Narwhal Rainbow Alliance

Narwhal Rainbow Alliance Rainbow allies united for (bio)diversity | The q***r sibling of WWF

“As nature photographers we can show the diversity of genders and s*xuality in nature” 🌊✨Featuring 🌈🐾“Mating Rainbows” 🐾...
02/10/2026

“As nature photographers we can show the diversity of genders and s*xuality in nature” 🌊✨

Featuring 🌈🐾“Mating Rainbows” 🐾🌈by photographer Karyll Gonzalez —one of our Top-13 selections for the Q***r Nature Photography Awards 2026! 📸🐚

🐌🐌This photograph is of a pair of mating nudibranchs (Phyllidia coelestis) displaying their vibrant colors in a moment of pure connection. Some nudibranchs exemplify q***rness through simultaneous hermaphroditism—each individual possesses male as well as female organs. When two nudibranchs mate, both can simultaneously fertilize and be fertilized by the other, completely blurring traditional gender binary roles.

🪞These sea slugs challenge human-centric views of biology and demonstrate that non-binary and fluid reproductive strategies are integral, highly successful adaptations across Earth’s marine ecosystems.

📸“I am a straight cis male, but I am an ally” 📸 says Gonzalez. Nature shows us that diversity is natural and essential, and through photography, we can bridge understanding and acceptance.

🐚 Subject: Nudibranch (Phyllidia coelestis)

📸 Photographer: Karryl Gonzalez

🏆 Selection: Q***r Nature Photography Awards 2026 (Top-13)

***rNature

📸“Biodiversity includes diverse ways of living, interacting, and existing together—often beyond the categories and norms...
11/09/2026

📸“Biodiversity includes diverse ways of living, interacting, and existing together—often beyond the categories and norms we tend to impose.”📸

🌈🐋Featuring “Naturally” by photographer Alicia Aubrée (ALICIA AUBRÉE )—one of our Top-13 selections for the Q***r Nature Photography Awards 2026!

🦎🗿Captured on Santa Cruz Island in the Galápagos, this tender image captures Galápagos marine iguanas engaged in “thermal grouping”—piling on top of one another to share body heat after freezing ocean dives. Their bodies merge with no defined boundaries, showing a collective intimacy where survival depends entirely on mutual warmth and radical closeness.

🏳️‍🌈🦄Q***r nature isn’t a one-size-fits-all template. Marine iguanas don’t practice parental care or documented same-s*x courtship (yet?); instead, their expression of fluidity lies in survival. During breeding season, smaller “sneaker” males use ‘’gender-fluid strategies’’—altering their behavior and coloration to mimic females so they can navigate aggressive territories undetected. Nature constantly proves that adaptability and community always triumph over rigid, human-imposed norms.

📢“Showing diversity in today’s society is important because visibility shapes perception and understanding,” says Aubrée. “Photography has the power to challenge dominant narratives, reveal complexity, and open space for other perspectives on both human identity and the living world.”

⚠️🌤️As a Vulnerable species, Galápagos marine iguanas are severely threatened by climate-driven El Niño events that wipe out their algae food supply, as well as marine plastic pollution. Protecting them requires safeguarding marine sanctuaries and fighting for global climate action.

➡️Swipe through to read the full story behind the photograph, discover Alicia’s journey, and learn how we can protect our living ecosystems!

📍 Location: Santa Cruz Island, Galápagos

🦎 Species: Galápagos Marine Iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) – Vulnerable

📸 Photographer: Alicia Aubrée (Alicia Lynn DeRush)

🏆 Selection: Q***r Nature Photography Awards 2026 (Top-13)

***rNature

“I am convinced that our differences are our greatest strength. Like the clownfish and anemone, we thrive through cooper...
08/09/2026

“I am convinced that our differences are our greatest strength. Like the clownfish and anemone, we thrive through cooperation.” 🐠🪸

🌈🐋Featuring “Fluid by Nature: The transforming Clownfish” by underwater photographer Kevin Weiß | Naturfotografie and/or Beyond Ocean's Door - underwater wildlife photography —one of our Top-13 selections for the Q***r Nature Photography Awards 2026! 🌈🐋

🪸Nestled safely among the protective tentacles of a sea anemone, this vibrant clownfish represents one of marine biology’s most profound examples of adaptability and mutual care. Born male, clownfish are protandrous hermaphrodites living in female-dominated social structures. When a matriarch dies, the dominant male naturally transitions into a female to lead the group—a striking, biological testament to fluidity, continuous transformation, and the validity of genderfluid experiences in the natural world.

🌊This dynamic shows how s*x and societal roles function as vital evolutionary mechanisms for group cohesion. Clownfishes symbiotic relationship with anemones also mirrors our ability as a community to form chosen families and safe spaces where we protect one another.

📸“My identity shapes my unique perspective behind the lens,” says Weiss. “Through my work, I aim to share these wonders to inspire mindfulness and a passion for protecting nature.”

