Gannet Storm

A northern gannet swims in an artistic hail of bubbles created by diving seabirds. The handsome northern gannets lead a dualistic existence. In the nest, their newborn is carefully nurtured and a couple’s bond is reinforced by pointing sharp beaks to the sky as they tenderly stroke their white necks together. In flight, hunting mode takes over, and piercing yellow eyes, fringed with blue circles, scour the sea for prey.

Their long wingspan and streamlined bodies make flying look effortless, gliding along with just the occasional pulse of their wings. When fish are spotted, the gannets fly into the wind and stretch out their wings as brakes, precisely adjusting their position in relation to their quarry. Hitting the frigid water faster than an Olympic diver, these incredible birds have evolved air sacs in the head and chest to survive these repeated heavy impacts. From underwater, the sound was thunderous as streamlined, white torpedoes pierced the surface.

I wanted to create a novel image of these handsome seabirds and resolved to try and capture their movement through a slow exposure. The speed of the gannets led to innumerable failures but in this frame we retain strong eye contact with the gannet, even as the scene is artistically softened.

Jumeirah

A species of Mollusca Gastropoda larva encountered in the sea at night near Kume Island, Okinawa, Japan. It's actually very tiny, infact the size of the conch in the middle is only 3mm, and the overall 20mm. Around the conch is a swimming organ called velum, which is lined with cilia.

It's a cautious creature, and even if they feel a slight threat, the velum will retreat into the conch. The beauty of this species reminded me of Palm Jumeirah, one of the beautiful landscapes of the UAE.

Fireworks

Flowering field of paepalanthus wildflower at dawn in Veadeiros Tablelands. This is a rare plant that only grows in a few high altitude Cerrado locations in the central plateau of Brazil. This wildflower reflects light giving an appearance that has its own light when photographed in the backlight of sunrises and sunsets. The Cerrado is the most biodiverse savanna in the world and unfortunately is being destroyed by expansion of the agro-industry and uncontrolled deforestation. Most rivers in Brazil originate in the Cerrado including many rivers in the Amazon.

The deforestation of the Cerrado is causing an environmental catastrophe. In addition to mass extinction, drying up water sources will face a water crisis in the near future and this is already happening. Only a few refuges in the cerrado are fully preserved in some conservation areas. The place where this photo was taken is being divided into lots for sale and unfortunately this place will not exist in a short time. This plant is popularly called Sempe Viva (always alive) and is considered a symbol for the preservation of this incredible biome.

Nature's Warning Call

Some moments and their visual narratives are intellectually so strong that it leaves a great impact on the human mind to think and act with more responsibility. I found this moment most evoking; a wake-up call from nature to understand its power and our disregard in the name of development for many years.

I captured this dramatic moment on an early winter morning under heavy fog. The 'Gray Francolin' bird was perched on a tree branch calling out loudly, while people stood watching this moment from a distance. It’s high time we listen to the voice of nature and protect its richness which is essential for life on this earth.

How Did You Get There?

After a grueling three hour boat ride, an arduous trek through the thick jungle in crocodile-infested waters at waist depth and carrying cameras over our heads, I finally made it to my final destination. Climbed a huge tree and waited for the nearby orangutan to climb up and pass me.

I purposely wanted to get the beautiful sky as well as the subject facing me. Since the orangutan only likes to face upwards as it climbs, I knew the only way I could combine these two elements in one frame was to be above the orangutan and point downwards to capture its face and perfect reflection of the sky in the still water below it. The most challenging part of this experience was staying calm while the orangutan was in front of me.

Ribbon of Fire

For months, the volcanic eruption at Fagradalsfjall in Iceland was a constant show of bubbling red lava steadily erupting from the ground, gradually filling the small valley.

Several weeks later, the eruption stopped and the volcano was silent. When I walked to the eruption site, I found a red strip of lava flowing down the hill into the valley, the molten rock gushing like glowing red water. A stunning moment from Mother Nature that never ceases to amaze us.

Relaxing in the Rain

Kibande, a mountain gorilla from the Rushegura Mountain Gorilla Family in Uganda, is relaxing under the rain drops. The way the drops land on her face and the way she holds the small piece of wood in her mouth, caught my eyes.

Laila

Among the picturesque landscapes of a village in Indian Kashmir, the face of a girl named 'Laila' shines, who was helping her family while they worked on the farm.

Side of a Sadhu

The Sadhu is considered a religious ascetic or holy person in Hinduism and Jainism who has renounced the worldly life. Sadhus engage in a wide variety of religious practices. Some practice asceticism and solitary meditation, while others prefer group praying, chanting or meditating.

Family Fighter

He deserves the title 'Family Fighter' despite being 70 years old. Realizing that his income as a farmer is not enough to meet his family's daily needs, he must fight tirelessly from dawn to dusk to provide food for his family.

