The Nature Conservancy is a charitable organization based out of Arlington, Virginia, with over 1 million members worldwide and actively participates in the protection of nearly 50 million acres of land and rivers. Every year, the Nature Conservancy conducts a photography competition. The 2019 Photography Contest saw submissions from 152 different countries, the highest participation ever for this competition. In September 2019, the results of the competition were announced. The winning 30 photographs fall under 5 categories, and there is one final grand prize winner, each showing the beautiful never-ending dance between the Earth and humankind. Prepare to lose yourself in the magnificent glory of nature!
I. Category One: Wildlife
1. First Place: Fernando O’Farrill, Mexico
HOPE: A Polar Bear swimming in Svalbard, Norway, taken June 2019

© Fernando O’Farrill/TNC Photo Contest 2019
2. Second Place: Raymond Hennessey, United States
SINGING SILHOUETTE: The silhouette of a Chestnut-sided Warbler singing it’s heart out

© Raymond Hennessy/TNC Photo Contest 2019
3. Third Place: Yaron Schmid, United States
THE GREVY'S ILLUSION: A Grevy Zebra, amidst its counterparts in Lewa, Kenya, stares into the camera

© Yaron Schmid/TNC Photo Contest 2019
4. Honorable Mention: José David Altamirano González, Costa Rica
AFRICA SALVAJE: Translates to Wild Africa, taken in Botswana in July 2019

© Jose David Altamirano González/TNC Photo Contest 2019
5. Honorable Mention: Giuseppe Bonali, Italy
THE TRIO: Three damselflies in Italy rest on reeds after a storm has passed

© Giuseppe Bonali/TNC Photo Contest 2019
6. Honorable Mention: Sebastian Di Domenico, Colombia
BIZARRE LOOKS: A White-Tipped Sicklebill, a hummingbird, standing completely still at night, a feature shared by all hummingbirds that lower their metabolism in the night to avoid starving

© Sebastian Di Domenico/TNC Photo Contest 2019
II. Category Two: People in Nature
7. First Place: Le Van Vinh, Vietnam
DANCE IN THE SEA: A Fisherman casts a net, in Hon Yen, Phu Yen, Vietnam

© Vinh Le van/TNC Photo Contest 2019
8. Second Place: Fabio Teixeira, Brazil
PORTRAIT IN GUANABARA BAY: A young refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo floats in Guanabara Bay, Ramos Beach in Rio De Janeiro

© Fabio Teixeira/TNC Photo Contest 2019
9. Third Place: Apratim Pal, India
BATHING TIME: Two locals enjoying a swim in West Bengal, India

© Apratim Pal/TNC Photo Contest 2019
10. Honorable Mention: Giovani Cordioli, Brazil
CUBAN STORM: Swimmers look to the sky as a storm comes over Varadero, Cuba in 2019

© Giovani Cordioli/TNC Photo Contest 2019
11. Honorable Mention: Anskar Lenzen, Germany
REFRESHMENT: A visitor jumps into the iconic lake Eibsee on a sultry summer day in southern Germany

© Anskar Lenzen/TNC Photo Contest 2019
12. Honorable Mention: Ted Somerville, United States
COPACABANA SURFER: A surfer in Copacabana feeling the wave

© Ted Somerville/TNC Photo Contest 2019
III. Category Three: Cities and Nature
13. First Place: Jay Huang, United States
GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE ALIGNMENT: San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge as seen from a directly ahead during a low fog event

© Jay Huang/TNC Photo Contest 2019
14. Second Place: Yevhen Samuchenko, Ukraine
GOLD OF SVANETI Mestia, a small city in the Svaneti Province of Georgia, as seen at night

© Yevhen Samuchenko/TNC Photo Contest 2019
15. Third Place: Robert Potts, United States
CALIFORNIA SEA LIONS: Docks in Astoria, Oregon flooded with California Sea Lions (Zalophus californianus)

© Robert Potts/TNC Photo Contest 2019
16. Honorable Mention: Tsz Ho Tse, Hong Kong
MORNING HONG KONG: Looking down at world-famous Victoria Harbour through clouds early in the morning

© Tsz Ho Tse/TNC Photo Contest 2019
IV. Category Four: Water
17. First Place: Alex Kydd, Australia
BIG FISH IN A BIG OCEAN: A whale shark swims in the ocean depths off Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia

© Alex Kydd/TNC Photo Contest 2019
18. Second Place: Hao Jiang, United States
TO THE LIGHTNING: Flamingos fly over this multicolored salt lake, in which the floating foam forms a pattern on the lake that resembles lightning

© Hao Jiang/TNC Photo Contest 2019
19. Third Place: Alex Kydd, Australia
A RARE ENCOUNTER WITH COWNOSE RAYS: A group of Cownose Rays (Rhinoptera bonasus) crowd together in the waters off Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia

© Alex Kydd/TNC Photo Contest 2019
20. Honorable Mention: Barbara Rot, Slovenia
ICEBERG: A lone Adelie penguin stands on a large iceberg

© Barbara Rot/TNC Photo Contest 2019
21. Honorable Mention: Michael Gallagher, United Kingdom
GIMME SHELTER: An anemonefish shelters itself in the arms of a closing reef anemone

© Michael Gallagher/TNC Photo Contest 2019
V. Category Five: Landscape
22. First Place: Colin Ronald, Austria
TAKING THE PLUNGE: A skier plunges down a steep mountain slope in Slovenia

© Colin Ronald/TNC Photo Contest 2019
23. Second Place: Leigh Miller, Australia
PINK LAKE: A photograph taken with a drone capturing the layers of color of the pink lake, Hutt Lagoon in Western Australia

© Leigh Miller/TNC Photo Contest 2019
24. Third Place: Guilherme Gomes de Mesquita, Brazil
ON THE BRINK: A hiker sits at the edge of a cliff in Trolltunga, Norway

© Guilherme Gomes de Mesquita/TNC Photo Contest 2019
25. Honorable Mention: Carlos Eduardo Goulart
PAINE GRANDE IN THE STORM: A storm forms over the Torres Del Paine National Park in Chile

© Carlos Eduardo Coulart/TNC Photo Contest 2019
26. Honorable Mention: Victor Grilo Lima, Brazil
PIEDRAS ROJAS: The sun sets over the Piedras Rojas in the Chilean Atacama Desert in Peru

© Victor Grilo Lima/TNC Photo Contest 2019
27. Honorable Mention: Florian LeDoux, France
TREE OF LIFE: Water weaves branches through quicksand in Iceland

© Florian LeDoux/TNC Photo Contest 2019
28. Honorable Mention: José David Altamirano González, Costa Rica
FURIA: The fury of Volcán De Fuego

© José David Altamirano González/TNC Photo Contest 2019
VI. People’s Choice Winner: Diyanto Sarira, Indonesia
WANAYO WATERFALL: A small stream and waterfall encountered in Wasior, West Papua

© Diyanto Sarira/TNC Photo Contest 2019
VII. Grand Prize Winner: Tyler Schiffman, United States
BURST: A California sea lion poses surrounded by kelp beds in Monterey Bay, California

© Tyler Schiffman/TNC Photo Contest 2019