⚠️Today, clownfish habitats face grave threats from ocean warming, acidification, and overharvesting for the aquarium trade. Safeguarding these resilient creatures requires expanding marine protected areas and supporting global coral reef restoration.

➡️Swipe through to read the full story behind the photograph, discover Kevin’s vision, and learn how we can protect our living ecosystems! 🌊

📍 Location: Raja Ampat, Indonesia
🐠 Subject: Clownfish (Amphiprioninae)
📸 Photographer: Kevin Weiss
🏆 Selection: Q***r Nature Photography Awards 2026 (Top-13)

🏛️P.s. a message that could be spread a bit more in the current German political landscape?

***rNature

“Diversity is essential for survival; monolithic ecosystems fail, and so do rigid societies.”🌈🐋Featuring “Curves of Chos...
28/08/2026

“Diversity is essential for survival; monolithic ecosystems fail, and so do rigid societies.”

🌈🐋Featuring “Curves of Chosen Kinship” by photographer Jan Tadoyo —one of our Top-13 selections for the Q***r Nature Photography Awards 2026!🐋🌈

🌈Rendered in striking monochrome, this powerful image highlights the fluid, elegant interaction between two flamingos. 🦩Flamingos 🦩are a cornerstone species of q***r ecology, well-documented for forming stable, long-term same-s*x partnerships that court, defend territories, and rear fostered chicks.🪺

😍This is one of our absolute favorite examples of q***r nature because it demonstrates how same-s*x pairings create evolutionary benefits for the colony at large—not just their own young. Male-male flamingo pairs often build larger, more robust mud-mound nests and defend bigger territories. These fortified territories act as protective buffers against erosion and flooding, shielding neighboring nests and raising the overall nesting success rate for the entire group! 🗿🐒🦍🚶‍♀️

📸“My identity shapes how I perceive connection, guiding my eye toward stories of resilience, unconventional bonding, and chosen communities,” says Tadoyo. “It allows me to look past rigid, traditional narratives... capturing the fluid, nuanced truths of companionship and belonging.”

🚨Today, flamingos face serious threats from the degradation of their sensitive wetland and salt-flat habitats due to pollution, water diversion, and mining. Protecting these vibrant birds requires safeguarding global wetland ecosystems and reducing industrial impacts.

➡️Swipe through to read the full story behind the photograph, discover Jan’s vision, and learn how we can protect our living ecosystems!

📷 Subject: Flamingos (Phoenicopteridae)

👤 Photographer: Jan Tadoyo

🏆 Selection: Q***r Nature Photography Awards 2026 (Top-13)

***rNature

🕸️“For me, African penguins symbolize resilience through community. Living in dense colonies, their survival depends on ...
17/08/2026

🕸️“For me, African penguins symbolize resilience through community. Living in dense colonies, their survival depends on cooperation, connection, and collective care.”

📸Featuring “Community” by visual artist and underwater photographer Ysabela Coll (Ysabela Coll & José Alejandro Alvarez) —one of our Top-13 selections for the Q***r Nature Photography Awards 2026!

🌈🐋Same-s*x pairing behavior is well-documented in African penguins. From elaborate courtship rituals and building nests to “rainbow parenting” by adopting abandoned eggs or fostering chicks, both male-male and female-female pairs form stable, long-term bonds that reveal how care, bonding, and family in nature transcend rigid binary structures.🐋🌈

🤳“My identity has taught me to embrace differences rather than fear it,” says Coll. “It gives me the confidence to experiment, to create authentically... knowing that creativity flourishes when everyone has the freedom to be themselves.”

⚠️Today, African penguins face a critical path toward extinction due to severe overfishing, habitat loss, and climate change. Protecting them requires immediate commercial fishing exclusion zones around their colonies, habitat restoration, and global action to combat ocean warming.

➡️Swipe through to read the full story behind the photograph, discover Ysabela’s vision, and learn how we can protect our living ecosystems!

🐧 Subject: African Penguins (Spheniscus demersus) – Endangered 🔴
📸 Photographer: Ysabela Coll
🏆 Selection: Q***r Nature Photography Awards 2026 (Top-13)

***rNaturePhotographyAwards

We are super grateful to our wonderful partner, Photographers Without Borders, for their generous support of the Q***r N...
13/08/2026

We are super grateful to our wonderful partner, Photographers Without Borders, for their generous support of the Q***r Nature Photography Awards 2026! 📸✨

To further empower the voices behind the lens, Photographers Without Borders is offering an Ethical Storytelling Workshop to our 2nd and 3rd place photographers! And a podcast moment for our number 1!

Huge congratulations to Cesar Quetglas Alzuaz and Ronnie Bailey-Steinitz, PhD ! We hope this workshop brings you rich inspiration and valuable insights as you continue to create impactful, respectful, and transformative work. The stories you tell have the power to challenge preconceptions, spark wonder, and inspire meaningful change for both wildlife and our communities. 🌿🌈

Thank you, Photographers Without Borders, for contributing to a more inclusive, conscious, and equitable future in photography!

