This competition has been held yearly by the
California Academy of Sciences for the past eight years. Photographers from all
around the world submit their work, demonstrating their photographic abilities.
They work hard to be in the right position at the right moment to get that
flawless photo. Although the winner will receive a monetary award, the
competition's purpose is to create awareness about the need of safeguarding and
safeguarding our planet.
Artists are encouraged to submit images that
highlight Earth's biodiversity. Finally, all of these photographs may be seen
on bioGraphic,
an online science and sustainability journal that is also the official media
sponsor of the California Academy of Sciences'
BigPicture Natural
World Photography Competition.
If you've never heard of this competition we've
compiled a gallery of some of the images that were entered below. Scroll down
to see them all and don't forget to vote for your favorite.
More information: BigPicture | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.
1. The Grand Prize: 'Hope in a Burned Plantation'
Mallacoota, Australia's Jo-Anne Mcarthur
A hardy kangaroo stops amidst a charred eucalyptus
grove capturing the essence of Australia. The apocalyptic Australian bushfires
of 2019 and 2020 killed or displaced nearly three billion animals. This eastern
grey kangaroo and her joey are the lucky survivors having escaped from an
environment that had been changed by people for farming and later destroyed by
fire.
2. Aquatic Life, Winner: ‘Barracuda’ By Yung-Sen Wu,
Koror, Palau
For four days, the photographer swam in the Blue
Corner with this battery of barracuda, aiming for the right perspective. On his
fifth day, towards the end of a 50-minute dive the fish permitted him to swim
among them as part of the school and he obtained this fisheye shot. He joined
the fish on the sixth day, but without his camera.
3. Terrestrial Wildlife, Winner: ‘Boss’ By Michelle
Valberg, Great Bear Rainforest, Canada
This spirit bear, one of just a few hundred white
bears of this subspecies of black bears in British Columbia's coastal
rainforests are known as "Boss." After lowering his head into the
river in quest of salmon roe he shook his head, droplets spiraling around his
head gazed at the camera for a fraction of a second and then dived back into
the water for his meal.
4. Winged Life, ‘Beak To Beak' Winner Mount Seymour
Provincial Park, Canada, by Shane Kalyn
After preening one other's feathers, the ravens took
turns checking every nook and cranny of each other's beaks conversing the
entire time. The photographer has never seen anything like this in three
winters of studying raven gift-sharing, grooming, and singing courting
activities on the mountain.
5. Landscapes, Waterscapes, and Flora: Winner:
‘Another Planet’ By Fran Rubia, Fjallabak Nature Reserve, And Iceland
What appeared to be mountains from the ground turned
out to be extinct volcanoes, as caught by this drone photo taken during the
midnight sun on an overcast day in June, an alien mood is created by the odd
viewpoint of an unfriendly environment tainted by traces of iron oxide.
6. Art of Nature, Winner: Sarang Naik, Toplepada,
India, for ‘the Goblet of Fire'
This fungus, lighted by a basic flashlight was one
of several fungus growing in the countryside nearby the photographer's
residence. During the monsoon season, the mushrooms emitted thick, yellow-brown
spores throughout the day for about a month, which is a frequent but generally
overlooked phenomenon.
7. Human/Nature, Winner: Ralph Pace, Monterey,
United States, for ‘Sign of the Tides'
A discarded face mask in the shape of a sea turtle
draws a notoriously inquisitive California sea lion in this nicely placed shot.
This was the photographer's first time seeing a mask underwater, shot in
November 2020, although he has seen more subsequently. The pandemic's impacts
will most certainly persist in our waters for years to come.
8. Aquatic Life, Finalist: ‘Facing Reality’ By Amos
Nachoum, Pleneau Island, Antarctic Peninsula
The baby gentoo penguin ran into the lagoon to play
during low tide and was attacked by the leopard seal which had been lying in
wait.
9. Aquatic Life, Finalist: ‘Treasure on Ice’ By Marek
Jackowski, Svalbard, Norway
Polar bears are quickly losing habitat as sea ice
melts as a result of climate change. At dusk, this lucky guy found himself on a
little iceberg a haven for the night.
10. Terrestrial Wildlife, Finalist: ‘Felis
Silvestris’ By Vladimir Cech Jr., Doupov Mountains, Czech Republic
The European wildcat (Felis silvestris silvestris)
is an uncommon, secretive, and difficult-to-photograph species. After months of
research, the photographer captured this shot using a custom DSLR camera trap
created in his woodland photo studio.
11. Human/Nature, Finalist: ‘Why Did The Sloth Cross
The Road?’ By Andrew Whitworth, Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica
Getting to the other side of a road is difficult,
especially for a slow-moving sloth. The initiative to build arboreal bridges
for animal crossings in biodiversity hotspots like Osa is accelerating. This
gorgeous moss-covered, three-toed sloth survived in the middle of stormy
weather.
12. Aquatic Life, Finalist: ‘Orcas under the Arctic
Sun’ by Andy Schmid, Skjervøy, Norway
This curious but protective orca mother permitted
the photographer to swim alongside during the solitary hour in mid-November
when the sun shines through the fjord and into the water in quest of herring
that provide refuge from the open ocean.
13. Aquatic Life, Finalist: ‘Private Moment of Milk
Feeding’ By Mike Korostelev, Indian Ocean
A pod of sperm whales tolerated the photographer's
presence long enough for him to picture one of the moms feeding her youngster
near the water's surface. It's not simple for a young whale to hold his breath
and drink at the same time.
14. Landscapes, Waterscapes, and Flora: Finalist:
‘Beautiful Water’ By Kazuaki Koseki, Inawashiro, Japan
The Tohoku earthquake and tsunami slammed the
Pacific Coast ten years ago, triggering the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear crisis.
This shot was taken in Fukushima Prefecture an inland location that is
presently covered with virgin forest.
15. Winged Life, Finalist: ‘Ropewalker’ By Nicolas
Reusens, Papallacta, Ecuador
After six days of shooting, the photographer captured a speckled hummingbird balancing on the beak of a sword-billed hummingbird, a behavior he had never seen before in his 10 years of monitoring hummingbirds. His most spectacular picture moment was this astounding effort.
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