National Geographic Photo Contest 2010

National Geographic once again holding its annual photo contest, the deadline for submission of works which - November 30th. Over the past eight weeks edition of collected photographs, encouraging readers to vote for them. We offer you 47 of the best photos of the three categories - people, places and nature. Comments submitted by photographers.





Kanana Camp, Botswana. Stopping at the side of the road to watch a grazing giraffe, we spotted an amber head lurking behind a small mound. A hungry lioness. Watching and waiting, she chose the moment and jumped just a second before the giraffe sensed danger. The lioness chased him, but did not catch up. Hungry, she lay down, hiding in the grass not far from us. (Photo and caption by Alex Tan)



The storm of the supercell moves over the prairies of Montana at sunset. (Photo and caption by Sean Heavey)



The rescue. Appreciate life to save the world. (Photo and caption by Hongsik Kim)



The Great Pyramids. Ancient Egyptians believed that death on Earth - the start of a journey to the next world. Pharaoh's embalmed body was encased in a tomb under the pyramid or her to protect him and give a chance to go to the other world. (Photo and caption by Jesus Oranday)



Music of love. This photo was taken in the village of Tenganan, Bali (2010). Tenganan - the most famous village of Bali, located close to Candi Dasa in East Bali. The man playing the bamboo flute to amuse a child with disabilities. It is not his son, even though he loved him like a brother. (Photo and caption by Ario Wibisono)



Transparent planet. Another picture from the series "Clear Vision", which presents a vision of waves from different perspectives. People are not accustomed to seeing such a wave angle. (Photo and caption by Freddy Cerdeira)



A brown bear near a river Baskin, Kodiak, Alaska. That morning the bear was fishing in the river. He went ashore and lay down on the grass. This photo was taken about an hour after sunrise, when the sun is just beginning to appear on the trees. The temperature was almost zero, and from the animal's body steaming. Bear as if there was to do with fishing or photographer on the beach. (Photo and caption by James Haskins)



Mantis. This insect has already passed two stages nymphs on leaf Daisy and survived thanks to its bright color. At the end of his "older" mantis he became bolder (though not much). As soon as he took off one layer, it became a full-fledged adults and left the list in about two weeks. Total time spent in this tiny ecosystem - about six weeks. (Photo and caption by Fred Turck)



Wrinkles time. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. (Photo and caption by Nikki Krecicki)



One. I flew in a helicopter, photographing the work, and suddenly saw a lone tree surrounded by thousands of fir trees. I made only one shot in this wonderful world. (Photo and caption by Mats Almlöf)



The archipelago of Fernando de Noronha, Brazil is considered a nature reserve, but today, even in this secluded archipelago dolphins are victims of pollution. (Photo and caption by João Vianna)



Space. Mother Nature does what it does best. (Photo and caption by Patrick John O'Doherty)



The child in all of us. Traveling from Zhangmu (border of Nepal and Tibet) in the Tibetan capital Lhasa, along the Friendship Highway, you can see a lot of workers. Chinese industrialization is heavily influenced by Tibet. But despite attempts by the Chinese government to form a settlement on the Tibetan Plateau, roof of the world is still a place where only the Tibetans can survive in these harsh environments. Tibetan boy holding the hand of his father, working on the road. (Photo and caption by Sergi Barisashvili)



Baboon in the foreground, was trying to hurt one of the young group. Male (facing the camera) attacked him. Real ended after a few seconds, but it was very loud and furious. The remaining members of the group tried to scatter in all directions. In the life of a group of baboons that really there to talk, always full of drama. (Photo and caption by Sharon Raoli)



Dangerous journey. Woman riding between the cars of the train heading north from Dhaka - capital of Bangladesh. Her luggage is under the car in front of her. Picture taken in the month of Ramadan, which culminates in Eid al-Fitr. Tens of thousands of people leave the city and go to their villages to celebrate the holiday with their families. Trains are overcrowded, and many of those who did not buy tickets or could not afford to buy them, go on the roofs or between cars, like this woman. (Photo and caption by Amy Helene Johansson)