Bianca

A portrait of a young woman in all her innocent, simple and natural beauty without artifice, both inside and out, which aims to be a personal reinterpretation of Johannes Vermeer's painting: 'The Girl with a Pearl Earring'. The blur of the leaves in the foreground that frame the face and highlight the eye, brings out the personality of a subject who, despite her shyness, reveals the simplicity and purity of her soul.

Matrix of Boats

Fishermen's boats lined up neatly when anchored to avoid super typhoon No. 9 - the strongest super typhoon to hit Quang Ngai (my hometown) in 30 years that had completely destroyed 325 houses and damaged more than 140,000 houses.

Colourful Lifestyle

The inhabitants around Inle Lake (the second largest lake in Myanmar) lead a colourful lifestyle; drying their colourful cotton clothes in the sun.

Workers

An ordinary day on the port of the Nagarbari river in Bera, Pabna, Bangladesh. The day labourers work here from dawn to dusk to unload product from the vessels.

Flour War

Taken in Papua Indonesia, a group of kids playing flour war to celebrate their graduation at school. Despite their poverty and the poor condition of their school, they create happy moments together.

Mount Fuji and Gate Bridge

Mount Fuji is the most famous mountain in Japan. Tokyo Gate Bridge, as its name suggests, is the gateway to Tokyo Bay. In a sense, they are symbols of Tokyo and Japan. Mount Fuji, a symbol of nobility, purity and exclusivity in Japanese culture; and the Gate Bridge symbolizes commuting and communicating.

The Millenary 'Sotolines'

The Sotolín (Beaucarnea gracilis) is an endemic plant of the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Biosphere Reserve, a nature reserve with a very dry climate. The tree has adapted to its conditions and accumulates water in its thick trunk to survive the dry season. They grow about one centimeter per year and are very long-lived. Tthe specimens in the photo may be more than two thousand years old

Cold Pursuit

As a biologist, I am fascinated by changing seasons and their effect on the wildlife populations at our planet's extremes, where conditions can shift dramatically. As temperatures steadily drop to -22°F on the Fishing Branch River in Canada's Yukon, for example, young bears like this ice-covered female must forage non-stop for fish, carrion, and other sources of nutrition until it is time to sleep for the winter.

Dwindling resources force her typically isolated, nomadic species into close proximity, so she must be on the lookout for big, lumbering males or protective mothers with their cubs at every moment. I hope images like this will help underscore the struggle of life in the wild and convince us to rethink actions that jeopardize the survival of our animal cousins. Our urgency in dealing with the existential threat of climate change will make all the difference for her future and those like her.

Code Morse

At the molecular level, water has a 'memory'. It remembers and stores information about a substance that was once dissolved in it, even if the substance is diluted in it to almost 'zero' concentration. Water is a self-organizing system that stores environmental information, physical and chemical effects. Ice 'remembers' the prehistory of the liquid phase, building up crystals in a certain order.

On a planetary scale, the phenomenon of freezing and melting of water, along with evaporation and condensation of water, plays the role of a gigantic purification process, in which water on Earth constantly purifies itself. The author of the series observes how the forms of ice are changing, trying to convey their natural cipher, similar to the Morse Code. And it opens not literal, but figurative similarity with the Morse Code, catching alternation, rhyming, "tunes" in the forms of ice, carrying messages of civilization about the state of the Blue Planet

A View From Above

A scene, viewed from above, was unattainable until recently. This series of an ordinary construction site breaks its usual monotony, producing artistically abstract visuals that captivates and harmonizes in their color, symmetry and composition.

Architectonic

December 2, 1971, is the day we can say the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was born. Since then, the country has been like a phoenix bird rising from the ashes. The first tallest building in the UAE was the Dubai World Trade Centre. Completed in 1979, it ruled the city's skyline as a towering statement of intent; a symbol of Dubai's ambitions as a regional financial center and rising economic force. A 39-storey building standing at 489 feet high, at the time, was the tallest building between Mumbai and Athens.

The region’s original architectural aesthetic was inspired heavily by the local culture, following construction customs passed down through generations. The designs were crafted to maximize simplicity, scalability, and climatic control. Over the decades, Dubai has developed some of the most innovative modern architectural buildings across commercial, residential, and public sectors. The Rashid Hospital and Dubai Petroleum, built in the 70s, are both prime examples of early modern architecture in the region, leveraging modern aesthetics. The projects showcased the best of design innovation through the effective use of modern planning, sustainability, and design. From the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa, to the latest architectural brilliance at Expo 2020, the list is astounding. As an aspiring photographer, it is my vision to capture these iconic structures through my lens.

