ILCP's photostream

The exercise of selecting the Top Forty Nature Photographs of all time is a tremendous challenge. It is arguably impossible to definitively select the forty “best” or “most important” nature photographs, if only due to the vast variety of criteria that must be considered. We decided to try anyway.

The International League of Conservation Photographers, whose membership consists of the top professional nature photographers working today, was recruited to nominate nature photographs that they considered to be “the best,” in whatever way they chose to interpret it. They were encouraged, however, to consider factors such as aesthetics, uniqueness, historical significance, or contribution to conservation efforts. The photographers were not permitted to self-nominate.

The Top Forty nominations, which represent a diverse spectrum of styles and genres and span over 100 years of the history of photography, are presented here. We hope you enjoy them, and that you will express your thoughts about the images that have meaning for you in each image's comments section.