The 2026 Penda Travel Photography Competition has announced its winners, showcasing images that immerse viewers in powerful stories from around the world. Photographers from across continents submitted emotionally rich and visually intentional work, making the judges' task of choosing meaningful images especially challenging. The final collection highlights humanity, wildlife, and landscapes in a way that captures the quiet magic of global exploration.
A mountain lion was caught on video near San Francisco's Lafayette Park in the Pac Heights neighborhood Sunday night. Experts believe it is young, at about a year old, and got a bit lost. Mountain lions disperse around this age, seeking a habitat far away from their birth place. In this case, experts say the mountain lion will likely find its way south and out of San Francisco soon.
I was five years old when I had my first encounter with a black bear. In the spring of 1990, my father, a wildlife biologist, brought home an orphaned three-month-old cub in a cardboard box. The cub's mother, having burrowed beneath the roots of an old tree, had been killed in the den by a logging excavator, but the cub, weighing barely more than a bag of apples, survived. Forestry workers caught the young bear and dropped it off at the Fish and Wildlife office in Peace River, Alberta, where my dad worked, and he called my mom with the news.
In 2025, the One Exposure Awards shifted to pure black‑and‑white, creating a nature photography showcase that feels strikingly different. The absence of color amplifies every shadow, texture, and emotional beat in each winning image. Across categories ranging from wildlife to fine‑art experimentation, the contest highlighted nature in its most elemental form. Lidija Novković earned 1st Place with "Začudno," a low‑angle giraffe portrait that transforms the familiar into something mythic.
As one of the most protected national parks in the world, the Galápagos Islands are full of incredible wildlife that are not afraid of humans and will come in closer contact with you than is possible in most other natural places in the world. You can experience a variety of landscapes in a small space, from lush highlands full of tortoises to moon-like volcanic rock covered in piles of iguanas.
On a midsummer trip to Ireland, I saw dolphins in the Irish Sea, sunset by the Liffey, and misty views of the Galtee Mountains. The half-hour train journey to Cobh (cove), through Cork's island-studded harbour, was especially lovely. As the railway crossed Lough Mahon, home to thousands of seabirds, there was water on both sides of the train. I watched oystercatchers, egrets, godwits and common terns, which nest on floating pontoons.
I'm waiting to turn down the road toward my hotel. The cars in front of me have slowed nearly to a standstill, but not for the standard traffic jam: a group of elk is grazing in the grassy patch at the street corner. People idle by, rolling down their windows to take pictures, making sure to give these unofficial locals a wide berth. In the background, the snow-capped Rocky Mountains rise dramatically behind the town.
Hillcrest Park opens at dawn and closes at 10 p.m., but for me, it has never been just a set of hours on a sign. I have walked this park in every light and season. Morning walks before the neighborhood stirs. Afternoon strolls when working from home. Evening circuits after dinner on weekdays. Weekend doubles, morning and evening both. And those in-between moments when restlessness or boredom sends me out the door once more. I know this place intimately.
A stag that has been on the loose in a residential area of Ennis, Co Clare has raised concerns among locals after he evaded a series of capture attempts from gardaí and local wildlife services. The stag is believed to have originally lived in the Lee's Road area of Ennis. However, he has now moved closer towards the town centre and poses a risk to motorists, local dog warden Frankie Coote has said.
Wildlife photography already carries immense power, but in monochrome it transforms into something raw and dramatic. The 2024 Monochrome Photography Awards showcased 37 breathtaking wildlife shots, proving black-and-white can rival or even surpass color. From roaring lions to towering elephants, sharp-winged birds, and tiny creatures full of attitude, each image tells a vivid story through light and shadow. Stripped of color, every texture and detail stands out with striking clarity, deepening the mood and amplifying the drama.
I'm glad we're starting to look at historical figures through the lens of neurodivergence (Documentary explores whether JMW Turner may have been neurodivergent, 10 November). But why give JMW Turner the benefit of 21st-century advances in neuroscience and not afford the same courtesy to his mother, Mary, who was believed to have had a psychiatric disorder and would fly into a dangerous temper? This language could have come straight from the admission papers that got her committed to a mental asylum. Jill Metcalfe Bottens, Switzerland
In words immortalised by noughties pop icon Natasha Beddingfield, "I want to run with the wild horses." Of course, in the song, the horses act as a metaphor for unbridled freedom and joy, and, in any case, where would we find a harras of horses just meandering the open plains in the UK? If this were a film, we would cut to a wide shot of a car driving the undulating roads of the New Forest, miles of woodland stretching out
We love London. That won't come as a surprise - Time Out has been chronicling the best of the city for decades - but even we can admit that sometimes you need some time away. Life in London is nonstop, so every so often it's essential to escape into nature, and the city parks just won't do it. We recently published a list of the very best walking routes which are within daytripping distance of the capital,
The Nikon 2025 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards have unveiled their finalists, and the results are hilariously delightful. With 40 uproarious images, 3 curated portfolios, and 10 laugh-out-loud videos, this year's entries showcase nature's unexpected comedic flair. From expressive lions to penguins mid-blunder, the contest celebrates the quirky charm of animals while highlighting the skill and timing of wildlife photographers. Beyond the laughs, the awards carry a meaningful message about conservation and the importance of protecting these fascinating creatures.
Three days into my walk along the Rhins of Galloway coast path and I was on love-hate terms with this new long-distance trail. Unruly and at times cruel, it forced me to hurdle fences, wade through bracken up to my midriff and teased me with disappearing paths and wayward waymarks. But then, after I'd yelled profanities into the wind (there were no other hikers around to hear me), this raffishly handsome route would come over all sweetness and light.
Meet the author and the illustrator, find out about a terrific new book, ask questions and hear directly from the source, and get personalized signed books! Bookshop West Portal is excited to celebrate the publication of Ocean Beach: Fog, Flora, and Fauna. San Francisco locals, author and scientist Eddy Rubin and illustrator Greg Wright, joined forces to create a wonderful portrait of our neighborhood shores in this work of art that shares the story of how the beach came to be.
The grasses have now dried and turned golden, the air filled with the scents of fall. Eszter stops, "A moose!" Down in the willows along the creek, a single moose munches on the plants. We are far enough away to pleasantly observe the stoic creature in its home, a lovely spot in a high meadow tucked between mountains with no one else around except for us.
Petrified Forest National Park is best known for its 200-million-plus-year-old plant and animal fossils from the Triassic Period, or the "Dawn of the Dinosaurs." It's a collection that includes the eponymous petrified logs, which were formed after trees were buried in an ancient river system; minerals then absorbed into the wood and replaced the organic material. The structures we see today are made up of nearly solid quartz, and the impurities within the quartz (like iron and carbon) result in a display of stunning colors.
Squirrel fibromatosis may look terrifying, but it's a common skin disease among gray squirrels in the US. It's caused by the leporipoxvirus and is spread through direct contact between healthy squirrels and the lesions or saliva of infected squirrels.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife reported that four divers were cited for illegally taking hundreds of spiny lobsters, most of which were undersized, from a Los Angeles beach.
Lake Ouachita in Arkansas features incredibly clean, clear water, and is surrounded by Ouachita National Forest, showcasing a wild and rugged beauty.
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