National Geographic Photo Contest 2012

[thailandgr]

It’s that time again…the 2012 National Geographic Photo Contest is in full swing.
The contest has reached his midpoint but there is plenty of time to enter before the November 30, 2012 deadline. Photographers of all skill levels - from professional to amateur - across the globe, submitted more than 20,000 entries from 130 countries in last year’s competition.
The photographs are judged on creativity and photographic quality by a panel of experts in the field.
There is a first place winner in each of three categories: People, Places and Nature, and a grand prizewinner as well.
The following images are a sampling of the competition thus far – twelve images in each category.
The caption information is provided and written by the individual photographer. –

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/photo-contest/

NATURE’S ART (Nature) - Dried up delta of the Kimberly region, N.W. Australia. Creates the most sophisticated patterns only appreciated from above. (Photo and caption by Ted Grambeau/National Geographic Photo Contest)

2

SNOW IN ROME (Places) - Piazza Navona at night, stricken by an unusual blizzard. (Photo and caption by luigi vaccarella/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

3

MARIA AND RAUL (People) - Raul and Maria were married in 1959, the year of the revolution. They have lived for most of their lives in this tiny apartment in Central Havana. Raul is now blind and Marie spends much of her time looking after his needs. It is now late afternoon and Marie takes a siesta while Raul sits in his rocking chair waiting for her to wake up. (Photo and caption by David Creedon/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

4

YOUNG GIRL DRINKING MARES MILK (People) - Fermented mares milk (Airag) is the traditional national beverage of Mongolia. The amount of milk produced by one mare averages about two litres when milked six times per day, so in order to make enough Airag for the family and any visitors, it is necessary to have at least a dozen mares. To get good quality Airag, it is necessary to stir the milk mix no less than 1,000 times each day! Produced during the summer months in a specially made hide skin bag, fresh Airag is quite mild, but if kept for long enough turns sour and acidic which is how many Mongolian's prefer it. (Photo and caption by Andrew Newey/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

5

LONELY HUT (Places) - Lonely hut on a slash and burn farm in northern Thailand. (Photo and caption by Pattavee Kaewnoo/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

6

LOST SOUL (Nature) - A male Humpback whale dies on its annual migration. The carcass washes ashore on Sydney's Northern Beaches. (Photo and caption by Jack Murphy/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

7

GREAT WHITE, SUN LIGHT (Nature) - As I am sitting on top of a suspended submersible cage, 30 feet below the surface, a 15 foot Great White Shark swims overhead just starting to block out the sun. I took the shot right after I had released a breath though my respirator. (Photo and caption by Kirk Nielsen/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

8

HOME ALONE (Nature) - The progeny, a solitary chick, amidst the adult Great Crested Terns, taken from a prone position, with a wide-angle lens, at a breeding site on a Sri Lankan island off northwestern seas. (Photo and caption by Lalith Ekanayake/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

9

PREDATION UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL (Nature) - I was surrounded by thousands of fish that moved in synchrony because of the predation that was happening. It was an incredible experience. (Photo and caption by Fransisca Harlijanto/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

10

HANGING LIFE (People) - I saw this hanging kid along with a hanging bag while walking on the streets of Chennai. (Photo and caption by Sudharshun Gopalan/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

11

SWEET DREAMER (People) - Quiet afternoon in a Thai restaurant. (Photo and caption by Adrian Konopnicki/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

12

DOG’S LIFE (People) - Two children watch as the dogs get weighed in at the Lismore Greyhound Track. (Photo and caption by Marc Stapelberg/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

13

CITY BIRDS (Places) - Strolling through downtown San Francisco during our vacation, the birds sitting on the wires and skyscrapers in the foggy background caught my attention. A lucky shot! (Photo and caption by Matthias Luetolf/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

14

PELICAN, WALVIS BAY, NAMIBIA (Nature) - A marine cruise in Walvis Bay, Namibia, is a memorable experience. I remember watching dolphins, seals, mola molas, cormorants... and having the privilege of picturing that one pelican at the exact moment he grabbed a bite thrown from the boat. (Photo and caption by Romulo Rejon/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

