The winners of the seventh Patagonia Photo Contest have been announced, celebrating one of the world’s most spectacular natural regions through breathtaking photography.
From snow-capped peaks to soaring Andean condors, this year’s winning images capture Patagonia’s extraordinary beauty—but also serve as stark reminders of the conservation challenges facing its wildlife.
Organized every two years by Patagon Journal, the competition celebrates the region across landscape, wildlife, culture and environmental categories.
The 2026 edition attracted 1,826 amateur and professional photographers from 12 countries, all competing to document the unique character of southern Argentina and Chile.
1st Place, Wildlife Category: “For a Lifetime”
by Mauricio Rossanigo (El Chaltén, Argentina)(Image credit: Mauricio Rossanigo)
The overall Patagonia Photographer of the Year title went to Mauricio Rossanigo, who also won the Wildlife category with his touching photograph For a Lifetime, showing two Andean condors embracing near El Chaltén, Argentina.
As one of the Andes’ most recognizable birds, condors are known to form lifelong pair bonds, and Rossanigo’s intimate image perfectly captures that enduring relationship.
While Rossanigo captured one of Patagonia’s best-known species, another of this year’s standout images highlights the more troubling side of wildlife conservation in the region.
Runner-up in the Last Wild Places category, Darío Podestá, photographed around a dozen dead pumas and foxes tied to a rural fence in an image titled The Silence of the Innocents.
The disturbing scene documents the long-running conflict between sheep farmers protecting livestock and native predators struggling to survive as human activity increasingly overlaps with wild habitats.
“Monte Chaltén” by Felipe Zanotti (El Chaltén, Argentina)(Image credit: Felipe Zanotti)
“Toward the Heart of the Mountain Range”
by Daniel Clavería (Trail to Mirador Cuernos, Torres del Paine National Park
, Chile)(Image credit: Daniel Clavería)
The region’s dramatic landscapes also featured prominently among the winners. Felipe Zenotti claimed first place in the Landscape category with a stunning long-exposure photograph of a waterfall framed beneath Patagonia’s iconic Mount Fitz Roy (Monte Chaltén).
Meanwhile, Daniel Clavería won the Outdoor Adventure category with an image of hikers making their way towards the towering granite peaks of Torres del Paine National Park in Chile.
Prize winners received a range of outdoor and photography rewards. Each category winner took home retail gift cards worth around US$400 (approximately £300 / AU$580), while runners-up received custom hiking equipment.
As the overall competition winner, Rossanigo also received a Sony A6700 camera and a six-day photography trip to Chile’s scenic Puelo region.
Author: Alan Palazon
Source: DigitalCameraWorld
Reviewed By: Editorial Team
