/ 2026 / Nature / Wildlife

• Prize
  Honorable Mention
• Photographer
  Dian Chuen Cheng, United States
• Date of Photograph
  March 6. 2025
• Instagram
  ioh_d.dc

A deer lies open on the plain, ribs exposed to wind and weather. Raw red flesh flashes once, a last boast and proof it was ever here. With each passing day, decay does its quiet work, and what remains grows lighter, thinner, farther. Snowbound mountains watch without mercy, and the road keeps going. Yet nothing stops here. What is taken becomes soil, feed, and breath again. The cycle keeps turning. From this cold silence, life goes on, and on.

I’m currently a master’s student in Boston. When I graduated from college, my father gave me his old A7R3 as a graduation gift. And that’s how my journey into photography began.

This is now my third year behind the camera. I’m still learning, exploring, and discovering new ways to see the world through photography. I’m grateful to be part of this community and excited to share and to learn from fellow photographers.

Awards N/A