If 2020 had a visual diary, it would be messy, emotional, occasionally breathtaking, and probably wearing a face mask. That is exactly why the #BestPhotoOf2020 photography contest hit such a nerve. The contest did not ask photographers to stay in one neat little lane. It welcomed everything: wildlife, portraits, protest, silence, color, grief, wonder, and those blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moments that somehow say more than a thousand hot takes ever could.
What makes these images memorable is not just technical polish, though there is plenty of that. It is the feeling. The best entries in the #BestPhotoOf2020 contest do what great photography always does: they stop time, steal your attention, and then quietly rearrange your mood. Some of them feel like poetry. Some feel like a headline. Some feel like the exact second your chest got tight in 2020 and you did not know whether to cry, cheer, or just make another coffee.
This roundup looks at 30 standout entries that capture why the contest became such a talking point among photography fans. From polar bears and lightning to protesters and monks, these images show that the best photos of 2020 were not all glossy postcards. Many were layered, strange, human, and gloriously unafraid to say something.
Why #BestPhotoOf2020 Stood Out
The magic of this photography contest was its range. Instead of boxing photographers into one narrow category, it brought together dramatically different kinds of images under one giant umbrella. That gave viewers a rare chance to compare a wildlife shot with a portrait, a surreal landscape with a protest image, and a quiet cultural scene with a bold conceptual frame. In other words, it felt less like flipping through a rulebook and more like traveling the world through other people’s eyes.
That openness matters because 2020 was not one story. It was many stories happening at once. A year of isolation also became a year of public protest. A year of anxiety also produced moments of tenderness. A year of climate dread still gave us beauty so ridiculous it almost felt rude. The strongest contest photography reflected that tension. The images were not trying to be pretty for the sake of being pretty. They were trying to be honest, memorable, and emotionally sharp.
30 Best Entries Worth Your Attention
Nature, scale, and the kind of beauty that shows off a little
- A Polar Bear Swimming In The High Arctic A chilling wildlife image from Baffin Island that works on two levels: stunning animal portrait and climate warning. It is beautiful, yes, but also quietly alarming.
- I Saw A Storm Coming Up The Coast This lightning-filled Australian frame looks like nature decided to direct its own disaster movie. Subtle? Absolutely not. Effective? Completely.
- Black Is Beautiful A proud, direct portrait that turns simplicity into force. The title says it plainly, and the image backs it up without flinching.
- Farmers A shepherd carrying a newborn goat becomes a moving portrait of labor, tenderness, and dignity. It is the kind of image that makes “rural life” feel personal instead of generic.
- Afghan Girl In 2020 A modern reimagining of a famous visual reference, updated with a pandemic-era mask. It is clever, melancholy, and very aware of the year it belongs to.
- Taking A Camel Ride Through The Desert At Sunset A drone shot that turns a desert safari into a cinematic pattern of light, shadow, and movement. It is adventurous without looking like a tourism brochure.
Portraits and human stories that refuse to be forgettable
- My Friend Jane, The Real Soldier One of the most emotionally powerful entries in the contest. It is vulnerable, raw, and impossible to brush aside.
- Mikurajima A mesmerizing underwater image of dolphins in formation that feels both graceful and almost otherworldly. It is the sort of shot that makes your brain whisper, “Okay, that’s ridiculous.”
- Family Moment A lion and cub scene that lands because it feels intimate rather than merely wild. Animal photography is strongest when it reveals behavior, and this one does exactly that.
- Sacred Soul A dramatic portrait of an older man in Pakistan that proves ordinary locations can produce extraordinary faces. Great portraiture often begins with noticing the right person.
- Elders Take Great Care Of Young Kids More than a striking group image, this photo carries cultural weight. It speaks to tradition, inheritance, and the fragile work of keeping identity alive.
- When The Muddy River Meets The Ocean An aerial image with strong abstract appeal, but it also tells an ecological story. It is the collision of textures, colors, and consequences.
Culture, craft, and visual imagination
- Ao Dai A graceful tribute to Vietnamese culture that uses a broader aerial perspective to make a familiar subject feel fresh. Traditional dress has rarely looked so airy and expansive.
- Freediving Mist This underwater cave image feels like fantasy, but the effort behind it is intensely real. It is elegant, difficult, and absolutely worth the lung capacity envy it inspires.
- Northern Gannets A wildlife photograph that captures behavior, symmetry, and affection all at once. The beak-rubbing pairs turn a bird photo into something almost ceremonial.
- Praying COVID-19 Virus Go Away From The World A title that sums up the mood of millions. The image itself channels stillness, faith, and that universal 2020 wish to please let this year calm down.
- Standing Before Giants A human figure placed against the Italian Dolomites for scale, and the result is wonderfully humbling. It reminds us that mountains remain the greatest scene-stealers in photography.
- Two Elements A technically inventive work built around water-drop sculpture and flame. It is proof that photography can still surprise people without needing a single crowded street or dramatic sunset.
2020 mood, distilled into frames
- Uneven Powers A tiny human figure facing giant waves from above creates instant tension. It feels like a visual summary of how many people experienced 2020: small, exposed, and trying very hard to keep it together.
- Empty Streets A city scene from San Francisco that became eerily symbolic once lockdown culture took over. Urban emptiness was one of the defining visual languages of the year, and this image nails it.
- Sleepy Polar Bear A peaceful image with a disturbing undertone. The sleeping bear is calm; the world surrounding it is not.
