National Geographic announced the winning photographs from its first “Pictures of the Yr” photo competition.
The competition, which opened to U.S. residents in early December, invited readers to submit a digital photograph in considered one of 4 categories: nature, people, places and animals.
The competition required that photographs be largely unaltered. In accordance with the principles, “only minor burning, dodging and/or color correction is appropriate, as is minor cropping.” Photos with other changes are “unacceptable and … ineligible for a prize.”
Grand prize — Alaska
Bald eagles at Alaska’s Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve compete to perch on a tree log.
Karthik Subramaniam
Karthik Subramaniam, a software engineer in San Francisco who’s enthusiastic about wildlife photography, clinched the grand prize. He said he captured his winning shot at the tip of a weeklong photography trip in Haines, Alaska, which hosts the world’s largest congregation of bald eagles each fall.
As Subramaniam watched the eagles hunt for salmon of their fishing grounds, an eagle swooped in to steal one other’s perch on a tree.
“Hours of observing their patterns and behavior helped me capture moments like these,” he said.
The photo will probably be featured in an upcoming issue of National Geographic’s U.S. magazine.
Along with the grand prize winner, Nat Geo also gave honorable mentions to several “winners.” Their photos will probably be published on National Geographic’s Your Shot Instagram page, which has some 6.5 million followers.
Most of those photographs, together with information provided by Nat Geo, are published below.
Iceland
Iceland’s Fagradalsfjall volcano erupting in 2021.
Riten Dharia
The six-month lava flow that covered the encompassing landscape in hard black rock was “an exhibition of the raw and awesome power of nature,” said Riten Dharia, who photographed the scene on the Reykjanes Peninsula.
Mongolia
On this photograph, a nomadic Kazakh eagle hunter on horseback prepares his golden eagle for a hunt in Bayan-Olgii, Mongolia, where training eagles to hunt is a 3000-year tradition, in accordance with Nat Geo.
A hunter and his eagle on horseback within the grasslands outside of Bayan-Olgii, Mongolia.
Eric Esterle
To capture the moment, photographer Eric Esterle lay on his stomach at the sting of the stream because the horse passed lower than just a few feet away, he said.
“I remember covering my camera with my body and putting my head down,” he said.
Austria
Seeing this golden tree hidden amongst tall trunks within the forest gave photographer Alex Berger “goosebumps,” he said.
A golden tree deep within the Austrian Alps.
Alex Berger
Berger said he spotted it by a small stream while on a road trip through the Austrian Alps.
The mountain ranges of the Alps stretch about 750 miles through eight countries.
The island of South Georgia
Rhez Solano photographed this crowd of king penguins on the beaches of Gold Harbour on the island of South Georgia within the South Atlantic Ocean.
King penguins crowd together on the beaches of the island of South Georgia.
Rhez Solano
The island hosts king penguins together with gentoo penguins and elephant seals.
Roughly half of the island is roofed in ice, and there isn’t a everlasting human population living on it, though travelers can visit it by cruise ship or yachts, in accordance with its governmental website.
North Carolina, U.S.
Freelance photographer Tihomir Trichkov said he took this shot while headed home from the airport early one morning in October.
It captures fog that had settled over a valley visible from North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Parkway.
A view of the foggy valley from North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Parkway.
Tihomir Trichkov
The scene depicts “the little slice of heaven that I live in,” Trichkov said of his home in Highlands, North Carolina.
“The Smoky Mountains are simply gorgeous,” he said.
Washington, U.S.
This photo depicts the night sky reflected within the waters of Tipsoo Lake in Mount Rainier National Park, Washington.
Tipsoo Lake in Mount Rainier National Park in Washington state.
W. Kent Williamson
From across the lake, photographer W. Kent Williamson said he could see the lantern lights of climbers heading to Mount Rainier’s 14,411-foot summit.
“The night sky was unusually clear, and the Milky Way may very well be seen just above the mountain,” he said.
Peru
A lone salt miner uses a picket rake to extract salt from a hillside at Peru’s Salt Mines of Maras on this photograph captured by An Li.
Salt wells on a hillside within the Salt Mines of Maras in Peru.
An Li
The mines comprise around 4,500 salt wells, each of which produces some 400 kilos of salt per 30 days. Families who own the wells proceed the tradition of salt extraction that dates back to the Inca Empire.
In regards to the ‘Pictures of the Yr’ contest
The competition is Nat Geo’s latest effort to spotlight photography from contributors.
It launched alongside the magazine’s annual “Pictures of the Yr” issue, which features the very best 49 photos taken by Nat Geo photographers, chosen from greater than 2 million submissions.
The goal of the “Picture of the Yr” contest is to offer aspiring photographers the “same highlight,” in accordance with Nat Geo.
To see the total gallery of winners, visit natgeo.com/PhotoContestWinner.
