15 Unbelievably Stunning Entries From The NatGeo Nature Photographer Of The Year Contest

The National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year is an annual contest that showcases the best nature photographs from around the world and declares one of them as the winner, chosen by the judges.

This year too, a large number of entries have been submitted. Although the winner will be announced in December first week, let’s take a look at some of the most awe-inspiring pictures of this year’s contest.

1. Orangutan Mother And Baby

“An orangutan mother with baby on her shoulders, photographed with a 1959 Rolleiflex TLR camera, in the forest of Tanjung Puting National Park, Borneo. It’s a terrible wildlife camera for me, but great for the animals because it is quiet and the waist-level viewfinder puts me in a non-threatening posture. I enjoy the challenge of this approach, and the timeless quality of the resulting images. Of course the 50mm-equivalent lens requires the animals be very close..”

 

2. NWT Reindeer Herd

“As the this reindeer herd of thousands crests the ridge of the frozen Mackenzie Rivervalley, one of the  of the last members of the herd steals a backward glance at mysnowmobile to see how closely I was following.”

 

3. Bull Race

“Pacu Jawi, or bull race, is held in Indonesia where bulls are coupled, with the jockey standing on the plow harnesses attached to each bull, running a short distance of about 100 feet. Whichever pair runs the fastest in a straight fashion fetches the highest price (as they are deemed the best workhorse in plowing the paddy fields for harvesting).”

 

4. The Stare

“On one of our game drives, we came across Ziggy ( the dominant male lion) in the sprawling plains of Serengeti with his entire pride scattered around him. It was a bright and sunny day, with a strong wind blowing across the plains. This presented a rare opportunity to capture a close-up of a perfectly calm yet strikingly alert Ziggy as it walked past our vehicle. His beautiful golden black mane blowing in the wind and his big eyes glowing in the bright sun.”

 

5. Last Breath

“As I ascended on my safety stop I looked down to see a flash come up towards me in the water column, it all happened too quickly, but before I knew it I was descending the few metres to the sandy floor as fast as I could to get of shot this lizardfish devouring a juvenile surgeonfish. Lizardfish are ambush hunters, striking as quickly as possible and swallowing their prey whole!”

 

6. Dancing In The Rain  

“Fox caught in action under the rain.”

 

7. Priceless

“Two very precious endangered beasts gracing me with their presence under the stars in South Africa. So many of these rhino are now being dehorned to save them from poachers that this photographic moment is even more precious to me. A long exposure for the stars while light painting the rhino as they drank makes for an amazing moment captured.”

 

8. Dragging You Deep Into The Woods!

“A morning stroll into the blissful forest ! Ceaseless drizzles dampening the woods for 12 hours a day; The serene gloom which kept me guessing if it was a night or a day. Heavy fog, chilling breeze and the perennial silence could calm roaring sprits; And there I spotted this 20cm beauty the Green vine snake ! I wondered if i needed more reasons to capture this with the habitat; For I was blessed to see this at the place I was at. I immediately switched from the macro to the wide angle lens.”

 

9. Herculean Stove

“The Nyiragongo volcano has the biggest permanent lava lake on Earth. After sunset, the red glow of the lava mixes with the blue of the sky, which creates this purple cloud. At the same time, the crater becomes red. These effects only last for a few seconds.”

 

10. Icescape

“As the majority of the glaciers in the world continue to melt, large chunks of ice float out into the surrounding channels. The ice under water melts faster than on the surface, as it’s density changes the ice flips over and reveals beautiful patterns of glass-like sculptures. The gulls, Kittiwakes and other seabirds use these floaters to rest and spot food. Although it looks like night this photo was taken in the late morning hours as cloud cover shadows the dark pine ridge in the background.”

 

11. The Glowworm Passageway

“This is the furthest upstream you can travel in the Ruakuri Cave before you run out ofairspace. It is lit entirely by the light of glowworms – the natural light highlights thelimestone textures that make up the cave walls. You can also see the glowwormthreads used to catch their pray.To reach this location it involved abseiling down a 35 metre hole, climbing, walking and swimming through small dark passages. I then set up my gear in pitch-black, chest-deep water, for a 6 minute exposure.”

 

12. Moving At A Snail’s Pace…  

“While enjoying the sights of Chicago’s Garfield Conservatory found this unlikely traveler taking a closer look at this Bromeliad. Sometimes you have to slow down to appreciate the tiny wonders right in front of you!”

 

13. Aerial Autumn

“Aerial view of Fall colors, New Hampshire (09/10/2016)”

 

14. Ocean Guest 

”  Every autumn walruses swim to this rookery place in the North of Russia (Chukotka, Vankarem cape). One day, walking along the beach away from the rookery, I came across a lone walrus, who was sleeping on the shore, its tusks sticked in the sand. I carefully crept up to it and photographed it with a wide-angle lens. At some point it woke up and noticed me.”

 

15. Hummingbird 

“This lil humming bird baby was caught in my home. Here he is recouping from what was a stressful time being stuck. Minutes later her flew away. Canon 5Dmkiii 100Lmm.”

Doesn’t matter who wins this competition. These pictures do make for a visual treat!

All images from: National Geographic

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All the images have been published after National Geographic’s permission.