Behind the Ballet

These behind-the-scene photos are from the daily life of ballet artists. While the viewer sees a solemnly beautiful picture of the performance, we plunge into the world hidden from the eyes of ordinary people. The world with their laws, hopes and triumphs, pain and fatigue, delight and courage, incredible work committed to their art.

Kurt Mutchler is an editor-at-large at National Geographic magazine. He was awarded the 2021 Magazine Picture Editor of the Year by the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA). He was also presented with the Magazine/Media Visual Editor of the Year in Pictures of the Year International (POYi), and Magazine Picture Editor of the Year by the NPPA for his work in 2018.

His work has been recognized by the Overseas Press Club of America, The Association of Magazine Media, Society for News Design, and The Society for Publication Designers.

Kurt has worked at National Geographic magazine since 1994 where he has held many positions, including photo editor, deputy director of photography, executive editor of photography, and senior science photo editor. He is a former adjunct professor at the Corcoran College of Art & Design in Washington, DC, where he taught photojournalism. Prior to joining the magazine, he was the photo and graphics editor of The Times-Picayune in New Orleans, Louisiana.

With more than two decades of photographic contribution, Kurt has deservedly earned The Photography Appreciation Award. His body of work has produced more than 130 stories including 30 cover stories. He is an eminent example of the pivotal role that behind-the-scenes workers add to the photography industry; a role that rarely gets the spotlight.

Majed Sultan Al Zaabi is a computer engineer with an extreme passion for photography. He is active on social networks, providing photography-related content and showcasing how to produce content across social networks. For over 20 years, he has devoted his talent at excelling in the field of wildlife photography and documenting charitable projects in Africa.

Majed is especially passionate about sharing knowledge and providing in-depth details by recording videos on YouTube. He started his channel in 2007 to explain the basics of photography, use of various equipment and photo editing; carrying it through to today’s fast-paced world of social media.

Majed has won many international awards and achievements. In 2021, he won in the ‘Animal Portraits’ category of the Natural History Museum’s ‘Wildlife Photographer of the Year’ competition in London. The competition which is held yearly is considered to be one of the largest wildlife photography competitions in the world.

Many of his works have been published in the National Geographic magazine, as well as participating in special photography programs on National Geographic Abu Dhabi. Majed is a brand representative of Nikon Middle East and North Africa. He has organized more than 30 tours for photographers from the Gulf to go to photograph wildlife in Africa – and many of them have achieved global achievements from his tutelage.

Majed has hosted numerous photography courses both in person and online, from the basics to advanced photography workshops, including photo editing, wildlife photography courses and lectures documenting charitable projects in Africa. His last course was about the secrets of Instagram, which is how to create professional content for social networks. Making content daily has become part of his life. His goal is to create a great impact on those around him and spreading positivity and happiness through these networks.

This deserved Award places Majed in the circle of inspiring influencers that invest their talent and creativity in spreading knowledge; engaging with the community on the quality and simplicity of the content they provide. Majed is on his way to world fame with confident steps.

Turjoy Chowdhury is a visual storyteller and researcher working in the Indian subcontinent, across Asia, as well as in the USA. A photographer of National Geographic Magazine and a member of The Photo Society of NatGeo, Turjoy primarily works on long-term projects focused on the history of war and conflicts, geopolitics, human rights and social issues. After graduating in Architecture, he became a full-time humanitarian photographer.

Turjoy constantly keeps experimenting with visual approaches and storytelling formats. He likes to deal with complex stories and produces work to raise thought-provoking questions. Often his work explores dark places and dark stories to shade light in the darkness.

He has worked on the aftermath of the Syrian civil war that deals with the psychological aspect of the refugees. His project ‘Beyond the Mushroom Cloud’, the story of the atomic bomb explosions in Japan, stands against the use of nuclear weapons to promote world peace. In the USA, Turjoy explored the personal stories and emotions of the immigrants, where he used photography as a medium for freedom of expression and inclusion. He has witnessed the Rohingya refugee crisis and intensively worked in the Rohingya camps. There, he produced the body of work ‘Born Refugee’ that deals with complex identity politics and citizenship issues with a very subtle approach. His photographs for the Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) during the refugee crisis also helped raise over 20 million pounds of funds for the survivors.

His work has been exhibited globally and appeared in the National Geographic Magazine, Washington Post, The New York Times, The Guardian, Time Magazine, The Sunday Times, The Wall Street Journal and many more.

Turjoy was nominated for the ‘Tim Hetherington Trust: Visionary Award 2020’ for his ongoing multidisciplinary creative research project, ‘Genocide'71 - A Memory Map’. He also received the UNICEF Photo of the Year Award, National Press Photo Award (NPPA), Picture of the Year International (POYI) Award, LensCulture Emerging Talent Award and Photo Philanthropy Activist Award.