If you need inspiration for your next vacation plans, take a look at this year's entries for National Geographic's Nature Photographer of the Year contest [1]. Each photo will make you want to take a digital detox and immerse yourself in the places these were taken. The contest ends Nov. 4 and includes four different categories you can submit photos to: landscape, environmental issues, action, and animal portraits.
The lucky grand prize winner will get to take even more nature photographs, as they "will receive a 10-day trip for two to the Galápagos with National Geographic Expeditions and two 15-minute image portfolio reviews with National Geographic photo editors." Gaze at some of the entries ahead with the photographer's original caption. If you want more ideas of where to travel, take a look at the winners from this year's National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year contest [2].
Tundra Ghost
"Snowy owls are among my favorite birds on the planet. Their elusive nature and elegant flight make them a crown jewel to photograph. Repetition and persistence proved to be the key with this image. Using a slow shutter speed of 1/50 to create this 'wing blur' effect, I took well over 1,000 unusable photos over three weeks in the field to make this one frame. In this case, the high risk came with a high reward."
Beauty Beyond Disaster
"The Soberanes Fire, located south of Carmel and Point Lobos, started Friday morning, on July 22. By Saturday night, the fire covered the entire mountain. The sky was illuminated by the golden glow of the forest fire. I hiked down towards a cliff by the beach. Because the wind was blowing south and slightly east, the sky to the southwest was clear. I witnessed the most spectacular sight I have ever seen, the Milky Way glowed above the raging wildfire. Beauty rose beyond disaster."
Bear Hug
"Brown Bears, Katmai National Park, Alaska."
Surreal!
"Surreal! Flying swans, airplane shadow and the abstract looking glacial rivers of Iceland. All of this action captured from a fast flying plane. Aerial Image (shot from an airplane at 1,000 feet)."
Curious Lions
"Using a wide-angle lens (16mm) on our remote-controlled camera buggy results in the background being smaller in shot and appearing further away. We fire the camera shutter using the same remote-control transmitter that we use to drive the buggy, allowing us a range of a couple of hundred meters although we rarely sit more than fifty metres away from camera."
UFO formation
"A baby cloud had born at dawn. The baby cloud had grown bigger and bigger than before. When it came the time of the morning glow, It had grown to many huge lenticular clouds. It looked like UFO formation."
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."
Burning Tree
"Unexpected light burst over the front ranges of the Rockies and ignited the clouds above Lake Minnewanka. The clouds rushed by, catching glimpses of the days first light before fading back in to darkness. A long exposure captured the fleeting light and the feeling of the experience, the color disappearing within just minutes."
Moonlightning
"Lightning strikes lower Manhattan as a summer storm approaches a moonlit New York City skyline."
Let's Picnic
"Yellowstone National Park, west thumb geyser basin, a perfect spot for picnic, and I mean not for human."
Daybreak at Monument Valley
"A storm was rolling in from the west and the few of us gathered for sunrise were watching and hoping that day would break before the rains came. The moment the sun peeked above the horizon, we were hit with incredible winds and sideways driving rain. My husband jumped behind me to block the blowing sand and to try to shelter me from the wind. I kept shooting as the skies lit up, while gripping the tripod to keep it steady. This image is the result of those efforts from this memorable sunrise!"
Hidden Landscape
"Grey, melted snow and ice runs like silent tears.
Crumbling, ancient ice crunches. Tired from the
fight against the warmth, the glaciers take flight,
fleeing from human ignorance. But there are also
people who want to persuade them to stay, desperately
asking for a last chance. Wrapping them
in soft fleece, providing safety and peace beneath
the insulating shield. Rebelling against the powerlessness
from the impending effects of global warming."
Swamp Raccoon
"While looking for alligators at a swamp in Louisiana, this beautiful little creature wanders out of the murky waters right into the morning light , pausing just long enough to capture."
The Best Spot on the Savannah
"Female leopard gazing out over the savannah in the Okavango Delta, Botswana."
Wildebeest Migration
"This is a photo of Wildebeest during migration in the Serengeti."