NatGeo 2017 - the biggest and most anticipated nature photography contest of the year ended with victory going to photographers with beautiful, emotional images.
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| A shy male orangutan stands behind a tree as he tries to cross a river in Borneo, Indonesia. The winning photo of the 2017 NatGeo Nature Photo Contest was taken by Jayaprakash Joghee Bojan. |
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| A baby flamingo in Yucatán, Mexico is fed by its parents. Flamingos are beautiful birds with long legs, slender bodies and distinctive pink feathers. But the chicks are born dark gray and turn pink as they mature. This photo earned Alejandro Prieto second place in the contest. |
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| Another photo that won an honorable mention in the wildlife category was by Lance McMillan, which shows a Japanese snow monkey dozing off while its mates comb its lice. |
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| Harry Colling's image of an owl reaching out to grab its prey on the ground in New Hampshire (USA) won the public's choice award in the wildlife category. |
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| The top prize in the Natural Landscape category went to Karim Iliya, who captured the moment a powerful lava flow erupted into the Kalapana Sea, Hawaii (USA) at sunset. |
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| Yuhan Liao's photo won second place in the Natural Landscape category. Sunlight flows over geological layers in Zhangye Danxia Park (China) creating a beautiful, magical image. |
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| Coming in third place is Mike Olbinski's stunning image of a bolt of lightning streaking across the sky in the Grand Canyon National Park (USA). |
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| Morning mist shrouds the surface of Lake Cuejdel – a natural reservoir created by a landslide in Romania – giving the dead trees a hauntingly beautiful appearance. This haunting image by Ghoerghe Popa won an honorable mention in the competition. |
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| The People's Choice Award went to Wojciech Kruczynski for his photo of a sunset and rainbow illuminating a lighthouse in the Faroe Islands. |
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| This stunning shot of tidal waves crashing against a cliff and a natural swimming pool in Sydney, Australia, by photographer Todd Kennedy won first place in the Aerial Photography category. |
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| Second place in this category is this photo of snow-covered trees in Takashima (Japan), taken by Takahiro Bessho. |
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| A lava flow flows down the slopes of Kilauea Volcano (Hawai'i, USA). After erupting in early 2016, it took about two months for the lava flow to travel 10 km down the slopes and reach the ocean. This image by Greg C. was third place in the Aerial Photography category. |
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| Migrating gulls take flight from a cedar tree drifting along a glacier in British Columbia, Canada. This photo is an honorable mention in the Aerial Photography category. |
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| David Swindler won the People's Choice award for his photo of plants growing in a winding canyon in Utah, USA. |
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| In the Underwater Photography category, the winner is Jim Obester. This image shows the tentacles of an invertebrate in Hood Canal, Washington (USA). |
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| Michael Patrick O'Neill came in third in this category. His photo captured the flapping action of a flying fish in Palm Beach, Florida (USA). |
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| Honorable mention in the Underwater Photography category went to Jennifer O'Neil for her photo of a giant school of fish moving gracefully and ribbon-like in the Caribbean Sea. |
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| A Portuguese man-of-war jellyfish floats on the ocean surface on a summer morning. This is one of the venomous jellyfish that causes severe stinging pain to beachgoers. This photo by Matthew Smith was voted top prize in the Underwater Photography category of the 2017 Nat Geo Photo Contest. |
According to TTO
