For photographer Megan Lorenz, the most compelling shots are those intimate moments animals share undisturbed in nature. Waiting morning to night on a rock on the Bonavista Peninsula in Newfoundland, Lorenz's submission to the Nature's Best Photography contest captures the perfect moment where a romantic puffin bestows a wild iris upon its mate.
Last year during a hike under clear Alaskan skies, photographer Cheryl Opperman stumbled upon a flock of dall sheep native to the region. Their unpredictable behavior led to her capturing a tender moment worthy of the Nature's Best Photography award.
While on vacation in Pelican Island, Florida, Spencer Cox woke up early to take photos of dragonflies. Following one, a lizard caught his eye, and with a knack for composition and lighting, Cox captured a delicate moment that earned him the Youth Photographer of the Year award in the Nature's Best Photography competition.
After a particularly tough trip to Montana's Glacier National Park, Thomas Haney was ready to call it quits and head back home. But a sunrise view of Lake McDonald proved too serene to abandon, and Haney captured his award-winning shot for Nature's Best Photography as the light broke through the clouds.
Tin Man Lee always wanted to see a bear in its natural habitat--and he spent six days in the Alaskan wilderness at Katmai National Park before he got a chance. By submerging himself in icy water with the camera lens barely above the surface, Lee captured the majesty of a wild bear hunting salmon that won him a Nature's Best Photography prize.
When photographer Sally Eagle filmed a jaguar stalking a caiman in the Panantal of Brazil, she became a witness to nature in its purest form. Her award-winning video from the Nature's Best Photography competition captures an apex predator in the moment of a lifetime.
Daisy Gilardini camped out in bitterly cold conditions at Canada's Wapusk National Park for 14 days to capture her award-winning shot: a polar bear mom playing with her two cubs. It's a moving portrait of motherhood, and the Grand Prize Winner at the Nature's Best Photography competition.
Sometimes, the best shots find you. That's what happened to David Rozenweig as he trekked through South Africa's Timbavati Nature Reserve and stumbled upon a mother leopard greeting her cub. It was a unique moment too good to pass up--and the result is a startlingly private moment, captured in gorgeous detail.
Elusive and well-camouflaged, Ashleigh Scully has always been fascinated by owls. So when she encountered a great gray owl perched atop a tree stump in Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park, she needed no second invitation. The result is a touching portrait of a magnificent aerial predator.
Jess Findlay took this shot twice: once in his mind, and again when he came across a sea otter while on a wilderness trip. He found a tranquil otter, relaxed enough to fall asleep in front of him, in the calm waters of an Alaskan cove. This rare and intimate encounter is what the Nature's Best Photography Awards are all about.
Fortune favors the bold, and you have to be to capture a head-on shot of a humpback whale. Greg Sherman, winner of the Nature's Best Photography Award for the Oceans category, is keen to play down his bravery--hoping instead we'll share some of the awe-inspiring emotion he experienced.
Lions about to set out on a hunt, elephants visiting a local watering hole, and a leopard napping on top of a termite mound: these are some of the spur-of-the-moment chapters in Karen Perry's winning entry for the Nature's Best Photography awards, presenting a portrait of Africa that is alive with drama and wonder.