Lightning strikes at New York Harbor. This photo was taken during a severe thunderstorm. Wind and rain hardly had that allowed me to stay inside and take pictures from the window. It was the 82nd frame 150 made that night. The camera was on a tripod, the pictures made with the help of a rope with a delay of 5 seconds. (Photo and caption by Jay Fine)



Dawn in Boise. This place, with its fog and morning light, beckoning me. If you look closely, you can see deer in the center slightly to the left (a small point - the head peeking over the bushes). (Photo and caption by Glen Hush)



Yes, it is spring. Fishing from the edge of the bridge. (Photo and caption by Stan Bouman)



Sight. Today there are only 400 individuals of this species. (Photo and caption by Rolf Skrypzak)



Against the wind on Mont Blanc. My friend Laszlo Varkonyi is leading a group on Mont Blanc. He died on Everest in April this year, when it fell a large ice tooth. (Photo and caption by Aniko Molnar)



Mysterious insect. It sat on my clothesline. I have no idea who it is. I used a macro lens as the object sekmi was only 1, 5 cm in length. We live in the Northern Rivers district of New South Wales, Australia. Sometimes the rainforest around our house there are interesting creatures like this. I know that it looks like a studio shot, but it is not. The photo was taken in natural light. Rear sheet served as a backdrop, happened to be there. I turned the picture to make it easier to examine the insect. I would appreciate it if anyone had told me who it is. (Photo and caption by Stephen Hocking)



Clean elements. I went to his jeep through the river to watch the volcano eruption in Iceland. It was a full moon and strong winds gave standing exactly at the car. I had a camera with me and zoom lens but no tripod. Suddenly I discovered this magical views, I witnessed the rare phenomenon of nature. Pulling the camera, I ran out of the car, trying to fight the strong wind. I put the camera on the hood of the car, holding his breath. I made 30 shots, but only one of them was standing. (Photo and caption by Olafur Ragnarsson)



The fall from the bike. The cyclist fell off his BMX after a failed attempt to ride the rail. Feeling the pain, even the ambitious, strong, extreme sports lovers like the simple, vulnerable children. Apparently, for some time, he will have to use only the bikes. (Photo and caption by Karolis Milasevicius)



Sera da Leba Road near Lubango (Angola). It Sera da Leba - Landmark Angola. In the '70s it was the way her image on postcards produced for decades, but all shots were taken in the afternoon. I wanted something different and tried a night shot. But it was virtually impossible: it was dark and foggy, and even I was at high altitude (1,800 meters). I wanted to take a picture with a delay of no more than 60 seconds. And in order to descend or climb on this part of the road, the car takes a few minutes. The fog was thick and prevented the review! Suddenly the fog cleared, a few cars went down, some - up. The picture is ready! (Photo and caption by Kostadin Luchansky)



Lama on the crest of a hill in the Chavin de Huantar, Peru, at sunset. (Photo and caption by John Palmer Gregg)



Fallen Angel. Legionnaire French Foreign Legion sits in an armored personnel carrier on the way to a combat mission near Badpash Kusa Kala, Afghanistan, June 16, 2010. (Photo and caption by Steven Greaves)



Thistle and foot mountain gorillas in Rwanda. I was lucky and I was able to see rare mountain gorillas in Rwanda in February 2010. This young gorilla had fallen asleep with a thistle in his leg. Thistle - one of the power supplies for these monkeys. They learn to extract a core of inedible stem. In this fusion of gorillas third and fourth toes, which is also often the case in humans. (Photo and caption by Jim Edwards)



Lightning strike. Lightning strikes the antenna of a skyscraper in Hong Kong September 13, 2009. (Photo and caption by Michael Siward)



Oasis. (Photo and caption by Nam In Geun)



Boy in southwestern Ethiopia. One of our neighbors, a little Cynthia. It was a rare opportunity to see him when he did not see the camera, because I was completely absorbed in the actions of his family. (Photo and caption by Stephen Murdoch)



Moths to light. Moths attracted by the light outside my house. (Photo and caption by Steve Irvine)



Surva or Survaki- International Festival of Masquerade Games held in the Bulgarian city of Pernik. This is the biggest event of this type not only in Bulgaria, but also on the Balkan Peninsula. It demonstrates the various options of the ancient Bulgarian traditions that are still alive today. This is an important part of the Bulgarian folklore tradition and take part in her unmarried men and married women. Surva is held every year on the eve of Pancake Day. (Photo and caption by Orlin Ognyanov)



