Natural Wonders: Best Photo of National geographic 2011 Part-4

Best Photo of National geographic 2011 Part-4

Indian Shores, Pinellas County, Florida

This black skimmer chick was so hungry that it refused to let go of its next potential meal. The adult skimmer was anxious about nearby laughing gulls, notorious for stealing food from young birds. Eventually the chick feasted on this sizable ballyhoo, and then settled in for a long nap.

South of Thailand.

A very curious baby Dusky Leaf Monkey - also known as Spectacled Langur monkey - with its mother in hill near Prachuap Khiri Kan, South of Thailand. The babies are born with orange fur that turns brown when they reach adulthood. The Dusky Leaf Monkeys are extremely gentle and curious monkeys, spread throughout South East Asia.

Naples, Italy

Although the strong human presence on the coast, an octopus, overlooking the Gulf curious about the snow-covered Vesuvius!!!

Västergötland Sweden

Portrait of a swimming Horned Grebe also called Slavonian Grebe

Kleinfeltersville, PA

Snow Geese in flight. Kleinfeltersville, PA

Haena beach on the island of Kauai

We arrived at this beach just before sunset and I saw these huge waves crashing on the rocks in the distance. Not sure if this fisherman knew what was happening behind him but I caught this monster.

North Eastern Montana

I was driving down a long winding gravel road along the Missouri river one evening when I looked off to the north and saw three horse standing in the neatest way. The clouds weren't quite right from my position so I maneuvered around to the west and wouldn't you know, the horses never moved. They allowed me to capture a great image.

Netherlands

An portrait off an owl who closes his eyes

Vernal UT

Found on the beach, the fragile state caught my eye...

Long Beach, New York

A seagull perches on a jetty in Long Beach as a surfer enjoys a big September Swell

Komodo Island - Indonesia

I always like to stop and watch the anemonefishes "dancing" in their anemones. No sooner than the first ten minutes of dive I found an anemonefish in an anemone that has a shrimp that was always getting in the way of the fish eye. Then the fish moved further out of the depth of the anemone to examine the commensal shrimp. In the viewfinder I could see the eye of the clownfish and the entire shrimp. Both became one subject, an unusual combination.

Neuhausen am Rheinfall, Schaffhausen, Switzerland

As the largest waterfall in Europe, Rhine Falls is a spectacular sight. You can hear the falls roar from a kilometer away and feel the ground tremble when standing near them.

Litang, Sichuan Province, China

High up in a small Chinese mountain town I traced the peaceful steps of locals circling the city's Chode Gompa. Half way around the long and dusty path I ran across this matted guardian lost in his own special world of domestic bliss.

Stung Treng, Cambodia

The annual rise and fall of the Mekong River dramatically effects the flora and fauna around it. Taken northern Cambodia in dry season, this photo shows how tree roots grow underwater.

Pori, Finland

Where are you.... Where are you.. I cannot see you... Aaah, there you are!! Good try to fool the nature photographer.

Berkeley, California, USA

A looper caterpillar (moth larva), is emerging from the newly hatched crystal-like egg which is 0.65mm in diameter.

Moab, UT

During a deep winter freeze, I was hiking through some canyons outside of Moab, Utah. There were frozen rivulets and beautiful ice patterns. This leaf was frozen into the ice and its bright contrast caught my attention.

Arctic Alaska

Breeding male Musk Ox relaxes on the autumn-colored tundra, Arctic Alaska.

Batam, Riau Islands, Indonesia

Arrows of rain seem to pelt a dragonfly in Indonesia's Riau Islands in Shikhei Goh's winning image, "Splashing."

A sudden rainstorm left Goh with a tough decision: Get his camera wet, or take advantage of the "superb lighting," he wrote with his submission to the 2011 National Geographic Photography Contest.

He took the picture, resulting in a "very striking macrophotography image that rose to the top of the nature category for me because of its originality, beautiful light, rare action in a close-up image, as well as its technical perfection," said Tim Laman, one of three National Geographic magazine photographers who judged the contest.

