This year’s grand prize was awarded to Hungarian photographer Tibor Litauszki, for his underwater image of an alpine newt feeding on freshly laid frog eggs.

Illuminated with an LED lamp, and captured using a camera in a waterproof case with a home-made wired remote release, Litauszki stressed the photograph shows the “cycle and sensitivity of nature.”

According to The Nature Conservancy, a global environmental nonprofit, this year’s competition saw a record-breaking number of submissions, with 189,000 entries from over 80,000 photographers, but Litauszki won on merit of capturing a unique and often overlooked event in nature.

“A simple stream teeming with life turned into another world — a galaxy of greens and blues shining through a dark canvas,” said contest director and judging coordinator Alex Snyder of the winning image.

“The technical difficulty alone gave the image high marks, but the overall composition and aesthetic made it a winner.”

Other winning photographs depict the beauty of wildlife, such as a sunrise silhouette of a graceful hoopoe bird and the glowing skin of a corn snake under ultraviolet light.

This year, the competition was divided into 12 categories, up from six for the first time in the contest’s history.

The Nature Conservancy hopes the images will raise awareness, evoke an emotional connection to the natural world, and help support global conservation efforts.

The winner’s prize is a photographer’s gift voucher worth USD 5,000, or around HUF 1.8 million.

More photos from the artist on his Instagram