“Swallows Cave.” A freediver swim 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. (Photo and caption by Marc Henauer / National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest)
Get your cameras ready, the 2017 National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest is now open for entries. Every year, National Geographic gives photographers the opportunity to share their talents and show everyone a piece of the world we all live in. They're encouraged to submit their work in the following categories—nature, cities, and people. Early entries in the nature category show the stunning images already being submitted by photographers around the world.
For a small entry fee, photographers may enter as many images as they like, as long as they were captured within two years of submission. Up for grabs are three cash prizes and a grand prize 10-day trip to the Galapagos Archipelago with National Geographic Expeditions.
These early entries, culled by National Geographic editors, already demonstrate a high level of storytelling and are sure to provide plenty of travel inspiration. From underwater divers to reindeer migrating across the snowy Swedish landscape, the photographs are a sight to behold. Photographers looking to enter have until June 30, 2017 to do so. We can't wait to see what else the contest has in store!
These early entries in the Nature category of the 2017 National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest will leave you inspired.
“Little Eyewitness.” “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. (Photo and caption by Hidetoshi Ogata / National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest)
“A drive to remember.” Aerial view of the Scenic drive and the beautiful Fall colors of New Hampshire. I used a drone to capture the fall colors that cannot be seen from the road. (Photo and caption by Manish Mamtani / National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest)
“Blue pond the stellar sky.” Voice from the stars. (Photo and caption by Nao Akimoto / National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest)
“The Mirror.” Lake Yogo, called “The lake of Mirror”, sometimes reflects everything in front of you. (Photo and caption by Takahiro Bessho / National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest)
“Morning Cranes.” I was able to capture the silhouettes of the cranes through the morning fog. (Photo and caption by Hiroki Inoue / National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest)
“In Your Face.” 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. (Photo and caption by Shane Gross / National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest)
“Lonely salt lake.” Aerial shot was taken in Death Valley national park from a small plane. (Photo and caption by Stas Bartnikas / National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest)
“Lost in white.” This photo captures the moment that I, along with 3 other Sami reindeer herders become a little lost while migrating with 350 reindeer. They were rounded up from a section of forest around 30kms 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 (Photo and caption by Adam Cunningham-White/ National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year)
“Powerful cloud.” Mt Fuji is a treasure trove of mysteriously 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. (Photo and caption by Takashi / National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest)
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