More than 25,000 photographs taken throughout the world were submitted for judging in this year’s prestigious National Wildlife Photo Contest.
Photographer: Sean Crane, Scarsdale, N.Y.
Subjects ranged from an elephant trudging across a barren plain to a green sweat bee perched on a blue flower. Without exception, the winning images were stunning, to say the least.
The annual contest is sponsored by the National Wildlife Federation and “National Wildlife” magazine.
First- and second-place winners were named in seven categories: Baby Animals, Backyard Habitats, Birds, Landscapes and Plants, Mammals, Other Wildlife and People in Nature. In addition, a grand-prize winner was selected from among all the best entries. Images on this page can be enlarged by clicking on the photo.
Photographer: Donald Caffrey, Goddard, Kans.
One of my favorite pictures shows a newly hatched leatherback sea turtle facing his future in the wide-open ocean. The image was shot at sunset in Trinidad by Sean Crane of Scarsdale, N.Y., who helped other volunteers protect three nests of hatchlings from circling vultures. The picture took a second-place award in the category “Baby Animals.”
Growing up in Kansas until age 17, I’ve seen plenty of thunderstorms, including a few funnel clouds. But I have never seen a blue refracted light in the clouds, such as revealed in an image by photographer Donald Caffrey of Goddard, Kans. The details captured in the billowing clouds stand in stark contrast to the simple landscape that goes on for miles. The photo captured first place in the category “Landscapes and Plants.”
Photographer: Majed Ali, Kuwait City, Kuwait.
Who can resist the emotional connection between a mother and her offspring? A photo of a lion and her cubs exudes a feeling of comfort, whether or not this arises out of our human perspective. Photographer Majed Ali of Kuwait City, Kuwait, spotted the eye of the mother lion through some brush in Kenya’s Olare Motorogi Conservancy. Majed recalled this moment when he wrote, “This photo attracts me because of the tenderness of the family. There is love in the frame.” The photo took first place in category “Mammals.”
All the winning entries can be seen on the National Wildlife Federation page “Eye of the Beholder.”
Next year’s contest will be open for submissions on Jan. 8. For details, check out the photo contest page of NWF.