- Historia de Venezuela Perhaps the most overtly political of the group, this image turns confrontation into contemplation. It is a photograph about protest, power, and the strange grace that sometimes appears in chaos.
- My Wife, My Pearl Minimal, dreamy, and crafted with clear visual intention. The pink lake, reflective dress, and sense of stillness make it feel almost unreal.
- Sedge Harvest A grounded documentary image that honors labor and memory. It works because it is rooted in everyday life rather than spectacle.
Quiet strength, social meaning, and the final stretch
- A United Struggle A group portrait that gathers together ideas of unity, resistance, and collective identity. In a year marked by protest movements, that resonance mattered.
- Garbage Disposal Area One of the more unsettling entries, this image transforms waste into a visual statement. It is not trying to flatter the world, which is part of why it works.
- Kelitsadi Lake Calm, circular, and meditative, this image brings a welcome pause. It feels like a deep breath between louder headlines.
- Smile Of Mom An affectionate portrait built on warmth rather than drama. It reminds viewers that joy does not need a giant set piece to feel important.
- The Wreck Of An Illegal Fishing Vessel A strong environmental and geopolitical image disguised as sleek visual design. It is all lines, shadows, and consequence.
- Daecheong Lake Mist, water, fragile trees, and a small boat combine into a moody landscape that lingers. It is the kind of frame that does not shout, but absolutely knows how to haunt.
What These Best Photos Of 2020 Have In Common
Even though the entries come from different countries, genres, and visual styles, the strongest images share a few traits. First, they tell a story quickly. You do not need a ten-minute explanation to understand why Historia de Venezuela, Empty Streets, or My Friend Jane, The Real Soldier hit so hard. The emotional center is immediate.
Second, they reward a second look. At first glance, When The Muddy River Meets The Ocean is about color and texture. Look again, and it becomes about environment, livelihood, and the way landscape photography can slip into social commentary. The same goes for Sleepy Polar Bear and A Polar Bear Swimming In The High Arctic. They are not just beautiful wildlife shots. They are visual reminders that conservation photography often works best when it earns your awe before it asks for your concern.
Third, these images balance craft with feeling. A contest photo can be technically impressive and still leave viewers emotionally cold. These do not. The best entries in the #BestPhotoOf2020 photography contest use composition, light, timing, and perspective in service of meaning. That is why they feel less like camera flexing and more like visual storytelling with a pulse.
A Longer Reflection: What It Feels Like To Revisit These Entries Now
Revisiting the 30 best entries in #BestPhotoOf2020 feels a little like opening a time capsule that somehow contains both the chaos of 2020 and the weird grace hidden inside it. There is a strong chance you will start with the obvious showstoppers. The lightning. The polar bears. The dramatic mountains. The dreamy lakes. Photography has always known how to lure us in with spectacle, and this contest certainly had enough eye candy to keep a viewer happily scrolling for a long time. But the deeper experience comes later, when the emotional weight starts stacking up image by image.
That is when the contest becomes more than a gallery of pretty things. It starts feeling like a conversation between photographers who were all living through the same year but translating it in radically different ways. One person saw storm cells and electric skies. Another saw empty streets at dawn. Another saw a woman before surgery. Another saw monks meditating through fear. Another saw a nun speak to soldiers. Suddenly the contest is not just about who had the best camera angle or the most dramatic location. It becomes about perspective in the truest sense of the word.
There is also something unusually human about how many photographers tied their images to memory, personal struggle, or hope. A farmer honoring underpaid rural workers. A portraitist supporting a friend with cancer. A wildlife photographer wanting to protect birds. A documentarian wanting to return and help a community. These details matter because they keep the photo contest from feeling cold or transactional. The images are not floating in a vacuum. They come from lives, values, and obsessions.
Another striking part of the experience is how often beauty and discomfort share the same frame. That was very 2020, was it not? A gorgeous landscape could carry an ecological warning. A calm city could feel haunted by lockdown. A portrait could be visually elegant and emotionally devastating at the same time. In many ways, that tension is why these entries still feel fresh. They are not one-note. They do not ask for a single reaction. They let admiration, grief, unease, wonder, and tenderness all sit at the same table, which is honestly more emotional maturity than most of us had by August of that year.
And maybe that is the real legacy of the best #BestPhotoOf2020 entries. They remind us that photography is not only about preserving what happened. It is about interpreting what it felt like. These images do not just say, “Here is a bear,” or “Here is a protest,” or “Here is a lake at sunrise.” They say, “Here is fear,” “Here is hope,” “Here is fragility,” “Here is resilience,” and sometimes, “Here is the exact moment the world looked impossible and beautiful at once.” That is why the contest still lands. The year was hard. The photos did not lie about that. But they also refused to let hardship be the only story in the frame.
Conclusion
The #BestPhotoOf2020 photography contest delivered far more than a stack of visually striking finalists. It offered a global portrait of a year nobody will forget and did it through images that ranged from intimate to epic, political to poetic, and documentary to downright dreamlike. The best entries were not all built the same way, and that is exactly the point. Some relied on timing, some on symbolism, some on technical daring, and some on the simple power of being in the right place with the right feeling.
If you want proof that award-winning photography can still surprise, move, and occasionally punch you right in the soul, this contest provides plenty of it. These 30 entries show that the most memorable images are not always the loudest. Sometimes they are the ones that linger after the scroll stops.