15

SECLUDED PIER AT LAKE BRUNNER (Places) - I was on my 170 km solo cycling trip around West Coast, New Zealand and one of the destinations was famous Lake Brunner. I reached this pier one foggy morning and I found this moment was “like no other”. (Photo and caption by Mohd Nadly Aizat Mohd /National Geographic Photo Contest)#

16

ENDEAVOUR FLIES OVER GRIFFITH OBSERVATORY (Places) - The Space Shuttle Endeavour flies over Griffith Park Observatory and the Hollywood Sign before heading to Los Angeles International Airport where it will be prepared to be moved to its new permanent home at the California Science Center in downtown Los Angeles. (Photo and caption by Axelle Woussen/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

17

HEAVENLY VIEW (Places) - The sea of clouds covered the city making a spectacular heavenly view while the photographer is absorbed in taking photo from the top of Mt.Yangbaeksan, South Korea. (Photo and caption by Sungjin Kim/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

18

THE GODFATHER (Nature) - He is big - 4 meters tall and over 4 tons in weight, he is the "Godfather." I have visualized this scene many times. I have checked and rechecked my equipment and decided upon the camera and lens combination. I now relax and control my breathing as they come into view. The next ten minutes are bliss of forgetfulness as I zone in to the task at hand; only one moment stands out. He stands still before me in all his magnificence, raising his trunk filled with the red Kalahari dust. In one fluid movement he sprays his forehead and for one brief moment he is covered in the magic of dust and light. (Photo and caption by Peter Delaney/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

19

CRATER LAKE STORM AT SUNSET (Places) - A thunderstorm swirls across the water at Crater Lake National Park, as the setting sun creates a rare double rainbow. Taken from Rim Village, approximately 1,000 feet above the lake's surface, providing a straight-on vantage point of the storm. (Photo and caption by Duke Miller /National Geographic Photo Contest)#

20

AN EXPEDITION AMUNDSEN (People) - A race that follows in the path of the famous explorer Roald Amundsen brings the contestants to the Hardangervidda Mountainplateu, Norway. 100km across the plateau, the exact same route Amundsen used to prepare for his South Pole expedition in 1911, is still used by explorers today. Amundsen did not manage to cross the plateau and had to turn back because of bad weather. He allegedly said that the attempt to cross Hardangervidda was just as dangerous and hard as conquering of the South Pole. The group in the picture used the race as preparation for an attempt to cross Greenland. (Photo and caption by Kai-Otto Melau/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

21

GLACIER (Places) - The other-worldly experience! ((Photo and caption by Rafael Urrutia/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

22

REFLECTING VANCOUVER (Places) - Walking near the waterfront in Vancouver, I was struck by the beautiful reflection of the nearby buildings in the glass of the Convention Center. (Photo and caption by Martha Katko/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

23

ADRIFT (Nature) - Penguins adrift on iceberg during a heavy snow storm in Antarctica. (Photo and Caption by Joshua Holko/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

24

DANCE (People) - A female dancer practicing her movements for a performance in the Turbine Hall of Tate Modern, London. (Photo and caption by Tom Radenz/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

25

BUTTERFLY AT SUNSET (Nature) - Macro shot of a butterfly with the sunset in the background. (Photo and caption by Toni Guetta/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

26

GOLDEN ROAD (Nature) - A glorious road of gold through the aspen woods of Snowmass, Colorado. (Photo and caption by Chih-Hung Kao/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

27

HAMER GIRL, ETHIOPIA (People) - The Hamers are a people of East Africa living in southwestern Ethiopia, in a fertile area of the Omo Valley. The gracious Hamer women, freeing pride and dignity even in the midst of the bustling weekly market, are easily spotted with their characteristic outfits. They take pride in their dress and accessories and win the prize as the most decorated of the Omo people. The traditional dress code for unmarried Hamar girls includes elegant cowrie-shell collars, seeded or glass-beaded necklaces and decorated goatskin clothing. (Photo and caption by Pascal Mannaerts/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

