The Nature Conservancy has revealed the winners of its 2021 photo contest, and what a wonderful set of images they are!
This year’s winners were selected by a panel of judges which included acclaimed American singer-songwriter Ben Folds, who is himself an avid photographer. Out of more than 100,000 entries, the Grand Prize went to a photo of a western lowland gorilla walking through a cloud of butterflies in the Central African Republic, taken by photographer Anup Shah from the UK. Folds said of the winning image, “I love the photos that keep training you. [gorilla’s] face. Tolerance or happiness. It’s really hard to tell and the bugs attract you to it.
The People’s Choice Award went to Prathamesh Ghadekar of India for a photograph of fireflies gathering around a tree before the monsoon.
“These images are a beautiful and unforgettable reminder of the vibrancy and awesome power of nature,†said Meg Goldthwaite, Director of Marketing and Communications for The Nature Conservancy. “Year after year, we are amazed, delighted and moved by these scenes from all over the world. They remind us how connected we all are on this planet, and they energize us as we continue the important work of conserving the lands and waters upon which all life depends. “
We’ve picked our favorites from this year’s contest from our gallery below:
Grand Prize Winner
Female western lowland gorilla ‘Malui’ walking through a cloud of butterflies that she disturbed in a bay (Gorilla gorilla gorilla). Bai Hokou, Dzanga Sangha Dense Forest Special Reserve, Central African Republic. Photo by Anup Shah / The Nature Conservancy
First place in the Landscape category
Carcass of a Pantanal alligator (Cayman Yacare) in the dry soil of the banks of the Transpantaneira highway, municipality of Poconé, Mato Grosso, Brazil. Photo taken with a drone on October 4, 2020, at the height of the droughts that hit the Pantanal that year. Photo by Daniel De Granville Manco / The Nature Conservancy
Third place in the water category
This aerial photo was taken during the winter of 2019 and shows a waterfall in Iceland. Photo by Man Wai Wong / The Nature Conservancy
People’s Choice Award Winner
Just before the monsoon, fireflies congregate in parts of India and on a few trees like this by the millions. This particular image is made up of 32 images of this tree taken on a tripod. Later, the images were stacked in Adobe Photoshop. This image contains 16 minutes of viewing time of this amazing tree. Photo by Prathamesh Ghadeka / The Nature Conservancy
Honorable mention in the wildlife category
Orangutans are used to living on trees and feeding on wild fruits like lychees, mangosteen, and figs, and suck water from holes in trees. Unfortunately, this orangutan is sitting on recently felled tree stumps. Photo by Thomas Vijayan / The Nature Conservancy
Third place in the People and Nature category
Plastic waste floating in the Mediterranean Sea. Photo by Sebnam Coskun / The Nature Conservancy
Honorable mention in the landscape category
During the rainy season, the Gulf of Carpentaria in tropical north Queensland, Australia is home to a myriad of meandering rivers, estuaries, creeks and streams that create one of nature’s intricate and vivid landscapes. . Verdant mangroves line the mudflats accentuated by tidal waters and the rainy months filling the artesian basin. Photo by Scott Portelli / The Nature Conservancy
Honorable mention water category
Lotus ponds across Vietnam are entering the growing season and thriving. Photo by Mahn Cuong Vu / The Nature Conservancy
First place in the People and Nature category
The entire Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Program team is working together to prepare Brenda, an estimated 3-month-old female orangutan who has been rescued, for surgery. Taken in Sibolangit, North Sumatra, Indonesia. Photo by Alain Schroeder / The Nature Conservancy
Honorable mention in the landscape category
The photo was taken in the Hong Hom area of ​​Hong Kong on August 23, 2021. When the full moon rose and passed just past the roofs of buildings, the photo was taken using double exposure. Photo by Kim Pan Dennis Wong / The Nature Conservancy
Take a look at our full Harvest Moon photo gallery:
Second place in the water category
Swimmers, freedivers and snorkelers enjoy their respective sports / recreational activities in a body of fresh water known locally as Cenotes, Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico. Photo by Joram Mennes / The Nature Conservancy
Second place in the People and Nature category
A guide in the Sahara desert enduring a sandstorm. Photo by Tom Overall / The Nature Conservancy
Third place in the wildlife category
A pike grabbed a large perch and tried to eat it. We don’t know what the end result was as the photographer ran out of air during his dive. Photo by Viktor Vrbovsky / The Nature Conservancy
Third place landscape
Aerial image of salt evaporation ponds near San Francisco, USA. Photo by Jassen Todorov / The Nature Conservancy
Discover some other of our galleries:
Honorable mention man and nature
Two men use a zipline to transport animals and goods across the river in Yunnan, China in May 2021. Photo by Minqiang Lu / The Nature Conservancy
Second place landscape
Part of the Serra do Mar mountain range in Brazil emerges from the clouds. Photo by Denis Ferreira Netto / The Nature Conservancy
Honorable mention in the wildlife category
Galapagos Sea Lion Calf (Zalophus wollebaeki), waiting for her mother in the sand on the beach, San Cristóbal Island, Galapagos, Ecuador. Photo by Kristhian Castro / The Nature Conservancy
Honorable Mention Water
As temperatures rise and glacial ice melts, air is released and trapped inside the bubbles. These air bubbles were captured by a frozen layer on top. Photo by Jorge Andres Miraglia / The Nature Conservancy
Second place in the wildlife category
Last year, due to high water level, this giant field of sunflowers in Poland could not be mown. In winter, it attracted thousands of different bird species. Photo by Mateusz Piesiak / The Nature Conservancy
