Though nature can live without photography, photography can't live without nature. But nature is rapidly changing due to global warming and environmental effects caused by human activity. And photographers know this better than anyone since observing nature is part of their job. Thus many of the photos always have a bittersweet tone to them, no matter how beautiful they are: it painfully reminds us how fragile and important the balance in nature is. Therefore, the annual Nature Conservancy photo contest isn't just about picking the best wildlife or landscape photo, it's also about raising awareness for conservational efforts, which are sadly more and more needed these days. But let's not end with a sad note, shall we? After all, what nature teaches us is that it can always adapt and bounce back, and it's much more resilient than we give it credit for. No matter how many problems nature has or will have, it will always be an eternal source of beauty and inspiration.
We did an article of the Nature Conservancy photo contest three years ago. If you want to reminisce, review, or see them for the first time, you may find the link here.
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#1 People’s Choice Award: Prathamesh Ghadekar, India
Just before monsoon, fireflies congregate in certain regions of India. Sometimes milllions of these insects can be found on a few special trees like this one. Thirty-two photographs of this tree were taken and later stacked in Adobe Photoshop, creating this image.
Photograph: Prathamesh
Image credits: The Nature Conservancy
#2 Water, Second Place: Joram Mennes, Mexico
Three levels of leisure: swimmers, freedivers and divers enjoy their respective sport and recreational activities in a fresh water mass known locally as the Cenotes.
Photograph: Joram Mennes
Image credits: The Nature Conservancy
#3 Wildlife, Second Place: Mateusz Piesiak, Poland
A large sunflower field, which could not be mowed this year due to the water level, attracted thousands of bird species this winter, mostly greenfinches, goldfinches and bramblings.
Photograph: Mateusz Piesiak
Image credits: The Nature Conservancy
#4 Wildlife, First Place: Buddhilini De Soyza, Australia
Incessant rains in the Masai Mara national reserve in Kenya have caused the the Talek river to flood. This group of five male cheetahs, who received the nickname ‘Tano Bora’ ( the fast five), were looking to cross this river in terrifyingly powerful currents. ‘It seemed a task doomed to failure and we were delighted when they made it to the other side,’ De Soyza said. ‘This was a timely reminder of the damage wreaked by human induced climate change.’
Photograph: Buddhilini de Soyza
Image credits: The Nature Conservancy
#5 Landscape, First Place: Daniel De Granville Manço, Brazil
The carcass of a Pantanal alligator in the dry soil on the banks of the Transpantaneira highway, municipality of Poconé (Mato Grosso). The photo was taken with a drone on 4 October 2020, at the height of the droughts that hit the Pantanal that year.
Photograph: Daniel De Granville
Image credits: The Nature Conservancy
#6 People And Nature, Second Place: Tom Overall, Australia
A guide in the Sahara desert endures a sand storm.
Photograph: Tom Overall
Image credits: The Nature Conservancy
#7 People And Nature, Third Place, Sebnem Coskun, Turkey
‘Covid-19 wastes’ are a new danger to aquatic life. According to a World Wildlife Fund report, an equivalent to 33,880 plastic bottles is being mixed into the Mediterranean Sea per minute, with waste washing up on the shores of Italy and Turkey.
Photograph: Şebnem Coşkun
Image credits: The Nature Conservancy
#8 Wildlife, Honorable Mention: Anup Shah, United Kingdom
Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. During the frenzy of crossing the Mara River, the wildebeests were leaping, kicking, scampering, and bucking.
Photograph: Anup Shah
Image credits: The Nature Conservancy
#9 People And Nature, First Place: Alain Schroeder, Belgium
Orangutans in Indonesia are under threat from the ongoing depletion of the rainforest due to palm oil plantations, logging, mining, hunting. This photograph shows a team of rescue workers preparing Brenda, a female orangutan who is estimated to be three months old as she still has no teeth, for surgery.
Photograph: Alain Schroeder
Image credits: The Nature Conservancy
#10 People And Nature, Honorable Mention: Minqiang Lu, China
Image credits: The Nature Conservancy
#11 Grand Prize: Anup Shah, UK
A female western lowland gorilla, Malui, walks through a cloud of butterflies she has disturbed in Bai Hokou, Dzanga Sangha special dense forest reserve, Central African Republic. ‘I like photos that keep dragging you in. The face. Tolerance or bliss. It’s really hard to tell and the insects draw you there,’ said the celebrity judge Ben Folds.
Photograph: Anup Shah
Image credits: The Nature Conservancy
#12 Landscape, Honorable Mention: Scott Portelli, Australia
Lush green mangroves line the mud flats accentuated by the tidal waters and months of rain filling the artesian basin. Gulf of Carpentaria in tropical north Queensland.
Photograph: Scott Portelli
Image credits: The Nature Conservancy
#13 Water, First Place: Kazi Arifujjaman, Bangladesh
Arifujjaman often explores water in his work.
Photograph: Kazi
Image credits: The Nature Conservancy
#14 Water, Third Place: Man Wai Wong, Hong Kong
The photo was taken in the winter of 2019 in Iceland.
Photograph: Man Wai Wong
Image credits: The Nature Conservancy
#15 Wildlife, Third Place: Viktor Vrbovský, Czech Republic
A pike tries to eat a large perch. “How did this end? I don’t know. The situation didn’t change much in an hour,’ Vrbovsky said. ‘I had to emerge because I was running out of air.’
Photograph: Viktor Vrbovský
Image credits: The Nature Conservancy
#16 Landscape, Second Place: Denis Ferreira Netto, Brazil
‘In a helicopter flight through the sea mountain range, I came across this white cloud cover, which resulted in this magnificent image that resembles the head of a dinosaur,’ the photographer said.
Photograph: Denis Ferreira
Image credits: The Nature Conservancy
#17 Wildlife, Honorable Mention: Thomas Vijayan, Canada
Orangutans are accustomed to live on trees and feed on wild fruits like lychees, mangosteens, and figs, and slurp water from holes in trees.
Photograph: Thomas Vijayan
Image credits: The Nature Conservancy
#18 People And Nature, Honorable Mention: Wax Leung, Hong Kong
Image credits: The Nature Conservancy
#19 Landscape, Honorable Mention: Kim-Pan Dennis Wong, Hong Kong
At Hung Hom, the rising of full moon could be found every month thanks to its facing the east.
Photograph: Kim-pan Dennis Wong
Image credits: The Nature Conservancy
#20 Landscape, Third Place: Jassen Todorov, US
‘If you have flown into San Francisco international airport, you may have seen these colourful salt ponds over the bay,’ Todorov said. ‘I have photographed them numerous times, as the colours and patterns constantly change thanks to microorganisms and salinity. This aerial image was taken while flying my plane.’
Photograph: Jassen Todorov
Image credits: The Nature Conservancy
