Media

April 16th 2026

SNAPSHOT Photography Competition Awards Ceremony

The Natural History Museum Basel held the popular SNAPSHOT photography competition for the seventh time. This year’s edition was a great success: the museum received over 1,100 entries from amateur photographers. A jury selected ten winning entries from each of the three categories and awarded the top three places. Photographs with a special focus on biodiversity were recognised by the Basel energy supplier IWB. An audience award was also presented. The 34 photographs can be viewed in an exhibition at the museum until 28 June 2026.
 

The seventh edition of the photo competition saw a high level of participation: 1,151 entries from all regions of Switzerland (84%), as well as from various European countries (16%), including Germany, France and Austria, have been received by the Natural History Museum Basel since last autumn. Maren Bea, project manager for Snapshot, is fascinated by the entries: “This year we received images from all over the world. Whether volcanoes in Iceland, the Big Five in Tanzania or marmots in the Alps – the sheer diversity inspires me.” Bea is delighted that the competition opens a wide window onto the world.

Only amateur photographers were eligible to enter, each submitting one image in the categories ‘Plants | Landscapes | Natural Phenomena’, ‘Animal Portraits | Animals in their Natural Habitat’ and 'Children see nature (for 5 to 12 year olds)'.

November 19th 2025

Top photography at the Natural History Museum

The exhibition Wildlife Photographer of the Year is with it's 61st edition to admire at  Natural History Museum Basel – exclusively in Switzerland. The competition sets new standards in nature photography every year and is considered the most important of its kind in the world. A jury selected the 100 most outstanding images from over 60,000 submitted photographs. Switzerland is represented among the winners by 17-year-old Leana Kuster from Männedorf and nature conservation photographer Prince Hussain Aga Khan from Geneva. 

For this year's edition of Wildlife Photographer of the Year, a jury has selected the most meaningful images from over 60,363 entries from 113 countries. The world-renowned exhibition showcases some of the most extraordinary wildlife photographs taken around the world. The exhibition showcases powerful and fascinating images that capture remarkable animal behaviour, extraordinary species, and the breathtaking diversity of the natural world. The images use photography’s unique emotive power to engage and inspire audiences. The photographs tell many stories, prompting viewers to look more closely and encouraging them to stand up for the protection of nature. Every year since 1965, this prestigious competition has honoured the world's most outstanding nature photographs. It is organised by the Natural History Museum, London.

SUPPORTING PROGRAMME ADDS VALUE
The special exhibition is accompanied by a varied programme of events. In addition to regular guided tours for adults and families, the After Hours and an inclusion programme, the museum team holds the participatory photo competition SNAPSHOT for the seventh time, which is aimed at amateur photographers. A comprehensive workshop programme is available for school classes in particular. Classes delve deeper into topics such as biodiversity, animal behaviour, knowledge of species and the impact of humans on nature. Dialogue-based focus tours with external experts enrich the exhibition visti with exciting background information from the experts' specific wealth of knowledge and experience. Individual thematic aspects are discussed in depth in the exhibition and open up new views and perspectives on photography as well as the stories behind it.

Entire Press Release in German

June 30th 2025

Successful exhibition at the Natural History Museum

The exhibition Wildlife Photographer of the Year was with it's 60th edition to admire at our museum – exclusively in Switzerland. The special exhibition attracted over 94,000 people to the museum and once again met the need of many people to be enchanted by the beauty and fascination of nature. For the first time, the education team organised offers for school classes as part of the exhibition, which was particularly well received: over 250 classes visited the special exhibition. The snapshot photo competition and the focus tours with nature photographers also met with great interest.

The competition sets new standards in nature photography every year and is considered the most important of its kind in the world. A jury selected the 100 most outstanding images from over 59,000 submitted photographs. The Natural History Museum, London is responsible for organising the competition.

SUPPORTING PROGRAMME ADDS VALUE
The special exhibition was accompanied by a varied programme of events. In addition to regular guided tours for adults and families, the After Hours and an inclusion programme, the museum team held the participatory photo competition SNAPSHOT for the sixth time, which is aimed at amateur photographers. A comprehensive workshop programme was available for school classes in particular. 256 classes delved deeper into topics such as biodiversity, animal behaviour, knowledge of species and the impact of humans on nature. The dialogue-based focus tours with Swiss nature photographers Levi Fitze, Jiří Hřebíček, Michel Roggo and Roman Willi met with great interest. They opened up new views and perspectives on photography as well as the stories behind it.

Entire Press Release in German

November 6th 2024

The world’s best nature photography at the Natural History Museum

The museum is celebrating an anniversary: the 60th edition of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition can be admired at the Natural History Museum Basel – exclusively in Switzerland. The corresponding competition sets new standards in nature photography every year and is considered the most important of its kind in the world. This year, almost 60,000 photographs were submitted, and the exhibition shows the 100 best of them. Basel-based photographer Jiří Hřebíček is category-winner in Natural Artistry.

Excellence with tradition
The Natural History Museum London organises the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition every year. It is the most important competition of its kind in the world. The competition has been taking place since 1964. Its aim is to highlight the beauty and diversity as well as the fragility and vulnerability of nature and the creatures with which we share our planet.