10 Of The Best Photos From Smithsonian’s Nature’s Best Photography Contest

The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History received over 20,000 entries from around the world to compete for the best wildlife and nature photo. Home to some of the most incredible nature photography in the world, the Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum has just announced the winners from their “Nature’s Best Photography” competition.
Here’s 10 favorites photos from sixty honored and winning entries the museum will be showcasing until April 20, 2015.

Animal Antics Winner: This red kangaroo was caught licking his forearms and paws to cool off in the heat of Sturt Stony Desert, New South Wales, Australia.

Jami Tarris / Nature’s Best Photography Awards

Photographer of the Year: Art Wolfe, who won this award for his extraordinary 40-year body of work, captures sunrise on the peaks of Torres del Paine National Park, Chile.

Art Wolfe / Nature’s Best Photography Awards

Oceans Winner: Rays of sunlight add a majestic glow to this photo of a green sea turtle in the coastal waters of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.

Montse Grillo / Nature’s Best Photography Awards

Wildlife Winner: An Arctic fox on Wrangel Island, Russia gently carries a goose egg, a precious source of food for a nearby litter of pups.

Sergey Gorshkov/Nature’s Best Photography Awards

Grand Prize Winner: A brown bear pounces towards unsuspecting prey in the icy waters of Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska.

Tin Man Lee / Nature’s Best Photography Awards

Youth Photographer of the Year: Jenaya Launstein, age 15, captured a tranquil moment in the life of a porcupine in Kluane National Park, Yukon Territory, Canada.

Jenaya Launstein / Nature’s Best Photography Awards

Birds Winner: An emperor penguin chick peeks between its two parents after begging them for food in Snow Hill Island, Antarctica.

Thomas Kokta / Nature’s Best Photography Awards

Small World Winner: Two male Booted Racket-tail hummingbirds duel over territory near a red banana flower in the Western Andes Mountains of Ecuador.

Mark J. Thomas / Nature’s Best Photography Awards

Art in Nature Winner: An emerald glass frog clings to a wild pepper leaf skeleton in the cloud forest of Central Volcanic Mountain Range, Costa Rica.

Gregory Basco / Nature’s Best Photography Awards

African Wildlife Winner: A solitary Masai giraffe is showered by light in a magnificent sun burst at Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya.

Andy Rouse / Nature’s Best Photography Awards