Nature is full of beauty and perfection. Being with nature is like looking at a masterpiece. It's a good thing that a camera exists so that we can capture nature's artwork.
Photographers from all over the world share their views of nature for the Nature Conservancy Photo Contest 2021. The photos are breathtaking, inspiring, and even moving.
The grand prize winner of the contest catches a western lowland female gorilla 'Malui' walking through a cloud of butterflies. This was captured by Anup Shah in December 2011 at Bai Hokou, Dzanga Sangha Special Dense Forest Reserve, Central African Republic.
Check out all the images that won by category over at The Nature Conservancy.
Image above: Anup Shah/TNC Photo Contest 2021
#nature #photocontest #gorilla
People's Choice Winner: Fireflies
Fireflies congregate on trees in certain regions in India, just before the monsoon.
Image: Prathamesh Ghadekar/TNC Photo Contest 2021
First Place, Landscape: Drought
The remains of a Pantanal alligator (Caiman yacare) in the dry, arid soil in the municipality of Poconé, Brazil.
Image: Daniel De Granville Manço/TNC Photo Contest 2021
Second Place, Landscape: Serra Do Mar
White cloud cover on this sea mountain range make it look like the head of a dinosaur.
Image: Denis Ferreira Netto/TNC Photo Contest 2021
Honorable Mention, Landscape: Life Colour
Mangroves line the mud flats in the Gulf of Carpentaria in tropical north Queensland, Australia.
Image: Scott Portelli/TNC Photo Contest 2021
First Place, People and Nature: Saving Orangutans
Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme team preparing 3-month-old female orangutan named Brenda for surgery.
Image: Alain Schroeder/TNC Photo Contest 2021
Second Place, People and Nature: Sand Storm
A guide standing on a dune in the Sahara Desert during a sand storm.
Image: Tom Overall/TNC Photo Contest 2021
Third Place, People and Nature: COVID-19 Waste
Medical waste used during the pandemic has now reached the seas.
Image: Sebnem Coskun/TNC Photo Contest 2021
Honorable Mention, People and Nature: The Way Home
People crossing the river carrying livestock and harvest in Yunnan, China.
Image: Minqiang Lu/TNC Photo Contest 2021
Honorable Mention, People and Nature: Space of HK
Image: Wax Leung/TNC Photo Contest 2021
Second Place, Water: Swimming
Swimmers, freedivers and divers in a fresh water cave or cenotes in Mexico.
Image: Joram Mennes/TNC Photo Contest 2021
Honorable Mention, Water: Glacial Bubbles
Air bubbles is released as temperature rises and glacial ice melts.
Image: Jorge Andrés Miraglia/TNC Photo Contest 2021
First Place, Wildlife: A Turbulent Swim
Five male cheetah crossing the river (they made it!)
Image: Buddhilini de Soyza/TNC Photo Contest 2021
Second Place, Wildlife: Sunflowers
In the winter, sunflower seeds attract thousands of birds of various species.
Image: Mateusz Piesiak/TNC Photo Contest 2021
Honorable Mention, Wildlife: Waiting
Galapagos sea lion calf (Zalophus wollebaeki) waiting for its mother on the beach of San Cristobal Island, Galapagos.
Image: Kristhian Castro/TNC Photo Contest 2021
Honorable Mention, Wildlife: Searching
Orangutans living on trees and feeding on wild fruits.
Image: Thomas Vijayan/TNC Photo Contest 2021
Honorable Mention, Wildlife: Wildebeest Herd on the Move
Wildebeests crossing the Mara River in the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya.
Image: Anup Shah/TNC Photo Contest 2021