A labyrinth structure found within the park of Priessnitz Spa in the Czech town of Jeseník, photographed during two different seasons and later stitched together. (Photo: Tomáš Neuwirth // Website | Instagram)
As we enter the final month of 2025, we feel compelled to take pause and reflect on the past year. One of our most favorite ways to do this is through revisiting photography that captivated us throughout the seasons. Thanks to the tireless work of photographers all around the world, we’re all given the opportunity to see every end of Earth from every perspective imaginable. Through these images, we’re able to not only see different landscapes, animals, cultures, and natural phenomena, but we’re also able to feel an endless roster of emotions.
A lot happens across the globe every year, and all types of photographers are always front and center for it all. Whether it’s a photojournalist in a war zone, a wildlife photographer in the jungle, an astrophotographer in subzero temperatures, an action photographer at a high-adrenaline sporting event, or a fine art photographer bringing their vision to life in a studio; each and every image captures a moment and tells a story.
While images and stories of war, violence, and unrest have dominated the news cycle this year, there are countless other stories that merit attention and remembrance. Photography is more than just a tool for divisive politics; it is a way to share perspective and convey what words often can’t. This year, we’ve been moved by not only the visuals we’ve seen, but by their backstories as well.
Scroll down to see the images from the past year that have sparked a diverse range of emotions in all of us and piqued our curiosity to learn more about the story behind the image.
Here is My Modern Met’s selection of the Best Photos of 2025—ranging from landscape and wildlife photography to photojournalism and astrophotography.
A rhino in graceful motion surrounded by a flock of birds and covered in mud at a rhino sanctuary in Laikipia, Kenya. The photographer says, “Here black and white rhinos roam freely in an environment that seems to take viewers back in time to a land before humans, emphasizing the nature of these magnificent animals.” (Photo: Alessandro Marena // Website | Instagram)
A dwarf minke whale curiously eyes the photographer. “These whales are known to visit the northern Great Barrier Reef during the winter, making it the only known predictable aggregation of the species in the world,” says the photographer. (Photo: Marcia Riederer // Website | Instagram)
A close-up of a humpback whale’s eye taken in Mo’orea, French Polynesia. Just four days after capturing this image, the whale, named Sweet Girl, was struck and killed by a fast-moving ship. Her tragic death is a stark reminder of the 20,000 whales lost to ship strikes each year. (Photo: Rachel Moore // Website | Instagram)
A leopard seal in Antarctica showing its teeth—what the photographer describes as “a clear display of dominance, a reminder of who’s in charge!” (Photo: James Ferrara // Instagram)
A red deer stag rears its head back to bellow during rutting season. (Photo: Jamie Smart // Website | Facebook | Instagram)
An image of a juvenile Pinnate Batfish in Indonesia, “captured using a slow shutter speed, snooted light, and deliberate camera panning.” (Photo: Luis Arpa // Instagram | Photographer Profile)
The first-ever image of the sun’s chromosphere and a rocket in the same frame. The photographer says, “The image I got with the solar telescope is, as far as I know, the only photo of its kind in existence—a photo of a rocket with the sun in hydrogen-alpha light behind it.” (Photo: Andrew McCarthy // Website | Instagram | X | Patreon | TikTok)
Aurora australis, captured along Banks Peninsula in New Zealand. (Photo: Kavan Chay // Website | Facebook |Instagram)
Self-portrait on a vast glacier in Iceland. (Photo: Anna Isabella Christensen // Website | Instagram | YouTube)
Blue waters and braided blue glacial rivers flow into lakes from the high mountains of the Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park in New Zealand, as photographed from a light aircraft. The blue coloration of the water is due to fine silt particles found within. (Photo: Stuart Chape, as part of the 1839 Awards)
Clever image series blending humans with natural environments. (Photo: Jeanne K. Simmons // Website | Instagram)
A stunning cloud phenomenon resulting in Kelvin-Helmholtz wave clouds near Vodňany in South Bohemia, Czechia. The photographer says, “I didn’t plan this; it was all of a sudden. But I think that’s the best kind of photograph.”(Photo: Lukáš Gallo // Instagram)
A red sailboat against milky white icebergs in Greenland. (Photo: Albert Dros // Website | Instagram | Facebook | Behance)
Coming face to face with an oceanic whitetip shark, known locally as Parata. “Floating eye to eye with such an animal is always humbling; it strips away fear and replaces it with connection.” (Photo: Sina Ritter // Website | Instagram)
Serene moment a myrna bird is perched on an elephant’s tusk in the jungles of South India. The photographer says, “I spent an hour with them capturing some beautiful moments, but the one that stood out was when the bird perched on its tusk and faced the elephant, as if they were having a silent conversation.” (Photo: Shaaz Jung // Website | Facebook | Instagram)
Epic battle between a great blue heron and a snake. (Photo: Marcos Rodriguez // Website | Instagram)
