The Nature Conservancy picture contest is about spreading a message of love and conservation of nature. Nature needs us more than we need it, and we must protect it. This year’s winning photographs are stunning and thought-provoking, from an alligator corpse in the Pantanal to cheetahs crossing a river.
#1 Grand Prize: Anup Shah, UK
On the way to the Dzanga Sangha special deep forest reserve, Malui, a female western lowland gorilla, wanders through a cloud of butterflies she has disturbed. ‘I appreciate photographs that entice. Face. Or happiness. ‘The insects attract you there,’ remarked famous judge Ben Folds.
#2 Wildlife, First Place: Buddhilini De Soyza, Australia
“Incessant rains in Kenya’s Masai Mara National Reserve flooded the Talek River. This troop of five male cheetahs, nicknamed ‘Tano Bora’ (the quick five), tried to cross a river with raging currents. ‘We were happy when they got it through,’ De Soyza added. A timely warning of the harm caused by artificial climate change.'”
#3 People And Nature, First Place: Alain Schroeder, Belgium
“Palm oil plantations, logging, mining, and hunting are threatening orangutans in Indonesia. Brenda, a three-month-old female orangutan with no teeth, is being prepared for surgery by a rescue team.
#4 Daniel De Granville Manço, Brazi
“A Pantanal alligator body on dry dirt on the Transpantaneira highway, Poconé” (Mato Grosso)
#5 Water, First Place: Kazi Arifujjaman, Bangladesh
“Arifujjaman frequently works with water.”
#6 Wildlife, Second Place: Mateusz Piesiak, Poland
An unmowed sunflower field attracted hundreds of birds in winter, primarily greenfinches, goldfinches, and ramblings.
#7 Landscape, Second Place: Denis Ferreira Netto, Brazil
“‘While flying above the sea mountain range in a helicopter, I came across this stunning scene that resembled the head of a dinosaur,’ the photographer said.”
#8 Water, Joram Mennes, Mexico
There are three degrees of leisure: swimming, freediving, and diving in a freshwater mass called locally the Cenotes.
#9 People And Nature, Australia: Tom Overall
“A Saharan guide faces a sandstorm.”
#10 Wildlife, Third Place: Viktor Vrbovský, Czech Republic
“A pike eats a big perch. “How did it go? I am don’t know. In an hour, nothing changed,’ Vrbovsky stated. ‘I had to emerge for lack of oxygen.'”
#11 Water, Third Place: Man Wai Wong, Hong Kong
“Winter 2019 in Iceland.”
#12 Landscape, US: Jassen Todorov
If you arrive at San Francisco International Airport, you may have noticed these beautiful salt ponds above the bay. Colors and patterns fluctuate due to microbes and salt. Therefore I shot them several times. ‘I took this photo while flying my aircraft.’
#13 People And Nature, Third Place, Sebnem Coskun, Turkey
“Covid-19 wastes are a new aquatic threat. According to the World Wildlife Fund, the Mediterranean Sea is being polluted by 33,880 plastic bottles each minute.
#14 People’s Choice Award: Prathamesh Ghadekar, India
“Fireflies cluster in India just before the monsoon. Some trees, like this one, have millions of these insects. This picture was created by stacking 32 images of a tree in Adobe Photoshop.
#15 People And Nature, Honorable Mention: Minqiang Lu, China
