The Nature’s Best Photography International Awards competition rewards those intrepid photographers traveling the globe to document its beauty, dramas, funny moments and diversity.
The winning images of breathtaking landscapes, fascinating wildlife behavior, animal’s antics and tender moments and other surprising glimpses of Earth’s wonders and mysterious ocean depths, are a powerful invitation to discover, celebrate and protect our natural world.
The Nature’s Best Photography (NBP) contest is open to photographers and visual storytellers of all ages, expertise and backgrounds and encourages them to become advocates for wildlife conservation.
The fascinating image of a mother tiger imparting a tough lesson on survival fighting skills to her cub by photographer Mangesh Desai of Pune, India, won the NBP International Awards Grand Prize and $5,000.
The path to freedom for a tiger cub begins with the challenging duty of defining and protecting its territory. The photo portrays a pivotal masterclass life lesson that sets the stage for their fight for freedom. “The scenario unraveled elegantly as the tigers gracefully entered the water,” Mangesh says. “I took advantage of the moment to capture their lively interaction, the dynamic splash of water and the majestic grace of the tigers in motion.”
The photo competition awards 11 categories and the Top 100 Highly Honored finalists in Art in Nature, Wildlife, Birds, Youth, Nature in Motion/Video, Outdoor Adventure, Landscapes, Animal Antics, Polar Passion, Conservation Single Image Conservation Story and Ocean Views.
With cash prizes and awards totaling $20,000, the NBP competition —celebrating its 30th Anniversary — is open for entries now until March 26.
Best Photography Of Birds
The fleeting moment when two fish leap out of the water and pass by a surprised egret.
Xiaoping Lin writes: “The daily opening of the ‘sluice gates’ at Yundang Lake allows seawater to enter the lake, causing the tide to rise attracting egrets and other migratory shore birds. In this scene, a ladyfish chasing a tiny fish leaped out of the water simultaneously surprising an egret that couldn’t decide which one to choose. By building gates to let in fresh seawater and by implementing environmental safeguards, we can create habitats for wildlife that are both suitable and sustainable, benefiting us all.”
Bald Eagles tangle mid-air over a small prey.
Under the watchful eye of their mother, three Great Horned owlets check out the world from the safety of their nest in a cactus.
A Great Crested Grebe carries her chicks on her back
Wildlife Animals And Their Antics
“The amount of time invested in getting this image and the technical difficulties I experienced made this one of the most demanding images I have ever created,” recalled Kevin Dooley. “I located these two leopards in a tree in the morning and stayed all day as the leopards were enjoying the shade on a very hot day. Close to dark, the female came down, and the male followed. Suddenly the pair began to scuffle. Dust was in the air and it was getting dark. But it all added to one of my favorite memories as a nature photographer.”
A Masai Giraffe nuzzles her calf at the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya.
An Indian pangolin gives her pup a lift in Matale, Sri Lanka.
“Many Alaskan waters are pristine and clear all the way to the bottom of the river, which is not good for these sockeye salmon moving up river to spawn, as this brown bear could easily see them,” said Barrett Hedges. “The brown bear would try and act like it was not interested for a moment to get the fish to swim closer and then take off after them.”
“In a heartwarming display of sibling affection,” Brian Clopp recalled, “one fox encircles its tail around the other. They are perching on top of an underground den, where they will go to escape the scorching summer heat. Getting this shot involved camping in a remote desert area for three nights. The genuine tenderness between these wild animals serves as a poignant reminder that each living creature has a unique value within our vast universe.”
One Barred Owlet seems to be signaling the other not to push him as they perch in Seward Park, Seattle, Washington.
A symbiotic relationship is enjoyed by both an Impala and a Red-billed Oxpecker in Kruger National Park, South Africa.
Tres amigos are captured in this portrait of a South American Side-necked turtle, a butterfly and a bee in Tres Chimbadas Lake, Peru.
Best Photography: Polar Passion And Life Undersea
Said Brett Freliche: “To photograph this group of very curious and vocal belugas, I was positioned on a foam raft connected by rope to a boat. I would bend over the raft at my waist as my fingers and face became numb after the continuous and repeated exposure to the cold Hudson Bay.
“Visibility was less than optimal. On the final day of the tour, a pod of belugas came within a few feet, which enabled me to capture this photo. Each year, more than 50,000 white belugas migrate to the bay to feed and give birth.”
An Emperor Penguin chic waits for his parents at Atka-Bay, Antarctica.
Said Cécile Gabillon: “While free-diving in the Pacific Ocean, we came across this spectacular superpod of spinner dolphins herding lanternfish and guiding them toward the surface. I was swimming so hard that it seemed impossible to capture photos. Being surrounded by these dolphins was one of the most amazing encounters of my life. Sadly, it has become uncommon to see these massive groups with a decrease in marine life due to pollution and overfishing.”
A Yellow Seahorse on White Gorgonian Coral in the Mediterranean sea of the Gulf of Naples practically glows with its beauty.
Art In Nature And Landscapes
Lei Li has “traveled around Tibet for many years to photograph its lakes and natural wonders. This aerial photograph of a frozen lake revealed asymmetrical design that is invisible while standing at ground level. I have not detected this phenomenon anywhere else in Tibet, where there are more than a thousand picturesque lakes, among its gigantic mountains.”
Amazing art lies hidden on the underside of a mushroom in Monterey, California.
At dawn’s light on the Alto Paraíso plateau in Goias, Brazil a stunning field of wild Paepalanthus flowers, mirrors the sun’s rays, giving the impression of self-luminescence. This biodiverse high-altitude Cerrado, or tropical savannah, adjacent to Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park is located within an environmental protection area.
Dancing Mangroves add to a breathtaking sunset on Sumba Island, Indonesia.
Humans And Nature: Adventure & Conservation
“Some people are just wired to seek high adventure, says Belva Hayden. “Hearing that an annular eclipse was happening — where the moon passes directly between earth and the sun — this climber devised a way to make an extreme sport even more extreme. It took considerable planning to find a safe location for the climber on the line that also worked for our group of eight photographers. While running and scrambling on the rocks that morning, I needed to keep calm and remember to wear the protective eclipse glasses as I focused on each shot.”
A diver swims with a pod of sperm whales in the Caribbean Sea. The sperm whale is the largest of the toothed whales and it’s known to dive as deep as 1,000 meters in search of squid to eat. The image was taken under permit in Dominica.
Monarch butterflies stream through trees in El Rosario sanctuary within the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Michoácán, Mexico. The migrating butterflies winter in the same Oyamel fir groves that that have sheltered them for generations.
Jaime Rojo explains that “the annual migration of the monarch butterfly is one of the most iconic wildlife spectacles in North America, full of dazzling natural history enigmas that have kept scientists busy for more than 50 years.
“It involves a multi-generational lifecycle, yet-to-be-understood, navigation skills and an evolutionary arms race with a common weed species, milkweed. In the last three decades, the population of monarchs has suffered a 90% decline. Deforestation in Mexico was once considered the leading factor. However, recent findings reveal an equally urgent threat in the loss of breeding habitat in the U.S. and Canada, driven by expanding industrial agriculture and housing developments in native prairies.
“Monarch butterflies are long-distance migrants, environmental indicators, and a flagship species among the pollinator family. Any conservation actions oriented toprotect their habitat will benefit many other species.”
Orphaned chimpanzees snuggle with their caretaker at the Chimpanzee Rescue, Lwiro Primate Sanctuary at Kahuzi-Biega National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
All the Category Winners and Top 100 Highly Honored finalists of the Nature’s Best Photography competition can be seen here.