Boston.com have posted on Nat Geo's 2011 Photo Contest and the competition looks steep. See the 54 spectacular photos they curated for your viewing pleasure below. Let us know which are your favorites and why, in the comments.
Boston.com:There's still time! The deadline for entries for this year's National Geographic Photo Contest is November 30. Photographers of all skill levels (last year more than 16,000 images submitted by photographers from 130 countries) enter photographs in three categories: Nature, People and Places. The photographs are judged on creativity and photographic quality by a panel of experts. There is one first place winner in each category and a grand prize winner as well. The following is a selection of 54 entries from each of the 3 categories. The caption information is provided and written by the individual photographer. -- Paula Nelson (54 photos total)
IS HE STILL THERE?!: One morning while on the Big Island of Hawaii, i exploring my surroundings to see if i could find something to photograph. I almost went back inside when something on this huge palm tree leaf caught my eye. I stayed around and it was this little gecko, startled by my presence he was hidden between the ridges of the leaf. He would pop his head up periodically to check his surroundings, as soon as he saw i was still there he would hide again. We played this game for a while until i got the shot. Holualoa big Island, Hawaii. (Photo and caption by Lorenzo Menendez/Nature/National Geographic Photo Contest) #
NONI NECTAR FOR GREEN GECKO: Madagascar Gold Dust Day Gecko licking nectar from a young noni fruit in Kailua, Hawaii. These geckos were living all around the hale' we were staying in, enjoying the noni and basking on the railing and sunny steps to our place. They were very shy mostly, except this one must have enjoyed the nectar so much as to let me get a shot of their favorite activity. They seemed to tend the noni very attentively throughout the day. August 2010, Chandra S Sherin. Kona Village Resort, Kailua - Kona, Hawaii. (Photo and Caption by Chandra Sherin/Nature/National Geographic Photo Contest) #
ATACAMA SUNSET: Setting sun lights up clouds over Salar de Atacama in north Chile. I took this photo in July 2011 and at that time clouds like this were worrying sign of more unusual snow fall which already blocked roads to Bolivia and Argentina. Thankfully this time it just served as spectacular canvas to a sunset and reminder how beautiful is the world we live in. Salar de Atacama, Chile. (Photo and caption by Magdalena Rakita/Nature/National Geographic Photo Contest) #
STINGRAY: This image was captured to Sandbar, Grand Cayman during my last trip.This beautiful creature turn around you very close and you can touch it.This is a really amazing experience, you are surrounded by dozen of this friendly animal. Sandbar-Grand Cayman-Caribean (Photo and caption by Gazzaroli Claudio/Nature/National Geographic Photo Contest) #
WINTER LOLLIPOPS: Winter is extremely beautiful in Lithuania. It was an early morning and minus 25 degrees Celsius outside. This landscape feels out of this world, but in fact it's in the outskirts of my home city, Kaunas—just a mile away from my house. Oftentimes beauty lies just a step away from our door. Kaunas, Lithuania (Photo and caption by Matas Juras/Nature/National Geographic Photo Contest) #
OXPECKER'S PUZZLE: I've always been intrigued by the markings of giraffes--how they vary between individuals and how they look like pieces of a puzzle, cracked mud or even tectonic plates in my scientific mind. I've tried many times to capture them but it was never right. Here, this oxpecker in a tight crop, lost on the abstract surface and framed by the legs of the larger animal finally seems to work. South Africa. (Photo and caption by Benjamin Bronselaer/Nature/National Geographic Photo Contest) #
CLASH OF CIVILISATIONS: Walking down a main street in Addis, I met this young character. We started talking and soon became friends. One day, he invited me to his home to try some famous Ethiopian coffee, prepared traditionally. As I drank cup after cup of exquisite, freshly roasted coffee, this scene emerged in front of me. In a way it described my experience of Ethiopia, and other African nations I had worked in: a rapidly changing, dynamic world where tradition and modernity struggle to coexist. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. (Photo and caption by Jason Benovoy/People/National Geographic Photo Contest) #