Up-close photo of a great white shark, taken from inside an underwater cage. (Photo: Euan Rannachan // Website | Instagram | Facebook)
“Halo” by Malaysian light artist Jun Ong. This site-specific installation is situated within a 100-year-old former Buddhist temple in Tainan, Taiwan. (Photo: Zhan Wei Xin // Instagram)
Drone “drawing” with light. This long-exposure image creates the illusion of ethereal veils in the sky. (Photo: Reuben Wu // Website | Instagram | Facebook)
A jellyfish floating underwater, captured just as the sun was rising with a fisheye lens. (Photo: Antonio Bertran Regas, for the Ocean Photographer of the Year contest // Instagram)
Mobile photo taken at night, titled “A Gateway to the Universe.” The photographer says, “On my last trip to Iceland, we followed the NNorthern Lights. There was a huge storm of aurora and I decided to record it with my phone for the first time! It was interesting that, with a small device in my hand, I could see the beauty happening in the sky in more detail and beauty.” (Photo: Sadeq Hayati // Website | Instagram)
A solitary dragon tree stands tall in the heart of Socotra’s Dragon Blood Tree forest in Yemen. This final image is composed of 300 individual exposures. (Photo: Benjamin Barakat for the Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition // Website | Instagram)
Aerial photography of ballerinas for a series titled “Passé.” (Photo: Brad Walls // Website | Instagram)
Gravity-defying photo capturing the human body in poetic motion. (Photo: Mathieu Forget // Website | Instagram)
This daring portrait, which earned Jack Currie the Emerging Talent Award at the Association of Photographers annual contest, depicts his late grandmother, Margaret Currie (whom he nicknamed “Gangster Granny”), skateboarding on a rail. (Photo: Jack Currie // Website | Instagram )
A visualization of love and connection from a series titled “The Red String.” The photographer explains: “Inspired by the Japanese legend of the Red String of Fate, I capture couples, families, siblings and friends from diverse backgrounds & nationalities. According to this legend, an invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. This string may stretch or tangle, but it will never break, symbolizing the ties that bind us to one another.” (Photo: Eliška Sky // Website | Instagram)
This evocative image, titled “Porcelain Petals,” incorporates motifs from kintsugi and ceramics. The composition earned Natalie Vorontsoff the title of Advertising Photographer of the Year (Non-Professional) at the 2025 International Photography Awards. (Photo: Natalie Vorontsoff // Instagram)
Striking minimalist portrait of a young man’s profile. (Photo: Bruin Feskens // Website | Instagram)
“This project [‘The Journey Home’] explores the tumultuous public life of young people in the gang-governed Cape Flats area of Cape Town, South Africa.” (Photo: Laura Pannack // Website | Instagram)
For the fourth chapter of his “The Day May Break” series, phorogapher Nick Brandt captured displaced Syrian refugees, each of whom fled war in their native country between the years 2013 and 2015. (Photo: Nick Brandt // Website | Instagram)
A woodpecker perched on a tree trunk riddled with holes, which are filled with acorns. (Photo: Taryn M. Ware // Instagram)
Aerial photo of Maha Kumbh, a Hindu pilgrimage festival in India. It is often regarded as the world’s largest religious gathering. (Photo: Savadmon Avalachamveettil // Website | Instagram)
An aerial photo of a colorful basketball court in Hong Kong. (Photo: Austin Bell // Website | Instagram)
A stunning aerial photo taken at Trolltunga rock formation in Norway, titled “The Little Prince.” (Photo: Andrew Bodrov // Website | Facebook | YouTube)
Icebergs in Jökulsárlón, a large glacial lagoon in southern Iceland. (Photo: Luis Vilariño // Website | Instagram | Facebook)
Lechuguilla Cave, in the expansive Carlsbad Caverns National Park, is considered one of the longest and most intricate caves in the world, home to striking formations and rare minerals. (Photo: Max Wisshak // Website | Instagram)
A surfer trying to outrun a mountain made of water, shot with a DJI Air 2S drone from 31 meters above. (Photo: Lorenzo Passalacqua // Website | Instagram)
About this image, titled “Iowa Storm Cell,” the photographer says, “This was a wild and crazy day searching for just such a storm cell. Quite the adventure!” (Photo: Ilene Meyers // Website | Instagram)
A mangrove landscape juxtaposes an urban skyline in the distance. (Photo: Ahmed Badwan for the Mangrove Photography Awards // Instagram)
“This project is a heartfelt tribute to the country I hold dear. In Morocco, colors are not merely seen, but experienced. It is also a deeply personal journey, one that seeks to understand the land where the woman I love was born,” explains the photographer. (Photo: Nicola Fioravanti // Website | Instagram)
An outdoor shot depicting the relationships between the old and the young. (Photo: Asok Sengupta, as part of the reFocus’s Black & White Photo Contest)
Women repairing fishing nets in Vietnam. The photographer says, “This net mending is not just anything, it is an art of patience and skill that has been passed down from generation to generation!” (Photo: Daniel Viñé Garcia // Website | Instagram)
The highest-resolution view of the sun ever achieved. (Photo: ESA & NASA/Solar Orbiter/EUI Team, E. Kraaikamp (ROB) (CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO)