"You can almost feel the dragonfly's experience of bracing itself against the weather," said judge Amy Toensing. "When I look at it, I want to say, Hold on tight little buddy!"

The insect's plight also appealed to judge Peter Essick, who said the photograph gives the dragonfly a "character us humans can relate to."

"It's rare indeed to see a photograph that causes the viewer to feel a bond with a member of the animal world seemingly," Essick said, "but maybe not, so unlike our own."

Viterbo, Lazio, Italy

Valle del Treja park is natural reserve so close to Rome that I am always surprised to find here so wide place to shoot some evocative photos.

Dublin Coastline, Ireland

On a cool crisp sunset along the Dublin Shoreline, the low angle of the evening sun illuminated the tips of the sand patterns made by the waves....a stunning site and one that had to be imaged.

Europ, Spain. Pyrenees

While crossing the Pyrenees from France to Spain, I encountered a beauteful sunset scenery of a blanket of clouds covering the mountians. A curious horse came to check what was I'm doing. It felt very natural to integrate him in the photo

Olowalu, Maui

I found this pufferfish inflated at the surface while freediving. It looked like it was carrying the weight of the island on its back like the mythology of Atlas carrying the world on his shoulders.

Guangdong

This old reptile in with the body tell us an ancient philosophy. In the exploration of the road, straight line is not necessarily the most efficient way to recently

Moremi National Park, Botswana

Three lionesses waiting in the grass

Ammarnäs, Lappland, Sweden

In the early autumn in Ammarnäs, northern Sweden, the Sámi people gathers their reindeers for slaughter. The white reindeer is more often selected for slaughtered since they are said to be weaker and an easier prey for predators. The old legends says that the white reindeer means luck.

Lembeh Strait, North Sulawesi, Indonesia

Shrimp hitching a ride on a nudibranch

Canada - RainForest near the great bear lodges

The first Grizzly we saw, my wife and I during our honeymoon ... We get so stressed when the boat went away ! A wonderfull experience under the most beautifull rain I have ever seen !

Taiwan Natiou Country

After a shower in the woods, the fireflies were coming out of the bottom of the grass, flying in the summer night. Looking for the perfect one to mate with their lighting tails. Firefly Dancing in the Summer Night

Biei, Hokkaido, Japan

"The blue pond" of the famous tourist resort. This is a place where many tourists gather in spring, summer, and autumn. However, since this pond freezes in winter, nobody is during that period. This photograph is the moment first snow of the season is falling in that blue pond. We can see first snow of the season from the end of October. Why is blue? This is because the underground hot spring ingredient is gushing. This blue pond changes a color every day. I think that mystical blue and pure white snow are beautiful. All are nature's tints.

Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska

A grounded iceberg in Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska.

Kakaban Lake, Kalimantan Province, Indonesia

A jellyfish shot from underneath with bright sun behind creating a "star" effect with the sunrays. This jellyfish is a Mastigias sp. found in a marine lake on the small island of Kakaban off the eastern shore of Kalimantan Province, Borneo, Indonesia.

Falkland islands

It's very rare to spot king penguins. This one is begging for some food to his father.

Three Sisters Spring in Crystal River, Florida, USA.

Endangered Florida Manatee, Trichechus manatus latirostris, at Three Sisters Spring in Crystal River, Florida, USA. The Florida Manatee is a subspecies of the West Indian Manatee.

Kensington Metro Park, Milford Michigan

Juvenile Night Heron jumping to branch.

Mar Menor coastal lagoon, Murcia province, Spain

Jellyfish Cotylorhiza tuberculata drifting just beneath the surface looking for capturing the first sunrays to trigger their symbiotic algae to produce energy for it.

Ocean City, NJ

This photo was taken in Ocean City, NJ next to the old 59th Street fishing pier. Often called the Dog Star, Sirius is part of the constellation Canis Major and is also the brightest star in the night sky. A tripod, flashlight, remote shutter, and a 10 second timer were used to make this self portrait possible.

