내쇼날 지오그라프지 사진 대회 작품들: Photos from the National Geographic Contest

The photographers that take part in the National Geographic Photographer of the Year contests never ceases to amaze, and this year is no exception. Take a look at the breathtaking shots they each captured. Which of the following is your favorite? One this is certain, National Geographic will have a hard time picking a winner: 

Chobe River, Botswana in April 2016.

Photographer: Sam Kurtul

The Palouse region of Washington State - this region offers one of the most beautiful scenic drives in the U.S. 

Photographer: Hamish Mitchell 

Fox bathing in the snowflakes in Japan's Shiretoko National Park.

Photographer: Hiroki Inoue

An African buffalo covered in mud in the Masai Mara, Kenya.

Photographer: Chris Schmid

Closeup of an Atlantic Puffin, captured on the protected nesting site of Machias Seal Island, off the coast of Maine.

Photographer: Harry Collins 

A wave curls in multiple layers over a shallow reef on the New South Wales Coast, Australia. 

Photographer: Warren Keelan

A delicate and beautiful underwater creature which appeared during the vertical migration - the largest migration on Earth. This migration takes place every night in the oceans around the world. Captured in the Gulf Stream Current Florida.

Photographer: Suzan Meldonian

A colossal Cumulonimbus flashes over the Pacific Ocean. Captured at 37,000 feet.

Photographer: Santiago Borja 

A person takes a closer look at the lava on the French island of Reunion. 

Photographer: Gaby Barathieu

A group of mosquitoes attack a snapping turtle at Bombay Hook NWR in Delaware, U.S..

Photographer: Jerry am Ende

A sleeping walrus on the shore of Chukotka in Russia.

Photographer: Mike Korostelev 

Thousands of flamingoes in Lake Bogoria, Kenya. 

Photographer: Yu Huiping

A mountain hare, Scotland.

Photographer: Jamie Snr

High waves captured in Na Pali Coast, Hawaii.

Photographer: Lee Scott

Southern calamari squid native to Australian and New Zealand coastlines. 

Photographer: Matthew Smith

A bear fishing for salmon in Kamachatka, Russia.

Photographer:  Mike Korostelev



Greenland's pristine landscape amid a U.S. Air Force base which was abandoned in 1947, leaving everything behind including 10,000 aviation fuel barrels. 

Photographer: Ken Bower

Lava flows into the ocean in Hawaii. 

Photographer: Mason Lake

Fox kids, usually very active and playful. They engage in play that prepare them for lessons later in life. In this case, it would seem that one is not quite prepared for an attack. 

Photographer: Henrik Nilsson 

A man, Paulo, enjoying high-lining at 980 meters above the ground, while drying some laundry. 

Photographer: Fred Marie