YUENGLING, 2011: This is the first photo that I took of my friend, Robert, when he got back from serving in Afghanistan for one year. He didn't talk much. We just sat together, and he showed me what he was feeling when I put my camera in front of him. He was humble. He didn't complain, but only filled the room with his experience of wearing combat boots, and carrying a gun to work everyday. He drinks a lot now, but I guess he always did. Douglasville, GA. (Photo and caption by Ashley Kauschinger/People/National Geographic Photo Contest) #
THE PENITENTS: The day of Friday, there is the traditional procession of penitents through the village streets beating their backs with the discipline of rings and metal plates. San Lorenzo Maggiore, Benevento, Italy. (Photo and caption by Salvatore Picciuto/People/National Geographic Photo Contest) #
WEATHERED HANDS: The Kara women collect the water, cook for family, harvest the fields, make the clothing, and are the backbone of the tribe. This elderly woman was the only white-haired person I came in contact with. I tried desperately to get a pleasing portrait and caught her hands in my peripheries; the perfect symbol of the woman's role in tribal society in the Omo River Valley. Her bracelets are made from salvaged AK-47 shell casings, a symbol in itself for the cyclic theme of war and revenge between the Kara and the neighboring tribe, the Nyangatom. Omo River Valley, Ethiopia. (Photo and caption by Nicholas Wiesnet/People/National Geographic Photo Contest) #
CHILDHOOD: When does childhood become adulthood? When does snack time become lunch at your desk? When did safety shift from blankies to insurance? When did magic turn into illusion? Childhood. When the whole world is magic. Portland, Oregon. (Photo and caption by Mei Ratz/National Geographic Photo Contest) #
MY OWN LIGHT: Pinki Kundu, a 13 yrs old girl is suffering from a chronic disease & is being treated in Mother Teresa TB Hospital in Kolkata.She is under CAT 1 drug therapy & is doing well.The day I photographed her she was very hopeful mood that she would be returning back to her parent soon. Kolkata, West Bengal, India. (Photo and caption by Saibal Gupta/People/National Geographic Photo Contest) #
PAPA: This a portrait that I took of my Grandfather. He was a photographer and I wanted to show all his wonderful old cameras and his life in an editorial styled portrait. He just turned 95 years old and still remembers how all his old camera's work. I really love this picture and hope you like it as well. Hillside, IL. (Photo and caption by Christopher Bellezza/People/National Geographic Photo Contest) #
SALOME RAMOS: Salome Ramos is 64 years old and lives in Quibdo, a town with a 95 percent Black population derived from African slaves imported to Pacific coast of Colombia by the conquistadors. She is presently out of work, but her previous Jobs include everything from maid to miner. The economics of Quibdo are almost entirely supported by the wages of mining or fishing and the towns atmosphere has a raw vibrance, I felt like an alien as everyone stared at me- in a curious rather than un-welcoming way. Quibdo, Colombia. (Photo and caption by Carlos Manuel Saavedra/People/National Geographic Photo Contest) #
AUBURN PRIDE: Young men driving into a patch of reflected light along Auburn Rd. Part of a larger personal project documenting the western Sydney suburb of Auburn. The series provides a glimpse into the life of the next generation of Australians living in Auburn, peering behind the veil of this little-known side of society. Auburn is a small suburb in Sydney’s west, a landing point for many migrants and refugees when they first arrive in Australia. Sydney, Australia. (Photo and caption by George Voulgaropoulos/People/National Geographic Photo Contest) #
NEW ORLEANS STREETCAR: This is a streetcar in New Orleans traveling back towards The Quarter on St. Charles Ave. I held the camera against the window sill, making sure to divide the image equally between the inside and the outside. New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo and caption by Don Chamblee/Places/National Geographic Photo Contest) #
