Winners Of The 2017 Nat Geo Nature Photographer Of The Year Contest Will Take Your Breath Away

A male orangutan peers from behind a tree while crossing a river in Borneo, Indonesia. Rampant palm oil cultivation threatens this critically endangered ape, forcing the normally arboreal species to resort to unusual behavior—such as wading through crocodile-infested rivers—in order to survive.

Pied Falconet is a species of bird of prey in the family Falconidae. They're very small (

Early in the morning, the young male lion came to the dense flower sea, and he felt very satisfied. Swinging his head in the breeze, I took the picture.

Went to the very north of Denmark, skagen, at sunrise and found this willing model.

How many Mountain Goats can fit on this rock, if you start stacking them on top of each other? Mount Evans, Colorado, USA

Ever get the feeling you're being watched? The hair on the back of your neck starts to stand on end, you're checking your surroundings, you look up to see the glorious mountain beast and stare into the soul of this amazing creature while he's carefully analyzing your every move...

Bear from the water Kamchatka, Russia

Bigeye Trevally forming a "tornado" at Cabo Pulmo National Park, Mexico
. A few years ago, local fisherman decided to stop fishing and bet all on ecotourism. That bet was successful economically, socially, and ecologically speaking. What used to be an almost lifeless place now has a complete life chain, even bull sharks are back and orcas come and visit often. Cabo Pulmo is a true example that by letting the ocean recover, it will do so by itself.

As the only wild animals being herded in Sweden, once a year the reindeers of the different communities are gathered and separated by their owners and moved to better pastures for the winter. Since thousands of animals are gathered and then divided into handling facility sections, the process may take several days.

Shortly before twilight in Kalapana, Hawai’i, a fragment of the cooled lava tube broke away, leaving the molten rock to fan in a fiery spray for less than half an hour before returning to a steady flow.

On the morning drive in the forests of pench tiger reserve, i found this little one practising his skills. These skills would help him in growing into adulthood successfully. the backlight made this fraqme more interesting. Waiting for the right moment, i clicked this image.

Galapagos Marine Iguanas sneeze to expel excess salt water after they feed in the ocean.

Sunset illuminates a lighthouse and rainbow in the Faroe Islands.

When all other bears are asleep for the winter, in a remote part of the yukon, one mother has learned that the river in her territory does not freeze and the fish keep coming into late november. covered in ice as her wet coat freezes in the -25C air temperatures, she raises her family in the most extreme of conditions.

I spotted a moray eel while free-diving off the coast of Maui. I followed the eel from a distance, watching it slither through the reef peering into each dark hole it came across. Finally, the eel found what it was looking for and darted its head into a dark hole and started aggressively attacking. Dark ink shot out and octopus legs begin reaching out of the hole. Out came an octopus darting away from the eel right toward my lens, pausing briefly infront of me before darting off again.

An adult Caribbean pink flamingo feeds a chick in Yucatán, Mexico. Both parents alternate feeding chicks, at first with a liquid baby food called crop milk, and then with regurgitated food.

Free diver swimming over a pod of sleeping sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus, Vulnerable (IUCN). The sperm whale is the largest of the toothed whales. Sperm whales are known to dive as deep as 1,000 meters in search of squid to eat. Image has been shot in Dominica, Caribbean Sea, Atlantic Ocean.

Wintertime in Transylvania! Yes, you're right: it's THAT Transylvania and this is the road that leads you to Sighisoara, the birthplace of Count Dracula!

A Portuguese man-of-war nears the beach on a summer morning; thousands of these jellyfish wash up on Australia’s eastern coast every year.

A Japanese macaque indulges in some grooming time on the shores of the famous hot springs.

I have shot Great Cormorants flying off for hundreds of times. However, this was the only moment when I caught the perfect lights and background, when the bird flew in the right direction, close enough to me, making this exciting sight possible. I have never managed to shoot a similar scene however hard I tried. It is a memorable photographic achievement because the image was made with a manual focus, 1.4 intensity Zeiss lens and open blende which make depth of field almost impossible.

One morning, the buffalo came to the river to drink water. Many oxpecker also come together

A great gray owl swoops to kill in a New Hampshire field.

Sunlight glances off mineral strata of different colors in Dushanzi Grand Canyon, China.

Morning fog blurs the dead trees of Romania’s Lake Cuejdel, a natural reservoir created by landslides.

Preparing to strike, tarpon cut through a ribbon-like school of scad off the coast of Bonaire in the Caribbean Sea.

Buoyed by the Gulf Stream, a flying fish arcs through the night-dark water five miles off Palm Beach, Florida.

Snow-covered metasequoia trees, also called dawn redwoods, interlace over a road in Takashima, Japan.

On cloudy days, the surface of the ocean has a mysterious and eery nature. Penetrating the navy layer, your sparkling momentum disperses, leaving you breathless in the deep blue abyss. from the darkness emerges the living indigenous painting, accompanied by his most loyal entourage.Gently he swims forward providing protection and company. Occasionally revealing the vortex of his mouth, sending his friends into a chaotic frenzy. Bamboozled my friend clears his mask in AMAZEMENT!

Under beams of imagination, creatures that were said to be lost in time, come alive! Amboli is truly a lost world, with new species being discovered every year. It had just stopped raining and this specimen was dripping wet. I Illuminated the background with a beam of torch to get the mild drizzle in my image.

I lost everything the first time traveling to Iceland because of a thief stole my camera. I didn't give up but a successful crowdfunding made me able to go back once again to gather the lost pieces of my memory. This day I drove half circle of the Iceland in order to see the light, otherwise the weather is not permitted to see the northern light for the rest of my journey. All the blood and tears, painful and joy, I devote all my spirit in this photo, I believe the nature do hear my voice.

Green vegetation blooms at the river’s edge, or riparian, zone of a meandering canyon in Utah.

This is one of my favorite photos of my favorite critter. Shot with a +25 magnifier, it really brings out the detail in this otherwise very small skeleton shrimp. It's face is clear, it's reddish eyes are visible, and the way it faces my camera with it's arms wide makes it almost symmetrical. It's clear color matches the hydra that it is living on. Plus the colors in the background really make this an interesting and beautiful photo. Don't think there are aliens on earth? Look no further!

In Sydney, Australia, the Pacific Ocean at high tide breaks over a natural rock pool enlarged in the 1930s. Avoiding the crowds at the city’s many beaches, a local swims laps.

My tour group was about to head back to our lodge for the evening when we came upon two giraffes courting during this incredible sunset. I was lucky enough to capture the two giraffes at the same time as a flock of birds took flight from a tree in the background.

There is a rumor that you can watch forever on two things: fire and water, but when it comes to exploding lava fountains, - it is sempiternity multiplied to infinity. The eruption of Klyuchevskaya sopka. Kamchatka.

Two grey herons spar as a white-tailed eagle looks on in Hungary.

Look closely and you will see two Kayakers. The smooth misty water is a result of a long exposure, yet it is a single image. It is one of the most challenging photos I have ever taken. Just after sunset when the light was balanced, between rain showers they set off and stopped in the eddy current and held their position for as long as they could while I took long exposure photos. As I was flying the drone back to change battery, the rain returned and darkness consumed the valley.

While on safari in mana pools national park, zimbabwe, i was following a bull elephant on foot with my guide. the idea was to photograph him in the beautiful golden light of the setting sun. there was a flock of egrets feeding on insects disturbed by the elephant. suddenly they took flight and as they crossed the elephant, i could take a picture with the birds in flight on a beautiful backdrop.

A pair of Japanese cranes dancing in the snow.