2010 National Geographic Photography Contest Galleries

Thunderstorm in Rotterdam

Photo and caption by Max Bondarenko

The rough weather in the Netherlands has completely broke my stereotype of Siberia as one of the coldest place on earth. Humidity, heavy rain and strong winds could easily blow though my winter coat that used to protect me from Siberian dry -40C.

Shooting star at Mont Saint Michelle

Photo and caption by Max Bondarenko

The famous Mont Saint Michelle, packed with tourists during daytime becomes a silent and mysterious place by night after all the illumination lights are shut.

The Red Gate

Photo and caption by Weixin Shen

An old lady walking through the traditional chinese red palace gate of the The Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum in Nanjing, China. This kind of gate was only used in imperial buildings in ancient china. It was an indication of imperial power.

Farm and Fog Panorama

Photo and caption by Dennis Newton

Early morning view of valley, Pepin County Wisconsin

Him against the Apostles

Photo and caption by Daniel Seliong

As the sun was about to set, I noticed a silhouette of a person from afar walking in the midst of the Twelve Apostles.

Clouds from Italy

Photo and caption by Gian Andri Giovanoli

A photo from one of those summer days when the wind from the south brings up the clouds from Italy towards the valley of Engadine in Switzerland. Picture taken at late afternoon with my father looking down towards Maloja, a little village near the Italian border.

The Fog is coming...

Photo and caption by Georgi Doychev

Snowy morning...
...hours of waiting...

The wind takes clouds away.
And soon disappeared the color of grey.
No more cold and dark in the mountain.
The cusp was lit by the sunshine.

And the snow began to melt,
to watered valley,
and the sunny ray,
change this gloomy day.
For a minute,
from the top of the the hill,
the Fog is comming to hide the field.
...
Moment later,
and everything was under the fog's mantel

Layers of Color, Viti Explosion Crater, Iceland

Photo and caption by Joao Maia

Walking around Viti Explosion Crater, on the Krafla volcanic region of northern Iceland, one can see the several layers of color that compose the unusual landscape, from the gray of the cloudy sky with the fumarole vents, to the red of the trail that goes around the crater itself, not forgetting the turquoise of the mineral filled water, and the green grass. The tiny little spots on the brown hill on the background, reflected on the water, are people walking on the trail that goes around the crater.

Hippopotamus at the National Zoo, Washington, DC

Photo and caption by Christina Andreeva

The line between reality and illusion is an impermanent one...

Ojos del Mar

Photo and caption by Marianne Bargiotti

Ojos del Mar (Eyes of the Sea), a clear water pond in the middle of a salted desert. Shot in Puna, Andes, Argentina

Chinatown

Photo and caption by Paulo de Almeida Sacramento

I was visiting New York with my wife on the end of September. We wanted to know Chinatown, so we took the train from Harlem. As we got out of the subway station, it was like we were suddenly in some asian country. Visiting New York was an amazing experience, mostly, because we could see how people from so many different cultural backgrounds can live together in the same city.

Mahweet Point and Approaching Storm

Photo and caption by Don Whitebread

A storm approaches from the west of Mahweet in the Haraz Mountains of Yemen. This area is called "the graveyard of the Turks" for the impenetrable defense hilltowns like this provided during the spread of the Ottoman Empire.

Queen Street, Toronto

Photo and caption by Janine Riviere

This is a photo I took recently of downtown Toronto. It shows an oddly quiet moment in a main Toronto street with the result being a liminal moment in the cityscape.

Preservation

Photo and caption by Denen de Silva

Inside the UK Pavilion at Expo 2010 Shanghai, visitors witness a spectacular expression of the preservation of the world's seeds. Raising awareness of the the Kew Millennium Seed Bank Partnership, the Pavilion is a beautiful yet haunting reminder of mankind's power over, and impact upon planet earth.