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24-Hour Nat Geo Photography Contest Draws 100,000 Entries. Here Are the 10 Winners.

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Photo by Sergey Pesterev on Unsplash

National Geographic is known for having insane amounts of followers on social media for their beautiful photographs and in-depth, investigative journalism.

So, when the company hosted an exclusive one-day Instagram photography contest at the end of February, they received 94,000 entries. Here are the 10 winners.

Grand Prize Entry

View this post on Instagram

The great migration #natgeo100contest

A post shared by K e t a n K h a m b h a t t a (@ketankhambhatta) on Feb 20, 2019 at 6:37am PST

 Ken Kahmbhatta not only had his work featured on the National Geographic Instagram (which just celebrated reaching 100 million followers), but he will be heading to Tanzania for a National Geographic photo safari.

The photo, taken in the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya, captures "the great migration."

Nat Geo photographer Muhammed Muheisen chose it because of its "powerful depth that keeps (him) looking."

Runners Up

Nat Geo, known namely for their wildlife photography, is also recognized for capturing moments of human/animal intimacy.

Adam Kiefer took this photo of a park ranger hugging an orphaned mountain gorilla in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

"We immediately understand that it's a metaphor for unspeakable brutality but also great tenderness," said Nat Geo photographer Ami Vitale. "This image illustrates our complex bond with the natural world." 

View this post on Instagram

Congratulations to @natgeo for reaching 100 million followers. To celebrate I am posting my most Nat Geo inspired photo for the #natgeo100contest . I took this portrait of a #whaleshark surrounded by #sardines off of #mafiaisland #tanzania . This particular individual had a large but healed over sharkbite wound on its right pectoral fin which made it very distinctive. It also had a very curious personality and would actually change direction to swim directly over and investigate our boat. I tagged and observed this individual come back to this site for several years. For this shot I love the way the surface and the swirling school of sardines naturally frame the #shark. There is a great amount of movement in this still image. Whale sharks are a combination of size, power, and grace dressed up in a exotic pattern of spots. Their docile dispositions make them easily approachable. They have become a superstar of the marine #ecotourism industry and seeing them impresses everyone lucky enough to get in the water with them. #nature #naturephotography #wildlife #wildlifephotography #underwater #underwaterphotography #sharkdiving #africa #eastafrica #indianocean #fish #bigfish #spots #sharks #whalesharks #underwaterworld #sealife #seacreatures #underthesea #natgeoyourshot #snorkeling #natgeowild #aquaticadigital

A post shared by Matt Potenski (@shark8matt) on Feb 19, 2019 at 10:32pm PST

This photo, taken by Matt Potenski in Tanzania, features a "distinctive" whale shark with a large scar who playfully investigated the photographer's boat multiple times.

"I have done a lot of swimming with whale sharks, and you never get to see an absolutely beautiful moment like this that exemplifies the abundance of healthy oceans," said photographer Crisina Mittermeier.

This photograph is one of the sadder submissions to the competition. Snapped by Khatia Nikabadze in Georgia, it features two small lambs staring out of a car window into a livestock market. 

The lambs seemingy realize their fate. 

Photographer Wayne Lawrence recognizes Chris O'Bryans mastery of composition in this photograph taken in Western Australia.

Sandra Cattaneo Adorno captured this photo in Rio de Janeiro when the undertow was especially strong and the people, in a moment of togetherness, were hesitant to enter it.

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One of my favorite images captured this year so far, I’m reposting this for the #natgeo100contest Congrats on all that you do, Natgeo! Keep it up! I think this photo perfectly captures the drama of predator/prey interactions; life or death for both animals can hinge on each hunt and each escape. Though it looks like the egret has a sure meal, this frog actually got away! #egret #greategret #frog #nature_sultans #allnatureshots #wildlifeonearth #wildlifeplanet #animalelite #splendid_animals #exclusive_wildlife #nature_perfection #wildlifephotographic #wildlife_supreme #wildplanetphotomag #photoarena_nature #animalfanatics #wildlife #wildlifephotography #nature #naturephotography #natgeo #natgeowild #floridawildlife #florida #nikon #birds #birdsofinstagram #ribbit #frogsleapwinery

A post shared by Frank Haluska (@fshaluska) on Feb 19, 2019 at 12:15pm PST

Our favorite photos are the seemingly hilarious shots between an animal and its prey. Frank Haluska is a wildlife photographer who mainly focuses on birds.

You may be relieved to find out the frog actually got away after the shot was taken. 

This photograph is a composure shot, created with 3 long exposure photos of a storm over the Grand Canyon. It was shot by Francisco J. Perez and perfectly executes dramatic mood lighting, if we do say so ourselves.

The final runner-up in the contest, an artistic, postmodern take on a herd of wildebeests, was taken by Sara Stein in Tanzania. 

Learn More:

Via National Geographic



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