Key Gompa. This photo was taken when I visited a Buddhist monastery in Key. Key - a tiny village in the heart of the Himalayas, close to which is the Key Gompa. I lived with the monks for about a week. This picture reflects the peaceful, almost heavenly atmosphere that characterizes this place. The monastery is located at an altitude of 4000 meters, and I had to climb even higher to 500 meters, to see this picture. This place - a paradise on earth. (Photo and caption by Natalia Luzuriaga)



The look of the hunter. Meeting with an elusive Canada lynx is considered a great success. It was an honor to see this animal so close. Photographing wild cat, I felt as if I pierce her wild and ravenous eyes. This is the chance of a lifetime, and I will remember it always. (Photo and caption by Janet Chester)



Suradita Village, West Java, Indonesia. Children playing with cocks. It was not a cockfight because the roosters did not have blades on the feet. Children like these games because they do not have the usual toys. (Photo and caption by Ario Wibisono)



Discarding silhouettes against the headlights of his car, firefighters are trying to extinguish the fire, which was caused by an explosion of a gas pipeline near San Francisco in September 2010. The fire destroyed 37 houses and claimed seven lives. (Photo and caption by Josh Edelson)



The strength of the child. City: Lenkua. Plantation: Bahia. Country: Brazil. (Photo and caption by Rodrigo West de Magalhaes)



North Atlantic seals withstand snowstorms. It was -30, and due to the high winds seemed even colder. I had to stay so as to obscure the camera from wind and snow. (Photo and caption by Eric Garnett)



Great Blue Heron with fish. The largest and most widespread heron in North America. During the hunt, they stand quietly on the banks of a river or lake waiting for prey, which sharply pierced beak. (Photo and caption by Linh Dinh)



Walk along the river. This photo was taken this summer in the Chinese city Chzhenyan. I was walking along the river in a fog after the evening rain. Refreshing smell after rain was mixed with the scent standing nearby food stands. In the distance, laughing and playing children. Soothe the lives of local people reminded me of the joyful time I myself grew up in a similar small town in the southwest of China. (Photo and caption by Fred Wang)



Heavy burden. One morning in August, I went to get the newspaper. Everywhere it was wet and humid, and I saw this fly on a small white flower from her bedroom window. Two hours after I took this photo, I went out and saw that the fly was still sitting, unable to fly. (Photo and caption by Audun Wigen)



Table Mountain. I took this picture in June 2009 at Cape Town, South Africa. I worked in a children's camp and took this picture of the setting sun over Table Mountain as we were heading out to dinner. I was in a hurry to shoot sunset, trying at the same time keep an eye on children at the playground, which had not even noticed the boy who hit the shot. Just returned home to Tennessee, I appreciated the power of photography. The dualism of a teenage boy and the mountains, where 260 million years old, in one frame - it's an amazing thing. (Photo and caption by Quinn Ballard)



Herring Gull with chick guillemots in its beak. Picture taken on the island of Farne, Northumberland, UK. Herring gull circled over the colony of guillemots 3-4 times before you rush down and grab this poor. (Photo and caption by Ron McCombe)



Pyramidal mountain. Desert Maelifellssandur volcanic ash in Iceland. (Photo and caption by Sukru Mehmet Omur)



Giraffes in the savanna. This image from an unusual perspective, which depicted two giraffes and a tree has been made in the Masai Mara, Kenya. (Photo and caption by Niko Saunio)



After the crash. My friend Laura fell from the sky. The helicopter in which she was traveling crashed into a field and exploded, causing three of the six people on board, including the pilot, were killed. Laura barely survived. It burned and broke 45 bones. It was pulled from the burning wreckage by the hair. She still can not walk. Although her body is broken, her spirit and the desire to live a full and happy life remains stronger than ever. This photo is made in a green field, it symbolizes rebirth. (Photo and caption by Judy Starkman)



Cloud and ship. Ukraine, Crimea, Black sea. Picture taken from Mount Ai-Petri. (Photo and caption by Yevgen Timashov)



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