Harris, Mountain View, CA
Population Connection member since 2019

Late afternoon sun streams through Keyhole Arch at Pfeiffer Beach in California.

“In my youth, I was strongly influenced by the first Earth Day and by the books Silent Spring by Rachel Carson and The Population Bomb by Paul Ehrlich. An avid environmentalist ever since, I believe threats to our environment — habitat loss, climate change, and more — are inexorably linked to humanity’s overconsumption of resources. The human population must reach a steady state if we have any hope of living sustainably on our planet.

Through photography, I aim to capture intimate landscapes and highlight what we stand to lose if we can’t live in harmony with nature. It is a daunting task, but not hopeless. In my photo, “Ray of Hope,” I wish for the viewer to see a beacon leading to a brighter future for the planet.”

1st Place

Karl Leck, Chadds Ford, PA
Population Connection member since 2004, President’s Circle

A break in the clouds allows sunlight to stream down on a farm field in rural Maryland

“Population moderation is the key to humanity’s long-term survival. Even with the best technology, more people use more resources. Our future depends on not using up resources needed for the continued life of all species. Education, enlightened thinking, and living to preserve nature must happen. Population Connection’s education programs help shine through some of the world’s dark clouds. The swirling arguments around what to do after conception will continue, but that situation can be avoided with education and family planning.”

1st Place

David Newswanger, Sunnyvale, CA
Population Connection supporter since 1999

Waterfalls near Veliki Slap at Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia.

“This photo shows the beauty of an abundance of water, but also hints at the threat of population pressures as a throng of tourists look on from above. Water has always been precious in California, where I live, but global warming lessens the supply by decreasing the snowpack and strengthens demand by increasing the need for irrigation by farmers. Our large population pushes demand to the point of water rationing and political fights about water rights. I worry that it could get worse. A smaller population would help those problems considerably.”