Bali, indonesia

while flying, a stork dove his head into the lake to catch it's prey. in certain season, this place in Bali are full with hundreds of storks, and they feast over fishes in this lake at the morning...

South Australia

This was taken on a Surfing Trip to the beautiful Yorkes Peninsula in South Australia. South Australia not only known for very big sharks its also know for having the odd day of amazing surf. The brilliant blue water looks very inviting here, but what lurks beneath is always on your mind.

Mendota Heights, MN, USA

Northern Flicker (yellow-shafted flicker) caught in flight with hi-speed flash

Jardines de la Reina, Cuba

In Jardines de la Reina, sixty miles off the southern coast of Cuba, a maze of mangroves is a haven for wild crocodiles. In this area, divers go in search of reef sharks. But few specimens of crocodiles come to the boats in search of a piece of chicken. This young specimen is one of the most daring and lent itself to a photo shoot. Crocodylus acutus.

Cataratas del Iguazú, Argentina.

The image has been taken on my last trip in Argentina, at the Iguazu Falls in June. The beauty of this unique environment is enriched by a species of birds, called "vencejos of the falls" (I guess the english term would be Swallows of the falls) that build their nests behind the waterfalls. The picture portraits a group of those swallows on the background of the falls.

Long Beach, California, Los Angeles

A brightly illuminated jelly drifts past the camera in a cloud of newly hatched nymphs

Bologna, Italy

European Hoopoe (Upupa epops) feeding a nestling

Red Rock, Anilao, Philippines

A yawning Rhinopias.

Singapore

Inspired by a trip to the pet shop as well as David Doubilet's images of nudibranchs, I set out to photographing ornamental fish trying to capture details of their texture as well as their 'personality'. I felt that whoever saw what I saw in the fish will start to appreciate the fish and more importantly nature in general and so I went all out to photograph it.

Iceland

The image was taken this August in Iceland. Since the days are quite long there during summer, I was hoping for a spectacular show of light at the end of the day. No luck, for a full week. However, on this particular day the fast moving clouds allowed for a glimpse of the nice soft light that was just there, behind them. This ended up as one of my favorite, moody images from that trip. Shot at 22:30 p.m.

Republic of Karelia, Russia

July night in North Karelia, Russia,

Catskill Mountain Region, Delhi, NY USA

I took this photo while hiking with my West Highland Terrier dog, Pixel. We had been hiking the northern Catskills and stopped to munch on some wild apples from the tree we just passed. The crumbling old stone wall provided an ideal place to stop and rest for a bit. The colors were so vibrant and my dog's stance so contemplative, I saw it as a perfect opportunity to take the photo.

My back garden

This is a high magnification image of a jumping spider in my back garden. Captured using a finite microscope objective adapted for use on a regular DSLR. The size of the spider, total length including the legs is 0.25mm.

Dudh Koshi River, The Himalaya's ~ NEPAL

While hiking up to Base Camp of Mount Everest in Nepal, I woke up early one morning and ventured down the river to find this series of waterfalls down a small canyon. Using a panoramic camera I was able to capture a 30 second exposure of this particular area, which enabled the blue to reflect from the frozen ice. An incredible scene that I was lucky enough to capture on film.

Kenya, Masai Mara National Reserve

I personally believe that, beyond the formal representation of reality, mediated by the technical instruments necessary to fix an image in time, photography is made of insights. The shot is the last act of image capturing and in many ways the easiest part of the whole process. This panning effect, even in its imperfection, with the chromatic harmony of the background, with all the needless information eliminated and the luck of having the big cat’s lifted tail in symmetry with the impala horns, brings the observer inside the hunting without distractions.

Badain Jaran Desert

Just as my thirst in the desert seemed unquenchable, a waterfall suddenly appeared.

Victoria, British Columbia

A visit to Butchart Gardens on the island of Vancouver turned out to be full of surprises. I was photographing a delicate tulip when I spotted this crab spider hiding behind one of the petals. Crab spiders (here Misumena vatia) are ambush predators: They lie in wait for bees or flies expecting a meal from these attractive flowers...

Orsova , Mehedinti , Romania