You don't need to set out on a long journey to encounter playful penguins, enormous waves, enchanted forests and seahorses hiding among colorful corals. Just browse through the images nominated in Australia's Nature Photographer of the Year competition, held by the National Geographic Society, to discover just how rich and beautiful the world's nature is. Some of the photos submitted this year are amusing, others dramatic, and there are also those that instill a sense of calm and invite you to gaze at them for long moments. All of them were created thanks to photographers who were willing to contend with cold, rain, vast distances and long hours of waiting. In a single moment their eye spotted something that another person might have passed by without noticing, and thanks to the photos they took, all of us can see wonders from a distant and breathtaking world.
#1 "Right of Way" by John Harrison
#2 "Cotton Candy" by Lewis Burnett
#3 "Heart of the Southwest" by Luke Tscharke
#4 "The Spider Piñata" by Melissa Christi
#5 "Swamp Zone" by William Patino
#6 "The Modeling Penguin" by Mat Bell
#7 "Celestial Connection" by Anton Gorlin
#8 "The Chatty Honeyeaters" by Dan Parker
#9 "One in a Thousand" by Kendra Campbell
#10 "Creatures Among the Shadows" by Benjamin Maze
#11 "Nereus" by Gergo Rugli
#12 "In the Morning" by Paula McManus
