National Geographic has opened its annual photo contest for 2017, with the deadline for submissions coming up on November 17. The Grand Prize Winner will receive $7,500, publication in National Geographic Magazine and a feature on National Geographic’s Instagram account. The folks at National Geographic were, once more, kind enough to let me choose among the contest entries so far for display here. The captions below were written by the individual photographers, and lightly edited for style.
2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year Contest
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"Sea and Salt." Spain has many impressive landscapes and fascinating destinations, but one of the most amazing natural resorts are the salty pink lakes in Torrevieja. In this beautiful coastal resort you can find two beautiful salt lakes: A blue-green one called La Mata lagoon and the other, of an impressive pink color, known as Torrevieja lagoon. Both are connected to the sea by canals. #
© Wellington Rodrigues / 2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year -
"Tongass Breach." A magical moment I shared with nature, where a humpback whale briefly allowed me into its world. Two very different species shared a natural moment with no one else around; something I will never forget as long as I live. This breach occurred in front of my kayak within the protected waters of the Tebenkof Bay and Kuiu Wilderness Areas in Alaska. Surrounded by silence, I could hear the whale calls above the surface. I will cherish and hold this moment dear. I am privileged and thankful. #
© Eric Esterle / 2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year -
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"A Sad Story for a Mother Giraffe." A very emotional scene of a lioness dragging a recently killed baby giraffe, only a few days old, with the mother giraffe looking on. #
© Mike Hall / 2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year -
"Migrant in the Muck Field." Migrant workers come from Mexico and other countries farther south to the Ohio muck fields. The big white hats they are wearing protect them from the hot summer sun. Together with the black and green lines, this image comes to its artistic right. #
© Joost Boerman / 2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year -
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"Above the Polar Bear." Dear future generation, I hope we will still be able to see the Arctic wildlife as we do now. It is threatened as the environment is changing. I was able to witness many scenes of wildlife and I can guarantee you this is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Here, the polar bear might be interpreted as holding back the melting sea ice. Incredible and unique, this was shot six meters above a polar bear during wildlife reportage in Nunavut and Greenland during the summer of 2017. #
© Florian Ledoux / 2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year -
"Face to Face in a River in Borneo." While looking for wild orangutans in Tanjung Puting National Park, Indonesia, we witnessed the amazing sight of this huge male crossing a river, despite the fact there were crocodiles in the river. Rapid growth of palm oil farming has depleted their habitat, and when pushed to the edge, these intelligent creatures have learned to adapt to the changing landscape, This is proof, considering orangutans hate water and never venture into rivers. I got five feet deep into the river to get this perspective. #
© Jayaprakash Joghee Bojan / 2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year -
"Spaceship Superstar Supercell." A supercell thunderstorm on the Kansas Plains appears to explode in all directions right before our eyes in May of this year. We were able to stay in position and photograph this storm for over 4 hours. We watched it become a supercell and we watched the supercell die. One of my favorite chase days to date. #
© Ryan Wunsch / 2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year -
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"Iceflowers." This photo was made in my hometown, Thiersee, a small village in the heart of the alps. I had to wait until Lake Thiersee, which is frozen all winter, began to melt in the spring. For just a few days you can see these natural patterns in the melting ice—but not without a drone. So I told my daughter to make a boat trip with her red kayak. #
© Stefan Thaler / 2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year -
"Alien." This is one of my favorite photos of my favorite critter. Shot with a +25 magnifier, it really brings out the detail in this otherwise very small skeleton shrimp. Its face is clear, its reddish eyes are visible, and the way it faces my camera with its arms wide makes it almost symmetrical. Its clear color matches the hydra that it is living on. Plus the colors in the background really make this an interesting and beautiful photo. Don't think there are aliens on earth? Look no further! #
© Adam Silverman / 2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year -
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"Rivers Collision, Costa Rica." Tortuguero is one of the most remote national parks of Costa Rica—a pristine park where there are no cars, no traffic, and no pollution at all. I was looking to take some shots of nature, but since I was on an island, walking was not getting me far. I took out the swimming option; the river was crowded with crocodiles! So I decided to explore the area with my drone. I immediately noticed the difference in the colors of the rivers. #
© Enrico Pescantini / 2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year
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