🤝 Partner: Photographers Without Borders (Photographers Without Borders)

🏆 Honorees: Nr.2 Cesar Quetglas Alzuaz & Nr.3 Ronnie Bailey-Steinitz, PhD

✨ Event: Q***r Nature Photography Awards 2026

***rNaturePhotographyAwards

Want to see nature’s true diversity through a q***r lens? 🐋📸 Our 🌈🐋Q***r Nature Photography Awards🐋🌈 active exhibitions ...
12/08/2026

Want to see nature’s true diversity through a q***r lens? 🐋📸

Our 🌈🐋Q***r Nature Photography Awards🐋🌈 active exhibitions are officially live across multiple locations!

Where you can find us:

📍 Tolhuistuin, Amsterdam — Top 13 | FREE Entrance | Open until Nov 1st

📍 Groote Museum (ARTIS), Amsterdam — Top 3 | Open until Aug 31st

📍 Natur Museum Tirol, Italy — Top 10 (2024 Edition) | Open until Aug 31st

💡 Know a great venue? We are always looking for new spaces to showcase nature’s vibrant diversity! DM us or send an email to [email protected] with your suggestions. 📩

***rNaturePhotographyAwards ***rNature

🌈🐋Like the q***r universe, the cuttlefish refuses simple categories🌈🐋Featuring “Cuttlefish” by photographer and biologis...
10/08/2026

🌈🐋Like the q***r universe, the cuttlefish refuses simple categories🌈🐋

Featuring “Cuttlefish” by photographer and biologist Marcia Riederer —one of our Top-13 selections for the Q***r Nature Photography Awards 2026! 📸🦑

Fluid, expressive, and constantly transforming, this incredible creature changes color, texture, and pattern in an instant—not to hide who it is, but to communicate, connect, survive and mate.

As highlighted some smaller male cuttlefish “disguise” themselves as females during mating season to slip past rivals unnoticed. Others can even display male patterns on one side of their body and female patterns on the other at the exact same time—a stunning reminder that nature has always been more diverse, adaptable, and complex than rigid ideas of gender and identity.

“I am a biologist and I truly believe that diversity is richness, that can be wildlife or human diversity. That is who I am, and it shows in my photography.” — Marcia Riederer

Swipe through to read the full story behind the photograph, discover Marcia’s ethical approach to wildlife photography, and learn how we can protect our living ecosystems! 🌊

🪸 Subject: Cuttlefish (Sepiida)
📸 Photographer: Marcia Riederer (.riederer)
🏆 Selection: Q***r Nature Photography Awards 2026 (Top-13)

***rNature ***rNaturePhotographyAwards

🌈🐋We had a blast celebrating nature’s true Diversity with a beautifull group of people at the Tolhuistuin for this World...
07/08/2026

🌈🐋We had a blast celebrating nature’s true Diversity with a beautifull group of people at the Tolhuistuin for this World Pride Edition of the Q***r Nature Photography Awards! 🐋🌈

🙏Thank you, photographers for all your beautiful submissons! Thank you Charlotte Vermeulen for giving us a crash course on the topic of 🌈Q***r Nature🌈, Norman Vladimir for his amazing voice🎤 and Nancy Goreng / Nen C for the music afterwards🎧! And all who joined us either in the room or online ✨

🤲Thanks to our boardmemember .with.juul and our amzing host and manager of the whole project Kharim Amier without whom we would not have been able to host this event 💙

Together we hope to make these often overlooked parts of nature seen and share this message of love✨💜🎙️

***rNature

“When someone sees two albatross sky-pointing at sunset, they cannot claim q***rness is unnatural.” 🌊✨Featuring “The Dec...
06/08/2026

“When someone sees two albatross sky-pointing at sunset, they cannot claim q***rness is unnatural.” 🌊✨

Featuring “The Declaration” by Two-Spirit First Nations photographer and knowledge keeper Angela J. Farmer 🪶🪶| Award Winning Photographer | one of our Top-13 selections for the Q***r Nature Photography Awards 2026! 📸🪶

Captured on Española Island in the Galápagos, this striking image showcases a pair of Critically Endangered Waved Albatrosses mid-courtship ritual.

Same-s*x pairings (particularly female-female bonds) and cooperative parenting are well-documented within this species—proving that devotion and family in the wild are beautifully diverse.

“I photograph the endangered because I come from the endangered,” says Farmer, whose lens bridges Indigenous wisdom, conservation, and q***r visibility.

Swipe through to read the full story behind the photograph and learn how we can protect both our ecosystems and diverse communities.

📍 Location: Española Island, Galápagos
🪶 Species: Waved Albatross (Phoebastria irrorata)
📸 Photographer: Angela J. Farmer
🏆 Selection: Q***r Nature Photography Awards 2026 (Top-13)

***rNature

Address

Bucharest

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Narwhal Rainbow Alliance posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to Narwhal Rainbow Alliance:

Shortcuts

Share

Category