National Geographic has just published the results of their prestigious 2016 Nature Photographer of the Year competition. Once you see the photographs below, you will realize just how difficult it must have been for the judges to choose the winners. After much deliberation, the jury awarded the grand prize, which included a 10-day trip for two to the Galapagos Islands, two 15-minute portfolio reviews with professional photo editors and $2,500 in cash, to Greg Lecoeur for his superb shot of various predators hunting underwater.
This esteemed competition attracts thousands of entries from across the globe. The respected judges included National Geographic's senior photo editor, Kathy Moran, as well as the magazine's photographers, Jim Brandenburg and Joe Riis. The images were split into four categories - Action, Landscapes, Animal Portraits and Environmental Issues. There were prizes for the best three photos in each category, with first place winning $2,500, the runner-up winning $750 together with a signed National Geographic book, and third place winning $500. View the winners from each category, together with some honorable mentions, below:
Landscape Category
1st Place - A little beech tree trying to survive a flood in the Netherlands.
Photo - Jacob Kaptein
2nd Place - Frozen pond near Mt. Cimon de la Pala, Italy.
3rd Place - A colossal cumulonimbus over the Pacific Ocean.
Honorable mention - A green meteor captured over the Sky Islands, India.
Animal Portraits Category
1st Place - A Green Vine snake, Amboli, Maharashtra, India.
2nd Place - A Peacock Bass and her offspring, Florida, United States.
3rd Place - Two Empusa Pennata, Madrid, Spain.
Honorable mention - A Crow chasing away a Puffy Owl.
Action Category
1st Place and Grand Prize Winner - Predators preying upon sardines, Eastern Cape, South Africa.
2nd Place - A tornado closes in on a house, Wray, Colorado, United States.
3rd Place - Great Egrets courting, Zala, Hungary.
Honorable mention - Green turtles devouring a jellyfish , Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia.
Environmental Issues Category
1st Place - The remains of a polar bear, Svalbard, Svalbard and Jan Mayen.
2nd Place - Salt ponds, Ravenswood, California, United States.
3rd Place - Magnification of plastic particles in eyeliner, Falmouth, England, United Kingdom.
Honorable mention - A young woman watches a fire near the beach, son Serra de Marina, Balearic Islands, Spain.
