23rd Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Wildlife
When the Forest Dreams

A mountain gorilla rests in the dim ferns of Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, its lone eye catching a blade of light. I made this photograph during a ranger trek in one of the last places where these great apes still survive.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 02.2025
Date Uploaded: 11.2025
Photo Location: Buhona, Uganda
Camera: Canon EOS R5
Copyright: © Beata Whitehead