The 30 Most Stunning Photos Of Nature From Last Year’s International Photo Awards

“You can not plan such conditions—it was pure luck because I was supposed to be shooting 2 km from the spot when this storm started. I saw the red glow above the mountain and ran to my car to reach the western side of the mountain.”

One of the highlights in Northern Ireland for friends of “Game of Thrones” is the alley Bregagh Road in Antrim County.

Eye contact with a humpback whale can be a powerful experience. They are intelligent, curious, social animals with unique personalities and moods.

To take this photo, the artist made his dogs run together, starting at a different point so that the faster one could reach the slower one exactly on the log. It’s one shot that required a lot of preparation to understand their behavior running side by side.

Dancing fog around the trees and mountains a short time before sunset.

A pair of baby swans waddling up onshore and cuddling in the Lakefront Promenade of Toronto, Canada.

In January 2019, Canberra had one of the most spectacular lightning storms ever. It passed the city from west to east over the black mountains and continued towards Brindabella mountains.

“This photograph is my tribute to Geoffrey Lowa. He was a friend that I never met in person. He was planning to be my host, driver, and photo model for a hybrid solar eclipse in Kenya. Sadly, he was killed just one week before I arrived. His friend Peter Nakua, who tried to save his life, is standing on a hill during 11 seconds of totality.”

A beautiful Spanish stallion with the name Doncel the Aymaran.

“Clouds were flowing above Mt. Fuji. The long-exposure shooting and the result of finishing with blue ink gave me an image as if I were in a different world. When I saw the finished image, I heard JAZZ.”

Tateyama is one of the snowiest places in Japan. This picture was taken at the beginning of May, but it was all snow-covered.

The Lone Tree of Lake Wanaka is a very famous viewpoint in New Zealand. Actually, the Lone Tree is not lonely at all. Many birds are always perched on it.

A change over of the seasons, capturing the first snowfall at Moraine Lake.

The African lion is one such animal that is facing a dire threat to its existence. Canned hunting, specific breeding for the “cub petting” trade, and the illicit lion bone market are genuine threats to the African lion’s continued existence.

In the winter forest, an enchanting atmosphere when fog had just started to retreat a bit, revealing icy trees standing strong in icy conditions.

Mesocyclone pierced by lightning under an incredible supercell in the great plains of the Tornado Alley.

There are only an estimated 24 super tusk elephants left on Earth. These giants appear pulled from the pages of a bygone era, nearly out of place in today’s day and age.

After crawling into this ice cave on my hands and knees, I made my way to the end and shot this image, looking back at the entrance.

“Throughout my photographic career, I have always sought opportunities to incorporate the sun into my wildlife images. It is a challenge to find the ideal position where the subject, landscape, and sun align in a perfect composition.”

The photographer took a flight to Langkawi to photograph the highest suspension bridge on the planet. Once he arrived, the days were filled with fog and rain, obstructing the entire view from above. Not to be disheartened, he decided to end the day by taking a trip to a lighthouse recommended to him by one of the locals atop the bridge. He told him it was often left alone by tourists but that it was truly a sight to behold, and it was.

Pink anemonefish on the pink anemone. There are 12 species of anemonefish in Australia and 30 in the world. Anemonefish have a mutualistic relationship; they cannot survive without anemones, which provide them with shelter, protection, delimit their territories, ward off potential predators, and serve as spawning grounds.

Driving in northern Colorado near Steamboat Springs. Carl, my son’s dog, put his head out the window near an abandoned 1-room schoolhouse.

Highly detailed image of an iris, created from 25 separate exposures to create this hyper-sharp composition.

Traveling around the world, the photographer captures the beauty of nature with extreme panoramic shots.

Little fishing villages of Norway.

It’s known as Big Sky County; an eerily beautiful Montana spring storm looms over a sea of wildflowers, contrasting red and turquoise shades.

“I took this picture of an autumn-colored forest and a blue alpine lake with my drone. When I saw it from above, it immediately reminded me of a volcano, exploding with colors!”

A diver is in awe in front of a huge ball of jack fishes in the waters of Cabo Pulmo Marine Park, Mexico.

Baluch women harvesting chamomile in an organic farm in Baluchabad Village, north of Iran. Some of these ethnic Baluch families migrated from their homeland, in the south of Iran’s drylands, to the northeast of Iran nearly 90 years ago.

This is the highest peak, 7756 m, named Gongar Mountain, in Sichuan.

• You might also like: 50 ‘Weird Facts’ About The World That Might Give You A Fresh Perspective