The world is full of awe-inspiring scenery and the next 10 images prove it!
National Geographic launched its annual Travel Photographer of the Year contest, calling on photographers around the world to submit their work in one of three categories: nature, people or cities.
The grand prize winner will receive a 10-day trip for two to the Galápagos Archipelago. Prizes will also be given to the first, second and third-place winners of each category.
The contest deadline is June 30.
Please see some of the mesmerising photographs from the nature category here.
(Please click on the images for high-resolution photos)
Aerial view of the scenic drive and the beautiful fall colours of New Hampshire. I used a drone to capture the fall colours that cannot be seen from the road.
Photograph: Manish Mamtani/National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest
Caribbean reef sharks are usually shy so I placed my camera on a rock where I know they frequent and used a remote trigger to click away as they came in and bumped my camera around.
Photograph: Shane Gross/National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest
A freediver swims in the deep of 'swallows cave' in Tonga. This cave is settled by more than few thousand fish. They offer you a spectacular ballet when you dive inside. The contrast between the dark of the bottom and the light of the top make bright the fishes like stars.
Photograph: Marc Henauer/National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest
This photo captures the moment that I, along with three other Sami reindeer herders become a little lost while migrating with 350 reindeer. They were rounded up from a section of forest around 30 kms south of this point. Our goal was to take them, via rivers, northwards to pastures new using the network of rivers and lakes that flow through Sweden. This was taken on Randijaur lake, Jokkmokk, Sweden.
Photograph: Adam Cunningham-White/ National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest
Aerial shot was taken in Death Valley national park from a small plane.
Photograph: Stas Bartnikas/National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest
'Little Eyewitness' was taken in Jigokudani Monkey Park, Nagano, Japan on December, 2016. On a cold winter’s day, monkeys have several ways to keep off the cold. For example, in order to keep them warm, they have a soak in a hot spring, take a bedrock bath or huddle together, etc. While monkeys were huddling together, I approached them with the stealthy footsteps. Then I photographed them from directly above at the moment when a little monkey nestled in mother’s arms looked to the camera.
Photograph: Hidetoshi Ogata/National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest
Voice from the stars.
Photograph: Nao Akimoto/National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest
Mt Fuji is a treasure trove of mysterious shaped clouds. Various forms of clouds appear when a fast air current blows over the Mt Fuji. I stayed in the car during the night at the Inokashira forest road about 0.8 miles above sea level about 25 miles west of Mt Fuji. The small clouds that appeared before dawn grew bigger and bigger. Just before sunrise they had become a huge cloud covering Mt. Fuji. The shadows of them in the backlight were the most powerful masterpieces.
Photograph: Takashi/National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest
I was able to capture the silhouettes of the cranes through the morning fog.
Photograph: Hiroki Inoue/National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest
Yakushima is an island full of abundant moss and beautiful water.
Photograph: Tetsuya Hosokawa/National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest
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