NatGeo 2017 – the biggest and most anticipated nature photography competition of the year – concluded with victories for photographers whose images were visually stunning and emotionally evocative.
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| A shy male orangutan stands behind a tree as it attempts to cross a river in Borneo, Indonesia. This photograph, which won the top prize in the 2017 NatGeo Nature Photography Contest, was taken by Jayaprakash Joghee Bojan. |
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| A baby flamingo in Yucatán, Mexico, is being fed by its parents in turns. Flamingos are beautiful birds with long legs, slender bodies, and distinctive pink plumage. However, baby flamingos are born dark gray and will change to pink as they mature. This photograph earned Alejandro Prieto second prize in the competition. |
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| Another photograph that received an honorable mention in the wildlife photography category was by Lance McMillan, depicting a Japanese snow monkey dozing off while its fellow monkeys pick lice from its fur. |
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| The image of an owl in the moment of grasping its prey on the ground in New Hampshire (USA) won the Harry Colling People's Choice Award in the wildlife category. |
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| The top prize in the Natural Landscape photography category went to Karim Iliya, who captured the moment a powerful stream of lava erupted into the sea off Kalapana, Hawaii (USA) at sunset. |
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| Yuhan Liao's photograph ranked second in the Natural Landscape category. Sunlight streaming across the geological layers in Zhangye Danxia National Park (China) creates a breathtakingly beautiful and surreal image. |
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| Coming in third is Mike Olbinski's striking image of a lightning bolt streaking across the sky in Grand Canyon National Park (USA). |
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| Morning mist blankets Lake Cuejdel—a natural reservoir created by landslides in Romania—making the dry tree trunks appear eerily beautiful. 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 photograph of a sunset and rainbow illuminating a lighthouse in the Faroe Islands. |
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| This stunning photograph, taken in Sydney, Australia, showing tidal waves crashing against a cliff and a natural pool, by photographer Todd Kennedy topped the Aerial Photography category. |
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| Second place in this category goes to a photograph of snow-covered tree trunks in Takashima (Japan), taken by Takahiro Bessho. |
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| A lava flow cascades down the slopes of Kilauea Volcano (Hawai'i, USA). After erupting in early 2016, this lava flow took approximately two months to travel the 10 km stretch of the mountainside and reach the sea. This image by Greg C. ranked third in the Aerial Photography category. |
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| Migratory seagulls take flight from a cedar tree drifting along a glacier in British Columbia, Canada. This photograph is the honor roll in the Aerial Photography category. |
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| David Swindler won the popular vote award for his photograph of plants growing in a winding canyon in Utah (USA). |
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| In the Underwater Photography category, the winner was Jim Obester. This is an image of the tentacles of an invertebrate animal in Hood Canal, Washington (USA). |
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| Coming in third in this category is Michael Patrick O'Neill. His photograph captures the flapping wings of a flying fish in Palm Beach, Florida (USA). |
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| Jennifer O'Neil received the honorable mention in the Underwater Photography category for her photograph of a massive school of fish moving gracefully and fluidly like a ribbon in the Caribbean Sea. |
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| A Portuguese jellyfish, man-of-war, surfaces on a summer morning. This is one of the venomous jellyfish species that causes intense itching and pain for beachgoers. This photograph by Matthew Smith was the top choice in the Underwater Photography category of the 2017 Nat Geo photo contest. |
According to TTO
