These 15 Photos From Smithsonian Magazine's Photo Contest Will Take Your Breath Away, Guaranteed

"A seal pup enjoys the morning breeze on Düne Island in Germany."

"Sardines emerge from a coral wall in cobalt waters just a few yards from the shores of Cebu Island in the Philippines. They move in a single undulating cloud of silver that twists, turns, shrinks, expands, and wraps itself around any object that gets in its way. At times, it becomes a thundercloud, blocking out the sun or clapping violently as it suddenly flips its formation to evade a predator."

"This is my favorite black skimmer photo that I have taken in all the years following a little-known colony. Every year I select a nest when the parent is on eggs, then follow that same nest until they fledge. I choose one nest because colonies are chaotic; you will miss some shots by pointing the lens at hundreds of birds. One morning I got into position and lay there for an hour until sunrise when a parent flew in directly to feed the baby. The baby was inches away from me, so I couldn't get the feeding photo. However, after the baby gobbled down the fish, I captured it running up to the parent and displaying the behavior pictured."

"Countless chili peppers surround laborers in the Bogra district in the north of Bangladesh. More than 2,000 people work in almost 100 chili farms in Bogra in Bangladesh to supply local spice companies with chilies for use in their recipes. Chili peppers are a major part of the Bengali cuisine popular in Bangladesh and are used as part of a combination of spices for various meat dishes, including chicken and beef."

"A boatman enjoys the leisure of reading a newspaper on his boat."

"Decoratively dyed bundles of incense dry in Quang Phu Cau, a commune in Hanoi, Vietnam. In Buddhist countries like Vietnam, incense is an irreplaceable part of traditional festivals and religious ceremonies."

"Suburbia neighborhood swimming pool in Santa Fe, New Mexico."

"This was shot in a pool and inverted upside down."

"This photo was taken right after Hurricane Irma hit Miami. This is my 5-year-old son walking through our neighborhood."

"Curtis, Kate, and Jude, siblings, lie in their backyard in Watford, North Dakota. 6 July, 2017. The Long family has five children whom they homeschool. Western North Dakota attracted families from across the nation during the recent oil boom. Watford, like other rural towns in the region, is now facing unemployment and overdevelopment since the decline of the oil industry."

"This photo was taken in Playa Tarará, Havana, Cuba at 5:30 p.m. I was going to the beach with my family. It was really hot. I saw people playing squash. Oh my god, I thought! How can they manage! The colors were really bright, and I was attracted by the shadows."

"This picture was taken during the New Year holiday in NYC from the Roosevelt Island aerial tramway. Despite the rain, there is a festive mood in the frame. Raindrops resemble Christmas balls."

"A man is going home after attending the Meyboom festival in Brussels."

"A refugee of the Democratic Republic of Congo swims on his back in the waters of Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro."

"Care goes beyond gender. I went to the small slum near to my house in the morning, and I saw that this man was feeding his grandchild while his daughter, the infant's aunt, held him. It shows me something different than my society. In Bangladeshi society, care work is usually done by a female member of a family."