28

THROUGH THE DUNES (Nature) - Oryx captured in Namib-Naukluft National Park in Namibia just after sunset. Heading through the dunes in search of food and water. (Photo and caption by Mikael Stiller/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

29

WINDSWEPT LADY (Nature) - One of the times visiting Monument Valley, Arizona, I was in a box canyon when a severe dust storm came through. This is a photo of an aged, old juniper tree. Its weather-torn skeleton has lasted sun, heat, snow, wind, and nature's elements.  It's shape and outline looks as if it's an old windswept and aged lady still standing in a harsh desert climate. (Photo and caption by Dave Drost/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

30

THE EDGE (People) - Looking just over the edge, just enough to see what is ahead, not enough to know the whole, just getting the gist. (Photo and caption by Mei Ratz/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

31

TOUR de FORCE (Places) - The vibrancy and complexity of civilization especially manifested within the architectural themes of cities never ceases to amaze me. It seems that cities undergo a gradual metamorphosis, as they seem to redefine themselves in their own unique way. The sculptors that provide the energy behind this change are the various people throughout history, and indeed the present, that lend their various influences as determined by the period of history and cultural forces at play. (Photo and caption by Konstantine Eleftheria/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

32

BOYS TO MEN (People) - Masai boys who had just undergone the cultural rite of passage. (Photo and caption by Amy Sacka/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

33

SKUGAFOSS - It took me a few tries to take this long exposure of SkÛgafoss, the massive southern Icelandic waterfall, between the small groups of tourists slowly making their way to its base.  While a person certainly would have added some scale to how large the waterfall really is, I wanted the silky sheen of the flowing water to be unobstructed and people-free. (Photo and caption by Catherine Cole/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

34

BATHERS (People) - This mother and two children take a bath in this little puddle which is in a secluded place in the middle of one beech forest in Transylvania. The puddle contains sludge with petroleum (crude oil). The boy, continuously asked his mother, why do we bath here in this very stinky puddle? There was no answer, just a severe look... The mother and the other boy believe fanatically in the mystic healing power of this little very stinky puddle. (Photo and caption by M. Istvan Kerekes/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

35

DELICATE ARCH AT NIGHT  (Places) - I wanted to do something different than usual on my first visit to Arches National Park, so instead of sunset where the crowds usually gather, I made the hike to Delicate Arch at night. I had my girlfriend stand with the spotlight we brought and took a few shots. This was the best. (Photo and caption by Benjamin Cooper/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

36

BELIEVERS (People) - A group of devotees performs a sacred ritual and celebrate Chinese gods during Phuket Vegetarian Festival. Millions of firecrackers are ignited each year during the celebration.  It is an annual event held during the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar. Local residents of Chinese ancestry strictly observe a 10-day vegetarian diet for spiritual cleansing and merit making. (Photo and caption by Peerakit Jirachetthakun/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

[thailandgr]

HELLO WORLD (Nature) - A tiny mantis larva in an American poppy flower. (Photo and caption by Fabien Bravin/National Geographic Photo Contest)

2

NATURAL GRACE (Nature) - Two endangered Green Iguanas embrace during mating season. (Photo and caption by Ryan Huggett/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

3

“THE BEST ENEMIES” (Nature) - This photo is from a scene quite incredible that I saw a few days ago. A dragonfly (sympetrum) further weakened by the freshness of the morning, came deliberately to hang on this Praying Mantis that had landed on a broken flower stem that I was photographing. I shot some great macros this summer, but I must say that this was the most amazing that I saw, because we have here the eater and the eaten but in a configuration that isn't expected. (Photo and caption by Cyril Verron/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

4

LOVELY DINOSAUR (Nature) – (Photo by Mehmet Karaca/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

5

MURSI TRIBE (People) - At around puberty, females cut their lower lip and install a clay plate in the opening. As time goes by the plate stretches the hole and a bigger disk is put in. Those plates can easily reach 7 inches in diameter! Lower teeth are often removed to make the lip plate sit comfortably in the opening. (Photo and caption by Dmitri Markine/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

