2010 National Geographic Photography Contest Galleries

Tolerance

Photo and caption by Maria-Carolina Mendez

The big and the small sharing the same and single objective. That is possible with tolerance. The butterfly and the bee enjoying the nectar from the pink zinnia during a hot summer day.

Weather phenomenon over Silvercreek Colorado November 2009

Photo and caption by jay brazzell

A temperature inversion was the cause of a spectacular sun halo display over Silvercreek/Granby Colorado. When a morning temperature of -27 and a heavy ground fog mingled the result was what started as crystalized water vapor (Diamond Dust) and became a wonderful sun halo followed by a double sun halo. The display lasted from 7:30 am till about 8:30 am.
An explanation of the light caracteristics can be seen on a division of NASA site.
http://epod.usra.edu/blog/2009/12/halo-display-above-granby-colorado.html

Simba

Photo and caption by Stephan Brauchli

This lion was photographed in Tanzania in Ndutu with a Canon 5D MII and a 300mm 2.8 IS lens. In order to get this picture I had to wait 2 hours for the lion to wake up. The image is uncropped.

Reach

Photo and caption by stuart gibson

White water reach

Rio Frio Cypresssaurus

Photo and caption by Buddy Lerch

The reflection of burnt orange foliage of bald cypress trees along the Frio River in Texas' Garner State Park caught my attention at sunup in November 2009. The flowing river showed minor ripples in the reflection, even though the wind was dead calm. The side lighting provided by the newly risen sun created mysterious shadows behind the stand of riverside cypress. The cypress trunks themselves brought to mind the sturdy legs of large dinosaurs.

The Calm before the Song

Photo and caption by Michael Warner

Taken early morning on a camping trip on Lake Hartwell in eastern Georgia.

Ultimate Weaverishness

Photo and caption by Coenrad Morgan

I have known this bird for what seems an eternity. For weeks he has been putting on amazing spring mating show I came to refer to as "Weaverishness", thats what I came to capture.I positioned myself, he wove for a bit and looked at me, really looked, I looked back, he seemed tired, contemplative; this was the last time we saw each other, he was struck by a car 2 weeks later. From him,I learned that Weaverishness is more than a song and dance it's a very serious business,its about the next generation."Soggy" leaves behind this image as testament as also a nest full of his young, the future.

Cockfight

Photo and caption by Erez Marom

Two Blepharopsis mendica (thistle mantis) nymphs, facing each other. These creatures don't have much affection even for their own species.

Wings

Photo and caption by Marcos Grellet

In a deserte field of trees, there were exactly seven flower, none with life around it. Walking thru the frugal garden, I came across these lonely insects that looked like were sharing the same flower in search of more than just nectar.

Sanctuary

Photo and caption by kim allmand

I stumbled upon this old silo with a tree just peeking out of the top. It seemed to be taking advantage of the protection of the Silo, like a chick inside an egg.

About ice

Photo and caption by Sergey Rumyantsev

Small piece of ice at Black Pebble beach near Jökulsárlón lagoon (ice lagoon) in Iceland.

Take off

Photo and caption by Ying Cai

A swan is taking off from a lake located at Azuminodaira, Nagano, Japan

Midnight Flight

Photo and caption by Dymetria Sellers

Egrets sleep in a tree which overlooks a still river.

Queen of the Night

Photo and caption by Carol Reams

This magical plant is actually a tropical variety that looks quite gangly and unimpressive for 364 days of the year. However, on one night yearly, it becomes the "Cinderella" of flowering plants. The flower is a large, white, extremely fragrant blossum that is intoxicating to watch as it slowly opens to a full bloom and then fades away when daylight arrives.

Sun Kissed Vibrance

Photo and caption by Darla Dean

A vibrant Anemone has it's moment in the sun, in between the cooling swells of the ocean tide.

I feel alone!

Photo and caption by Alain Feulvarch

While diving in El Gouna, Egypt I found this little guy.

Ymir

Photo and caption by Ása Birna Viðarsdóttir

This one is taken in february this year outside Akranes, my hometown in Iceland. As you can se the Siberian Huskey haven´t developed that far from it´s wolfs roots. Took a few shots of this fellow in this beautiful weather, found this one the best of them :)

I'm watching you...

Photo and caption by Jasper Dalgliesh

The lion was only a few feet away from our vehicle, lying down, when he looked at me intently. It was the mating season and he had obviously been fighting and judging from his other healed scars it was not the first time in his life. His eyes pierced through the lens as I took the image. It was taken in the Ruaha National Park, Tanzania, the second biggest national park in the world.

English sundew (Drosera anglica)

Photo and caption by Merle Juhanson

Ready to eat some bugs.

Storm Wave at Sunset

Photo and caption by Cynthia Hedgecock

It was a wild and stormy sunset on the NaPali Coast of Kaua'i the evening I took this photograph. Huge waves were pounding the cliffs and then washing back out to sea. This wave washed back out to meet an oncoming wave, and the two exploded in a beautiful fan, backlit by sunset to show the green of the water, and surrounded by golden mist.

