Misty valleys, magical woods and monstrous storms: The incredible winners of the 2021 International Landscape Photographer of the Year competition revealed

• The judges of The 8th International Landscape Photographer of the Year awards chose from 4,504 entries 
• Turkish photographer Aytek Cetin was named portfolio winner – the judges fe lt his work had a ‘special mood’ 
• Pictures captured in the likes of Devon, Iceland and Washington were among the 101 shortlisted photographs

Landscape photography reminds us that we really do live in a wonderful world.

And for eye-catching aide-memoires, you’ll be hard-pushed to beat the winning and short-listed entries for The 8th International Landscape Photographer of the Year contest. 

The judges chose from 4,504 entries from around the world, with pictures of a magical wood in Devon, crashing waves in west-coast America and an Icelandic volcano appearing in the shortlist of 101 photographs. 

Reigning supreme in the portfolio category was Turkish photographer Aytek Cetin, with the judges saying his pictures had ‘a wonderful excitement and a special mood surrounding them’. The winner of the best single image award was US photographer Tanmay Sapkal, for his shot of a comet over a foggy Californian landscape.

Chairman of the judges, Peter Eastway, said: ‘The history of landscape art is much broader than merely creating a record of nature. It is interpretive, imaginative and inspirational. Some photographers take their captures and re-map the tonality; others take several captures to produce a landscape of the mind.’

Scroll down for the winning photos as well as MailOnline Travel’s pick of the shortlisted entries…

LEFT: A beautiful image from overall winner Cetin’s portfolio. It was captured in Cappadocia, in his native Turkey, and shows three fairy chimneys at sunrise on a winter morning. Cetin said: ‘The 60-million-year-old story of fairy chimneys and the fact they have been home to different civilisations for tens of thousands of years, makes Cappadocia extremely mysterious for me. If you are lucky, you can visit there during hazy, atmospheric conditions with a soft light pushing through at sunrise or sunset.’ The photographer added: ‘The reason I chose this location is that I love the excitement inside me when the sun first hits the fairy chimneys and how it makes me feel like I’m living in the Bronze Age.’ RIGHT: Another wonderful shot from Cetin’s portfolio, showing Mount Kazbek in Georgia. Describing his journey into landscape photography, Cetin said: ‘I used to go to the sea for my limited holidays, but after repeating the same kind of trips for years, it was starting to lose its meaning for me. Then I decided to do something different, to dive deeply into nature. I started to explore remote, mountainous regions and experience the energy of the mightiest entities of nature. It left me deeply impressed and awakened a love for nature within. An interest in photography followed as a result and has now turned into a passion’

LEFT: Dutch photographer Max Rive’s portfolio of work was awarded a silver medal by the judges. It includes this atmospheric picture of the village of Lauterbrunnen in Switzerland, titled ‘Misty Fairytales’. RIGHT:  A second breathtaking shot from Rive’s portfolio, titled ‘The Fall’ and captured in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc in the French Alps

This brilliant picture is an entry from Andrea Zappia, who came third in the portfolio category. The Italian photographer turned his camera on the Gorner Glacier, close to Zermatt, Switzerland, for this shot 

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Another awe-inspiring shot from Zappia’s portfolio, this time showing Rocca la Meja, a mountain in Piedmont, northern Italy

LEFT: The winner of the 2021 International Landscape Photograph of the Year award for the best single image. US photographer Tanmay Sapkal captured the incredible shot on Mount Tamalpais, in Marin country, just north of San Francisco. The photographer said: ‘It is quite a special place for photographers as it stands above the local landscape, which is engulfed in low coastal fog almost every summer evening. After shooting there tens of times over the past four years, I realised that I really liked the way fog looks when it is lit from underneath. I also realised that the comet would become visible in the northwest sky, so I started planning this shot.’ It took a couple of visits for the fog to create the ‘dreamy setting’ that Sapkal wanted. When the conditions were perfect, he waited for some cars to drive by and ‘create a blanket of light under the fog’. RIGHT: This vibrant picture, shot by Cedric Tamani, was awarded second place in the best single image category. Titled ‘Drumlins Winter Dream’, it was captured in Menzingen, Switzerland

Here you’ll see Lake Bonney Riverland in South Australia, captured by Australian photographer Ben Goode. Titled ‘Reflector’, this spectacular shot came third in the best single image category 

Noel Casaje was behind the lens for this photograph, which is named ‘Shadow of Mordor’. It was snared in Chile’s Torres Del Paine National Park, Chile, and made the cut in the top 101 images

This enchanting picture ranked in the top 101 images. Vincenzo Mazza captured the snowy scene in the Vestrahorn Mountains, Iceland. The end result is titled ‘Painted in Fresh Snow’

The village of Imhan-ri in South Korea was the setting for this striking picture. It was shot by Yoon Suk Choi, and landed in the top 101 images. It’s titled ‘Pine Field Imhanri’

Above is another breathtaking shot that made the shortlist of 101 pictures. It was captured by Marcin Zajac in Yosemite National Park, USA, and shows a ‘controlled burn’ in a forest

Matt Jackisch is responsible for this mesmerising picture of Mount Seymour, in Canada’s British Columbia. He titled the image, which joined the shortlist of 101 pictures, ‘When the Universe Speaks’

Look up and you’ll see ‘Compelled by the Core’, by Daniel Laan. The picture, which made the shortlist of 101 images, was taken near the village of Moddergat in the Netherlands

Yet another captivating shot of the land near Moddergat by Laan, which similarly made the shortlist of 101

Aptly titled ‘Enchanted Forest’, this wintry shot was snared on The Roaches, a rocky ridge in England’s Peak District. It was captured by Michael Allberry and was chosen by judges as one of the shortlist of 101

Cast your eye above and you’ll see ‘War of the Worlds’, photographed by Nick Green. The pictured, which was taken in the Dartmoor National Park, Devon, ranked in the top 101 shortlist

Jana Luo captured this dramatic shot – ‘The Cap on the Snowy Mountain’. The image, which was snared in Tongariro National Park, New Zealand, appeared in the top 101 shortlist

Marc Marco Ripoll photographed this stunning shot, which shows the Formentor Lighthouse, in Mallorca, Spain. Impressing the judges, it landed in the shortlist of 101 pictures

This magical picture – one of the 101 shortlisted – was taken in Chile’s Torres Del Paine National Park. Photographer Chandra Bong gave it the title ‘Tree Frame’

Wistman’s Wood in Dartmoor, Devon, was the setting for this magnificent picture by Simon Turnbull, which featured in the shortlist of 101 pictures

Photographer Fabrice Petruzzi titled this picture ‘Social Distancing’. It was captured in the canton of Zug, an area in central Switzerland, and appeared in the 101 shortlisted images ranking

This powerful photograph shows Cape Disappointment in Washington, US. The shot, captured by Gavin Hardcastle, earned a place in the top 101 shortlist

Above you’ll see ‘Foggy Mood’, captured in Teutoburg Forest in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The landscape shot, taken by Waldemar von Niessen, finished in the top 101 shortlist

Simon Xu photographed this bewitching picture of Mono Lake in California, which made it into the shortlist of 101

Above you’ll see the volcanic Fagradalsfjall area in Iceland, captured by Filip Hrebenda. The photographer calls this picture – which ranked in the top 101 – ‘Born of Fire’

This sleek shot shows Lake Yamanaka in Japan’s Yamanashi prefecture. Titled ‘Silky Hat’, it was taken by Takashi Nakazawa and appeared in the top 101 shortlist

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