6

NURSING MAMA (Nature) - This female brown bear came into the Lake Clark National Park area in late July with her triplet Spring cubs and seemed quite relaxed as she sat nursing her cubs. (Photo and caption by Ruth Steck/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

7

WOMEN IN KENYA (People) - Women wearing the traditional Kanga, South of Mombasa, Kenya. (Photo and caption by Christophe Viseux/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

8

HOMEBOUND (Places) - A mother and her two children paddling through the lagoon in a dugout canoe, against the backdrop of a dramatic sunset. (Photo and caption by Iris Kwok/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

9

SHADES OF THE OREGON COAST RANGE (Nature) - If you are lucky you can see over 150 kilometers on a clear day standing atop Mary's Peak. On the day of this shot visibility was clear, and the Pacific Ocean (75 kilometers away) was illuminated by a setting sun, framed perfectly by seemingly infinite layers and shades of mountains in the Oregon Coast range. (Photo and caption by Ben Leshchinsky/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

10

VOODOO TRANCE (People) - Haitian women in a trance during a voodoo ceremony in Souvenance, Haiti. Every Easter, for over 200 years, thousands of devotees of voodoo make a pilgrimage, traveling to the Haitian village of Souvenance, 145km north from Port Au Prince, capital city of Haiti. Voodoo is one of three state-recognized religions in Haiti. (Photo and caption by Vincent Tremeau/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

11

THE LOST GATEWAY (Places) - A huge cargo ship, dwarfed by the Golden Gate, passing under the bridge, amidst dense fog. Fog so dense, that both the ship and the iconic bridge are hidden underneath, as if both are lost. A long exposure created ghosting of the moving ship, adding to the effect. This was photographed after sunset. (Photo and caption by Indranil Mukhopadhyay/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

12

PORTRAIT OF A SNOWY EGRET (Nature) - I was lucky enough to catch a close up shot of this Snowy Egret right after it had made a dive for food. (Photo and caption by Graham McGeorge/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

13

HOW’S MY HAIR LOOK? (Nature) - Female bonobos carry and nurse their young for four years and give birth on average every five years. (Photo and caption by Graham McGeorge/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

14

IN YOUR ROOM #8 (People) - Wearing a ballerina lace skirt and oversized low-heel sandals, the big dream in this little Kazakh girl's mind is to become an actress. (Photo and caption by Ro-hsuam Chen/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

15

LIBYAN REBEL AT THE OLD SHIPYARD OF BENGHAZI (People) - During the Libyan revolt again Muammar Qaddafi, the city of Benghazi was liberated early on and became the base for the rebels and the transitional governing body. Armed rebels were seen all over the place. Many of them had no previous war experience but joined the revolt willingly to get rid of the regime. This rebel, with his spick and span boots and outfit, was guarding the old shipyard. (Photo and caption by Mohannad khatib/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

16

THE FISHING VILLAGES OF XIAPU (Places) - The picturesque fishing villages in Xiapu of Fujian province, China attracted me to keep visiting over the years. But I think her beautiful landscapes are best pictured in rainy season. (Photo and caption by Michael LAM/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

17

HAGIA SOPHIA MUSEUM (Places) - Hagia Sophia is the one of the most visited museums and most prominent monuments in the world in terms of the art and history of architecture. It has been called “the eighth wonder of the world” by East Roman Philon as far back as the 6th century. It was used as a church for 916 years, but following the conquest of Istanbul, the Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque. It was used as a mosque for 482 years, and then converted to a museum in 1935. (Photo and caption by Melih Sular/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

18

CATCHING FISH (Places) - The fishers caught fish in the night. They use the fire to bring the fish close to the boat and then catch them. (Photo and caption by Chang Ming Chih/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

19

GOLDEN HOUR CHARM (Nature) – This photo was taken on the side of the road in Southern Pennsylvania during the infamous "Golden Hour". (Photo and caption by Mandy Michels/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

