Below are 45 Images from the 2011 Edition of the Contest in Three Categories of People, Places, and Nature, with Captions Written by the Individual Photographers. Enjoy!
This image captures almost 6 hours of climbing parties on Rainier going for the summit under starry skies. Wind shifts during the night would cause bands of smoke from fires 100 miles away on Mt Hood to pass over Rainier. This intermittent low-level haze caused the red glow seen in the sky and a Rainier that looks like it was almost painted on. Lights from Sunrise can be seen in the lower right of the frame. (© Chris Morin) #
Russia, polar region of West Siberia, Tazovsky Peninsula. Reindeer breeding is one of the basic means of employment for the indigenous population of this region. All pieces of land suitable for pasture are assigned to families of reindeer breeders, or Sovkhoz brigades. Reindeer grazing freely in search of reindeer lichen overnight can disperse across few kilometers. Here, the foreman of the shepherds examines a herd with the aid of binoculars. (© Dmitriy Nikonov) #
An adult male gelada rests in the early morning light after ascending the steep sleeping cliffs of the Simien Mountains, Ethiopia. This male won his right to mate by successfully deposing the old leader. Now he must defend his harem by tending to his females' needs and fighting off anxious bachelors waiting for their chance to become harem leader. (© Clay Wilton) #
An unexpected side-effect of the 2010 flooding in parts of Sindh, Pakistan, was that millions of spiders climbed up into the trees to escape the rising flood waters; because of the scale of the flooding and the fact that the water took so long to recede, many trees became cocooned in spiders webs. People in the area had never seen this phenomenon before, but they also reported that there were less mosquitos than they would have expected, given the amount of standing water that was left. Not being bitten by mosquitoes was one small blessing for people that had lost everything in the floods. (© Russell Watkins) #
This place is very special to me. The fèllensee is placed at the bottom of the hundstei (dog stone). I know this might sound silly, but since my dog and I grew up just around the corner and the naming of the mountain, I chose this very calm lake as a final resting place for Spock (my dog) so he would have the biggest gravestone of all dogs out there. That morning we had a farewell ceremony for Spock. I took this picture and we summited the hundstei to his honor (which was a very emotional challenge). This picture of his resting place is now hanging in our kitchen to remember him. (© Nino Benninger) #
Spark trails from cannon blast captured at the Moorpark Civil War reenactment, sponsored by the Moorpark Rotary Club. Soldiers manning the cannon were silhouetted due to a large light behind them shining down on the battlefield. The large flood light made it possible to also see the smoke from the cannon blasts. (© Robert Jensen) #
This a portrait that I took of my Grandfather. He was a photographer and I wanted to show all his wonderful old cameras and his life in an editorial styled portrait. He just turned 95 years old and still remembers how all his old camera's work. I shot this with my cannon 7d body,and Tamron 17-55mm zoom lens. The lighting is with a 1200w Pro photo 2 head kit with 2 medium soft boxes. As well I used a 580 ex2 canon speed lite and diffused it with a paper lantern that I made into a diffusion for my speed lite. I really love this picture and hope you like it as well. (© Christopher Bellezza) #
Death valley averages just 1.58 inches of rainfall a year. Yet somehow, in my first trip there in four years, we catch a storm. Not just a storm, an electrical storm. At sunset, of all times. This was the reward for years of trips gone awry, blank skies, drenching downpours, and for every other cause of failed photography endeavors. To me, this is an example of the best thing that can happen to a photographer. To be in the right place, at the right time - and to not mess it up too badly. (© Jeff Engelhardt) #
Within an ultra modern society Japan still maintains to hold traditions passed down from generation to generation making it one of the most beautiful and intriguing places in the world. The city of Gion in Kyoto is one of those places that you will walk into and forget about all the flashing lights the rest of Japan has to offer. Its brick paved streets holds some buildings that have been maintained like the old traditional Japan. If you're lucky you will catch a glimpse of a beautiful geisha passing through the streets scurrying to her next appointment, make sure you have your camera ready. (© Clancy Lethbridge) #
This image was taken in wintertime in an arid area of the Canadian Rockies. Temperatures were below 30 degrees Celsius, yet because there was no snow fall the surface of the lake was uncovered allowing me to see and capture the bubbles (gas release from lake bed) that were trapped in the frozen waters. (© Emmanuel Coupe-Kalomiris ) #
One morning while on the Big Island of Hawaii, I was exploring my surroundings to see if I could find something to photograph. I almost went back inside when something on this huge palm tree leaf caught my eye. I stayed around and it was this little gecko, startled by my presence he was hidden between the ridges of the leaf. He would pop his head up periodically to check his surroundings; as soon as he saw I was still there he would hide again. We played this game for a while until I got the shot. (© Lorenzo Menendez) #
Pinki Kundu,a 13 yrs old girl is suffering from a chronic disease & is being treated in Mother Teresa TB Hospital in Kolkata. She is under CAT 1 drug therapy & is doing well.The day I photographed her she was very hopeful mood that she would be returning back to her parents soon. (© Saibal Gupta) #
The Himba Women of northern Namibia perfome daily rituals where by they annoint themselves with a mixture of ochre, oil and ash to protect themselves from the harsh desert climate. They never take a shower, but rather burn aromatic herbs in a pot each morning with which they smoke themselves as if applying perfume. (© Dominique Brand) #
I have been trying to follow a leopard with cubs for the last year, and spend a lot of nights with them. She has no tracking device, so when I find her I try to stay with her as long as possible. On this particular evening a brown hyena stole her kill (a springbok ) and was sitting on a rock ledge with the moon rising behind her. I lit her eyes up with a torch to make it a bit more mysterious.(© Hannes Lochner)
