Force of Nature: Sensational weather, wildlife, underwater and aerial photos
Photographers are invited to enter National Geographic's 2017 Nature Photographer of the Year contest in any or all of four categories: Wildlife, Landscape, Underwater and Aerial.
National Geographic's 2017 Nature Photographer of the Year contest is open for entries until Friday 17 November 2017. Photographers around the world are invited to submit their work at natgeo.com/photocontest in any or all of four categories: Wildlife, Landscape, Underwater and Aerial.
The grand prize winner will receive $10,000 (about £7,500), publication in National Geographic Magazine and a feature on National Geographic's Instagram account, @natgeo. The winners will be announced in December 2017. For details and official contest rules, please visit natgeo.com/photocontest.
IBTimes UK showcases some of the most spectacular entries submitted over the past two weeks. See more at natgeo.com/photocontest.
Prairie Dancer by Derek Burdeny: Rotating supercell thunderstorm dances across the Kansas farmlandDerek Burdeny / National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year 2017The Duel by Sonalini Khetrapal: The open, arid landscape of Etosha NP is truly stunning. The goal of my trip was to photograph zebras with their striking coats across this backdrop. A herd of zebras arrived at the waterhole to quench their thirst. Suddenly, there was chaos and thick dust clouds blinded our vision. Within moments, two male zebras emerged from the dust, landing blows at each other with their hooves and heads. The duel lasted only a few minutes but it gave me an opportunity to capture this heavily charged moment.Sonalini Khetrapal / National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year 2017Courage by Adam Zaff: This photo was taken in Amboseli, Kenya. a group of hyenas were the aggressors in attempting to take on two female lionesses whom they had sensed to be old or injured. The standoff lasted about 30 minutes, but in the end the hyenas were no match for the two lionesses who were able to get away unscathed.Adam Zaff / National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year 2017Rush Hour by Wai Hoe Mok: Isla del Coco, or Cocos Island, is a National Park off the shore of Costa Rica. The marine ecosystem is locked in a time-capsule and everything is huge; from the underwater currents to the biodensity of marine life. In this photo, I encountered a 25 meter giant school of horse-eyed jack fish. As I approached, a predator must have spooked the school from the other side. The massive school suddenly swam towards me and before I knew it, I was engulfed in this storm of silvery fish.Wai Hoe Mok / National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year 2017Beautiful countryside by GuangHui Gu: Half of this photo is a building materials shopping mall, half is farmland.GuangHui Gu / National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year 2017Flamingos and their nests by Ge Xiao: Tanzania's Natron lake is the breeding ground for flamingos, and they produce eggs every year. The flamingos carefully hatch the eggs until the baby birds break out of the shell.Ge Xiao / National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year 2017Rock Pool by Todd Kennedy: A rock pool in Sydney, Australia at high tide. Waves crash over the edge, but a lone swimmer is undeterred.Todd Kennedy / National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year 2017Shy little cowry by Kenny Lee: Calpurnus verrucosus, or Little Cowry, eating soft coral in Pulau Weh, IndonesiaKenny Lee / National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year 2017Decisions by Carolyn Watson: A young bald eagle tentatively feeds on a chum salmon carcass in the Nooksack River. Hundreds of eagles come to feed on these inland waters every winter, coinciding with the annual run. The eagle spent several minutes picking indecisively at the fish, often looking around to determine a clear path to fly out with the fish. Ultimately it opted to surrender the prize and fly back up to the cottonwoods reflected in the water. Soon a dozen seagulls would come and finish the meal.Carolyn Watson / National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year 2017Weaver and nest by Federico Rizzato: I had noticed that weavers were starting to build their nests in a couple of trees. I came back periodically to check their progresses, and finally decided to take position. It took several hours of waiting, but patience was rewarded with a perfect shot of the action.Federico Rizzato / National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year 2017Arctic reflection by Andro Loria: It is difficult to get a sense of purity and calm in our modern hectic world, unless you are in the Arctic, watching icebergs floating by. Reflection of an iceberg (about 100-120m tall), Scoresby Sound, GreenlandAndro Loria / National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year 2017Fireworks by Franco Banfi: School of Munk's devil ray, pygmy devil ray (Mobula munkiana), feeding on plankton at night, photographed on a long exposureFranco Banfi / National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year 2017Great Grey Owl by Harry Collins: A great grey owl hunting rodents in a field in New Hampshire, US. This bird was a rare visitor to this area and was worth the 7 1/2 hour drive to see it. The owl was not baited or called and this photo is during a natural hunt. Baiting has become a hot topic recently and it is very unfortunate that many people do it for the sake of a photo. With these owls in particular if you are patient enough you will see them hunt. They are not shy nor very intimidated by people.Harry Collins / National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year 2017Kvitøya - Svalbard by Christian Aslund: Two walruses on an ice floe in front of Kvitøya (White Island) in the Svalbard Archipelago. The remote island is located above 80 degrees north in the high Arctic and is almost completely covered by a thick ice cap.Christian Aslund / National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year 2017Sword by Sanjeev Bhor: This photograph is taken in Ecuador. It’s very difficult to take sharp photographs of hummingbirds when the birds are in action. Light conditions were very bad and to get higher shutter speed I used higher ISO. The sword-billed hummingbird is the only species of bird with a bill longer than the rest of its body. This adaptation is to feed on flowers with long corollas such as Passiflora mixta. The tongue is therefore also unusually long.Sanjeev Bhor / National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year 2017
