The nature that surrounds us is often taken for granted - it is simply there. But when we look at it, we ignore heavy industrialization, modernization, and other factors, man-made, that harm and destroy our wonderful nature and raise a serious fear that in the future it will no longer exist. The Nature Conservancy is one of the leading organizations in the world in its activities to preserve the nature of our world and in protecting land and sea of ecological importance.
In order to raise awareness of the need to preserve the environment, the organization initiates a particularly successful annual photography competition, which, this year, has had more than 50,000 photos, taken by photographers from more than 135 countries around the globe, submitted. Recently, the winning pictures were announced, and we invite you to take a look at some of the leading and most impressive ones.
The winning picture shows a pair of stallions standing on their hind legs - their bodies raised in the air, as they play in a puddle of mud, splashing in all directions. Without a doubt, the power of nature and animals is fully expressed here in this simple picture.
This magical snowy landscape, with the glittering waterfall at the center of the picture, was documented in January 2018 on Lake Aldeyjarfoss in Iceland. The photographer who documented this wonderful picture, Jeremy Stevens, testified that he likes to climb into the most difficult to reach places since they are the most peaceful.
In the powerful picture before us is the nightly eruption of the Colima volcano in Mexico, which, in addition to the starry sky that serves as the ideal background, conveys to the viewer the pure energy inherent in nature.
This beautiful, sweet red fox is caught in the middle of a flowering field in the province of Newfoundland, Canada, and the bright, special colors of his fur blend beautifully into the blooming background surrounding him.
Those of you who’s seen the movie "Jaws" might get a bit shaken by this threatening scene, in which a large white shark opens its sharp-bristled mouth and attacks an innocent school of fish.
In this wonderful picture, taken from an upper angle, we see a white polar bear wandering on a pack of ice threatening to melt. Although the picture seems to have been taken at the North Pole itself, and the bear adds to this atmosphere, it was in fact taken in Nunavut, a frozen territory in northern Canada.
From the large polar bear captured from the air in the previous picture, we will move on to the tiny fungi gnat fly, taken from close up under the canopy of a toadstool in southern Scotland.
In this mysterious and captivating picture, a charming model appears, hiding her face behind a large, almost transparent leaf that conceals and reveals at the same time.
Did the kiss that the golden-haired girl lay on the tiny little frog turn him into a handsome prince? We’re not quite sure, yet the love of nature is certainly reflected in this wonderful picture.
The mighty Victoria Falls, flooding their waters along the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia in Africa, are considered one of the wonders of the world - and not for nothing. Tourists who come to Africa flock to the place, and the three girls caught in the camera lens sitting and watch the huge thunder of water descending into the falls, couldn’t escape the pull as well.
You‘ll find this reptile-infested lagoon in the province of Poconé, Brazil, where this reptile meeting was documented. The blue-colored picture was taken in the late afternoon when dim natural light dominated the area.
Behind this simple picture is an interesting story - in the Romanian village of Ma Vacha on the Black Sea, near the border with Bulgaria, there is an unwritten rule that all tourists and visitors to the place should sleep in tents at the beach instead of in modern hotels established in the vicinity.
Jesse Yang traveled as far as the deserts of the United Arab Emirates to catch this powerful picture that shows us the power of nature. This flooded house is located in an abandoned ghost town in the country.
The towering Lion Rock, 495 meters tall, is a symbol of Hong Kong - and many residents of the province, including the photographer of this impressive image, grew up in the shade of the mountain and believe that in its steadfastness it represents the people’s spirit and character.
As we’ve seen in the picture "Polar Bear" presented earlier, quite a few photographs submitted to the competition documented the phenomenon of glaciers melting. An iceberg, broken and melting, was caught on the camera lens near the coast of Iceland.
In the past year, we’ve seen quite a few volcanic eruptions in the remote Hawaiian Islands, where there are two active volcanoes. In the photo above, the eruption of Kīlauea, the most active volcano on Earth today, is vividly documented.
Escalante National Monument, located in the state of Utah, is home to some of the narrowest slot canyons in America, where walking - as you may have already understood by the wonderful picture in front of you - is only possible for those who are quite slender.
From the lowest point in the world located in Israel, the Dead Sea. Alina Fortuna, who caught a woman floating in the water against this breathtaking landscape, simply says, " We belong to nature and not the reverse. Without nature, we do not live, but without us, it lives.”
image source: Bored Panda
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