Elephant Heaven

Photo and caption by daniel bilsborough

At Ngorogoro Crater in Tanzania this bull Elephant was strolling around this flower bed picking out a bite to eat. The low thick cloud cover and fertile ground provide a perfect envronment for these yellow flowers to thrive.

Graceful giant

Photo and caption by Matt Curnock

An adolescent humpback whale in mid-pirouette.

White rainbow over white Icelandic horse

Photo and caption by Marketa Stanczykova

White rainbows result from sunlight striking fog droplets which are so tiny that they can not act as prisms, like larger raindrops do for typical rainbows. They just bounce back white light for the sun, right to your eyes.

Devouring Colors

Photo and caption by Gabriela Dominguez

(Cnemidophorus Lumniscatus). Blue Lizard eating from a red fruit of a colorful tropical cactus. Picture taken in Providence Island. Seaflower Biosphere Reserve. Colombia.

Vulture & Jackal

Photo and caption by Stephen Earle

Photographing from a hide in the Drakensberg mountain range in South-Africa, I captured this moment of interaction between a black-backed jackal and an endangered cape vulture.

Grey Squirrel protecting his nuts

Photo and caption by george reszeter

A Grey Squirrel was inside a squirrel proof bird feeder eating the peanuts, as I approched it turned aggresive and lunged towards me with its claw, definately a case of "you are not getting your hands on my nuts"

Untitled

Photo and caption by Joshua Gudde

Taken at Bribie Island on Queensland's south east coast at low tide. I have photographed this tree many times, but cant go past the foreground detial in this image.

Funnelweb venom

Photo and caption by Nick Moir

The male Funnelweb spider found around Sydney , Australia , is the worlds most venomous spider , though less aggressive than the female its venom is capable of killing humans. The only place in the world that milks the spider for its venom is at the Australian Reptile Park near Sydney where it is collected to be made into Antivenom for hospitals.

Frost

Photo and caption by Nick Moir

Steam from a coal fired power station is highlighted by dawn light during a record breaking cold snap in the Australian inland , temperatures of -9c very low for the region created widespread and damaging frosts. Crops throughout the region suffered from the unexpected cold temperatures.

Opalescent Nudibranchs

Photo and caption by Jens Troeger

I took this picture at about 60 ft depth at a site called Seven Tree, near Browning Passage at the North end of Vancouver Island, Canada. The currents were quite strong and the conditions weren't really good for shooting macro. Around the rock the water calmed down, and drifting along I noticed these two Opalescent Nudibranchs crawling over each other. A big red anemone made for perfect negative space behind the two nudis, and the picture turned out to be one of my very favorites from this trip.

Tusks

Photo and caption by Kathy Gerber

No wonder elephant tusks have been so sought after for their ivory, they are a thing of beauty...thank goodness there are organizations and governments in coalition to save these magnificent beauties.

The shadow of the Heron

Photo and caption by Breno Fortes

Photo of a heron with its shadow on her wing.

Wandering Albatross Close Up

Photo and caption by Craig Nash

The Wandering Albatross, the bird with the biggest wingspan in the world, sitting on the Pacific Ocean off Kaikoura in New Zealand

Matriarch

Photo and caption by Ingrid Vekemans

Female elephants live together in a matriarchal clan, consisting of a mother with her grown-up daughters and all of their offspring. Whenever they sense danger, the adults instinctively protect the young demonstrating solidarity and strength.
This photo shows the matriarch of such a group. Her raised head and spread ears told us she was not agitated, but alert and the challenge was to capture the moment of eye contact in a sharp close-up before moving away. This wasn’t straightforward because of her dark skin, so I turned the ISO up to increase the shutter speed.
Tsavo East, Kenya. July'09

Arm of God

Photo and caption by Mitch Dobrowner

Rotating storm cloud in near farmhouse in Galacia, Kansas.

PINK DESERT PATH

Photo and caption by Gail von Bergen-Ryan

Although taken in the Namibian desert, this reminds me of
a Japanese garden.

Freshwater

Photo and caption by Cristiano Burmester

This is an underwater view of the Sucuri river, located in the center-west region of Brazil. Such a clear water is due to the rocky bottom of the river. Piraputanga is a common species of river fish in this area.

Midwestern Fall Grasshopper

Photo and caption by Evan McGlinn

A grasshopper lands on the windshield of a car in Hollandale, Wisconsin in November. Holding a Canon G9 inside the car, the camera was set to macro and placed against the glass of the windshield. The effect is like a big alien flying across the sky.

Take a deep breath....

Photo and caption by Jose Cardona

Captured this perfect shot of a lovely green sea turtle while on a recent vacation in Maui. I had just enough time to snap a few pics before he went back under water again!

Viewers' Choice Nature Winner

Photo and caption by sanjeev bhor

Smile Please

When I entered into the deep forest of Jim Corbett National Park, I was searching for a tiger and suddenly we came across a monkey. He ran so fast that within a fraction of second he sat on a termite mound. He sat in such a manner and was watching me like he might be telling me to click his photograph. And I got this memorable image of a monkey sitting on a termite mound for a portfolio photograph. It is very rare to see him in such a pose.