Nature never ceases to surprise us with its glory and raw beauty. We may have seen several wonderful photos of nature in the past, but it never really is enough, is it? This is why you will love this collection of photos from the 2020 Nature Photographer of the Year (NOPTY) contest. The competition, which is in its fifth year now, strives to showcase the ethereal beauty of the natural world annually through its platform.
Organized by Nature Talks, the competition has 12 sections including, landscape, underwater, wildlife, and storytelling, among others. This year, NOPTY received a whopping 19,547 images from 95 different countries. The winners of the contest were announced recently and here we have presented some of the best of them. Take a look.
See Also: These Amazing Nature Photographs Will Leave You in Awe
1. "Jurassic Park" by Roberto Marchegiani (Overall winner)
The stunning photograph was taken in Nakuru National Park, Kenya, during the rainy season and shows a giraffe munching merrily above the thick vegetation.
2. "Flyover" by Jie Fischer
This beautiful photograph shows birds flying over a sandbank in the middle of the ocean and won a 'Highly Commended' award.
3. "I Can Pass" by Adriana Sanz
This photo of a green frog peeking over the top of a leaf was one of the winners in the wildlife category.
4. "Lone Egret among fall colors of the cypress swamp" by Rick Beldegreen
It almost feels as if the sky has been painted here. This ethereal shot was one of the Highly Commended picks.
5. "Woods in a Pod" by Yuan Minghui
You are probably wondering what are you seeing in this photograph, right? Well, these are tiny black seeds growing on a wooden background. This was also one of the selections in the Highly Commended list.
6. "World Is Going Upside Down" by Thomas Vijayan
An orangutan hugs a tree in a rainforest in this Highly Commended photo.
7. "Striped Hunter" by Karim Iliya
This perfectly-timed photo shows a fish diving through waters while hunting for its meal. It was a winner of one of the runner-up awards.
8. "Starling Apocalypse" by Bart Siebelink
One of the winners in the Landscape category, this surreal photo shows thousands of birds flying through the air.
9. "A World Away" by Oliver Smart
What you see in the distance here is a group of penguins migrating across a snowy landscape, while maintaining the perfect distance from each other. It earned a spot in the Highly Commended category.
10. "Splash!!!" By Antonio Leiva Sanchez
Bats have been in the news this year for all the wrong reasons. In this stunning shot, though, you can see one splashing about in the water merrily. It was one of the runner-ups in the Mammals category.
11. "Constellation of Eagle Rays" by Henley Spiers
In this photo, you can see a group of spotted rays in the Maldives swimming side by side in a unique pattern. It was one of the winners in the Animal category.
12. "Caught In A Blizzard" by David Gibbon
A poor old wolf is completely drenched in snow here during a severe storm. This amazing painting-like picture was part of the Highly Commended list.
13. "Nature's Pitfall" by Samantha Stephens
Northern Pitcher plants (Sarracenia purpurea) are carnivorous and can trap invertebrate prey such as moths and flies in their leaves. In this photograph, you can see two juvenile Spotted Salamanders trapped simultaneously, at the same stage of decomposition, floating on the surface of the fluid of the plant. This incredible shot was the winner of the Animals category.
14. "Trapped" by Andrea Pozzi
This photo of a small fish stuck in ice was the Category Winner of the Nature Art.
15. "Hope in a Burned Forest" by Jo-Anne McArthur
One of the winners of the Animal category, this photograph shows a fortunate kangaroo that survived the devastating Australian bushfires earlier this year that killed an estimated 3 billion animals.
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