PRAYING ON THE LAND OF BLACK JERUSALEM - I: Black Jerusalem is the name given to Lalibela, the ancient capital of Abyssinia and monastic city of northern Ethiopian mountains. Its 11 rocky churches hidden in the volcanic rock are still venerated as the Mecca of the Ethiopian Coptic Christianity. Every believer is required to make at least once in his or her life a pilgrimage. Inside the rock-carved church Debra Sina, a female pilgrim draped in her robe is reading the bible. In the background a corridor communicates with the church Golgotha whose access is denied to women. Lalibela - Ethiopia. (Photo and caption by Sophie Picavet/Places/National Geographic Photo Contest) #
FLAT OCEAN: Just before a huge monsoon downpour, the ocean became flat as I have never seen before. It was drizzling a bit, people were on their way to their house, when I walked up this pier. The light rain made the pier mirror-like, and the ocean was so calm. On the horizon are the islands just in front of Makassar, part of that special islands of Sulawesi. Makassar, Indonesia. (Photo and caption by Erik Kievit/Places/National Geographic Photo Contest) #
LIGHT'S TRYST WITH DARKNESS IN SEMI-URBAN INDIA: Image shot at 11:45pm, where a windstorm caused complete blackout on a newly constructed bridge in Lucknow,India. The pic is taken in a newly urbanized area, however cheaper modes of transport-autorickshaws and 2 wheelers still rule the streets at any hour. The pic shows various contrasting features - Some folks sitting, some walking, some driving without lights (autorickshaw), some navigating with 'high beam lights' to also give the missing illumination of installed street lights. The contrasting movements/features are depicted by the contrast of lightness and darkness, in the semi-urban city. Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. (Photo and caption by Taran Bedi/Places/National Geographic Photo Contest) #
THE PIGEON FEEDERS: Photographs taken at the entrance to the New Mosque in Eminonu districkt of Istanbul. After strolling through the streets of this ancient city, I have stopped there to relax watching the hordes flying from one feeder to the other. Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo and caption by Wojciech Ryzinski/Places/National Geographic Photo Contest) #
NATURAL LANDSCAPE PAINTING: The Landmannalaugar is probably one of the most impressive place in Iceland, a popular tourist destination. Located near the volcano Hekla in southern section of Iceland's highlands. The area displays a number of unusual geological elements, like the multicolored rhyolite mountains. When I took this picture, it was raining and it became worse after. I waited a bit for have people into my composition, in such a landscape to have a notion of scale is important, hence you will find a group of people at the bottom left. Iceland, Landmannalaugar. (Photo and caption by Romain Chassagne/Places/National Geographic Photo Contest) #
BY THE WIND OF CHANCE: I was doing my touristic duties to photograph the Pyramids, and I hear my professor shouting. Next thing you know my entire class and some police officers were running to catch my professors hat. It actually wasn't until later that night when scrolling through my photos that I realized I captured this gem. Great Pyramid of Giza. (Photo and caption by John Head/Places/National Geographic Photo Contest) #
TIME: An image with beautiful natural colours i was surveying for work when i found this moment and only got the one single shot due to the meeting with my client, the car and the climber was removed one week after the image was taken... UK. (Photo and caption by Simon Belham/Places/National Geographic Photo Contest) #
via [Boston.com]
From Kenn:
Do you like what we are doing? Then show us some love. Tweet and Like your favorite articles and be sure to leave your comments below. Heck leave a comment even if you don't like what we are doing. We can take it. ;)
If you want to receive the best of the month's posts in a convenient newsletter then don't forget to subscribe now.
And don't be shy. I could use some more friends these days so hit me up on Twitter and Facebook.
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/photo-contest/2011/entries/recent-entries/page/2/
![[Pics] The 45 Most Powerful Images Of 2011](https://cdn.fstoppers.com/styles/small-16-9/s3/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/most-powerful-images-of-2011.jpg)
So much love for this post <3
21 34
Solid post, great inspiration.
This just blew my mind!!! perfect inspirational post!!
wow.......truly amazing......