20

TEA TESTING (People) - After the harvest and the processing, in a tea factory, tea is tasted to determine the different quality of the tea. (Photo and caption by Edoardo Agresti/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

21

ONNO (People) - A little girl, called Onno, after working in an Arbore farm in Omo Valley, Ethiopia. The Arbore tribe lives in the driest area of Omo Valley. They lives thanks to cows, goats and the they grow sorgo. (Photo and caption by Juan Carlos Ruiz Duarte/National Geographic Photo Contest) #

22

COLORFUL MANSION (Places) - Art mansion. (Photo and caption by Hideyuki Katagiri/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

23

AUTUMN WOODS (Places) - A shot of autumn woods taken at Queenstown, New Zealand. Looking down from a hot air balloon, the photographer tried to capture a moment of peace and tranquility manifested by a palette of autumn colors. (Photo and caption by Po Chun Hsu/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

24

cTWO FISHERMEN (People) - The shoal is one of the most fascinating places in Xiapu, China. Fishermen farm fish, shrimp, and oysters and plant seaweed along this coastal area. (Photo and caption by Peng Jiang/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

25

TREES AND THE BLUE POND (Nature) - This pond is located in a small town, on a northern island, Japan. The trees standing in the pond are sapless white birch. The blue color of the pond is natural; ingredients from a hot spring are thought to be the cause, the color changes according to the season, weather and time. I took this photo in the early morning in June this year. (Photo and caption by Yukio Miki/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

26

BOLD & SHY (People) - The unlucky car breakdown turned lucky when I found this school in a small village Khangral in Kargil on the way to Leh from Srinagar. The teachers also let me and my friends in to take pictures and most of the kids were excited about it. Some were shy and kept hiding while this little girl enjoyed the limelight. (Photo and caption by Anjum Vahanvati/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

27

STILT FISHING (People) - Stilt fishing is a typical fishing technique only seen in Sri Lanka. The fishermen sit on a cross bar called a petta, tied to a vertical pole planted into the coral reef. This long exposure shows how unstable their position is. (Photo and caption by Ulrich Lambert/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

28

PIECE OF HEAVEN (Places) - Jamnik, a small village in Slovenia. One morning in autumn, fog was just in the right height at the right time. The atmosphere was heavenly, unforgettable. (Photo and caption by Janez Tolar/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

29

TRONA PINNACLES (Places) - We were leaving Trona Pinnacles after spending the night there when I looked back and saw the hazy morning light striking the landscape in a really magical way. I used the 300mm setting on my lens to compress the pinnacles up against the mountains in the background. I converted the picture to black and white to emphasize the shapes of the pinnacles and their relationship to the mountains. (Photo and caption by Bill Sharpsteen/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

30

EPHEMERAL WORLD (Places) - I ventured to Mendenhall Lake and Glacier on many occasions during my visits to Juneau, always admiring the scene. But, on this morning, I arrived just in time to capture Mother Nature's most amazing show: the combination of dark mountain ridgelines, icebergs and water movement accentuated by the misty morning clouds and mirror-like water made for a truly striking image. I stood in awe from the wonder. (Photo and caption by Julia Thomsen/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

31

FURY AND THE SEA (Nature) - I had my first visit to the Oregon coast this summer. I was standing on a sea rock in a morning during high tide trying capture some shots of the crashing waves. The water levels were getting higher and higher and I realized the whole area would soon be immersed. It was my first time facing and feeling the fury of the sea at such close distance. For millions of years, human beings have been living on this planet and feeling the power of Mother Nature. (Photo and caption by Cheng Niu/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

32

THE BATTLE OF FLOUR #1 (People) - This particular battle takes place during the traditional parade of Citta della Pieve. The three Terzieri challenge each other with blows of bags of flour in a spectacular and chaotic battle. The air quickly becomes saturated with flour and in some moments is difficult to breathe. (Photo and caption by Andrea Cittadini/National Geographic Photo Contest)#

33

ARANJUEZ I (Places) - Winter in Aranjuez. (Photo and caption by Antonio Martin Ballesteros/National Geographic Photo Contest)#