In the best Big Picture posting for some time (linked from the AV Club), they have acquired access to the entries for National Geographic’s annual photography contest (it’s open until the 30th if you want to compete!). They’ve put together an incredible selection and you should really go and look at them all, but here are some of my favourites:
Supercell thunderstorm, Montana, by Sean Harvey
Brown bear, Buskin River, Kodiak Alaska, by James Haskins
Praying Mantis, by Fred Turck
French Foreign Legionnaire, Afghanistan, by Steven Greaves
Suradita Village, West Java, Indonesia, by Ario Wibisono
Update 30th November: Gosh, thanks everybody for all the kind comments! It’s an honour to have been freshly pressed and I’m glad so many people enjoyed these photos. I do encourage you to follow the links at the top of the post and see all of the other amazing entries in this National Geographic competition. Also, follow The Big Picture on boston.com for frequent instalments of excellent new photography.
That Praying Mantas is so cool!
Quite spectacular.
Very beautiful! I love the brown bear.
I have loved National Geo since I was a child. Their photos are amazing and have inspired me as a photographer myself. Thanks for sharing!
Wow. These have successfully rendered me speechless!
I’ll be taking a look — thanks for the inspiration!
OMG, wow. I wish I had this kind of talent.
Anyway, the last one is from Indonesia!
Astounding!
Aaah, this is amazing!! I really adore the French Legionnaire photo. Very emotive
Stunning photography!
I especially like the thunderstorm. I hope we can preserve our earth this beautiful.
Check out my blog it deals a lot with the threats we are facing.
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hi. I happened to be a fan of National Geographic. Your mention of it brought me here. But it is “There are new things, but they’re mostly remixes.” that I found quite interesting. I think we share some common ideas.
I agree everything in this world is old and was always there. Its the arrangement of things that produced “new”. Like matter a-b-c was organized b-c-a, which showed something different. And then somebody invented a “newer” thing that is in fact c-b-a. Think of millions of things in this world to be arranged and re-arranged (invented) !! And we call that ingenuity
Thanks, RLTJ’s. I blogged a couple months ago about a quotation from Steve Jobs, where he said that the creative people he hired were the ones who could see unexpected connections between things. I’m trying to stimulate and inspire that kind of creativity by sharing all the diverse things I like, in the hope that interesting connections will appear from time to time.
“unexpected connections between things”? what do you mean? can I have an example? are you talking about a pattern or just the fact that trends reemerge like with “Birth Decade Chic” by the time kids hit their 20′s?
So, here’s my post about the Steve Jobs quotation:
http://otherpi.wordpress.com/2010/09/17/steve-jobs-on-creativity/
It was one of the first ones I did! I think what he’s saying is that interesting ideas start to emerge when you give creative people lots of diverse stimuli. He’s also saying that new ideas don’t just pop ready-made out of nowhere – pure “invention” is a myth. Or at least, it’s not the most common form of creativity. I’m sure I read that somewhere else recently too.
wow, just loved that supercell photo… ah well, loved them all really… just brilliant…
LOVELY! Thank you for sharing!
Phnom Penh
Awesome Photography. Very Inspiring.
wow that supercell thunderstorm pic left me speechless…and kind of scared.
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The bird fight looks awesome, like a kung fu movie with chickens!
Pretty much what crossed my mind.
In fact, it was so awe-inspiring, I completely forgot about the thunderstorm photograph (which, in my opinion, is blatantly the best).
Thanks so much for sharing. They are amazing photos!. I love brown bear!
Incredible shots–especially the super cell. Thanks for linking.
Number 1 is stunning. It shocked me. Great post!
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There are so many things in the world I have never seen — but now at least I’ve seen a few more of them!
Thanks for posting your favorite photos from the contest — some fantastic ones. But the first one blew me away. Awesome!
I saw this National Geographics article on yahoo news I believe it was last week, and they had the first picture posted, Supercell thunderstorm, Montana, by Sean Harvey. I was so mesmorized by this incredible picture I saved it as my wallpaper. I have never seen anything like this before and it just amazes me how beautiful it is, in its own way.
Leila
http://azsbsm.wordpress.com/
Thanks you for the beauty. I didn’t know there are purple praying mantis’s? Really? The two boys are fabulous…all the pics are really beyond words…
Congrats on being Freshly Pressed. Have always loved National Geographic since a kid…
evelyngarone.com
The first photo is just AW3SOM3!
Lovely selection of pictures!
Very awesome. I like the concept of your blog
Thank you!
WOW the photograph of the Supercell thunderstorm is breath taking!
IMPACTANTES MOMENTOS CAPTADOS EN BELLAS IMAGENES, A MI JUICIO LA SUPERCELULA Y EL OSO ADORMILADO SON GENIALES, GRACIAS GASTRO51
All are wonderfuls,,, like more the first one.
The first picture is amazing and blew me away. It is sureal almost and you wouldnt think it to be genuine. ahh
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The mantis is gorgeous, doing its best to look like a flower. The supercell looks like a bomb went off; don’t guess I’ll be moving to Montana any time soon.
-Jen
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http://littlecreekvet.wordpress.com
Thanks for sharing these stunning & diverse images!
These photos are really inspiring.
I took photography class in high school, and now that I’m finished with University, I hope to someday purchase a good camera and make magic happen like these.
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nat geo has thee best pictures! great choices
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In which country is the praying mantis purple?
The first photo reminds me of an extraterrestrial mushroom ready to beam up anyone available for the trip.
Great photos!
This is the caption (written by the photographer) that appeared on The Big Picture: “Praying Mantis – Pseudocreobotra wahlbergii. This beautiful whalbergii evolved through two of its nymph-stages on the Barberton Daisy at left, surviving because of its bright color which blended so well with the flower. Towards the end of its growth into an adult, it became a little more adventurous (but not much more) as pictured here. Once it had shed the layer in this picture, it became a fully-fledged adult, and departed after about two weeks. Total stay in this tiny ecosystem was approximately six weeks.”
So I don’t know which country it’s from, but given that it shed its outer layer, maybe it’s not purple any more?
Awesome Pictures!!!
Shooting pictures like that takes some serious equipment.
Evil
http://www.evilcyber.com
just wonderful……wow, and the pictures are so alive………..!
Thunderstorm is amazing.
Oh yeah, and… COCK FIGHT!!!
Loves National Geographic. Awesome pictures. Liked all of them, especially the first one.
Impresionante, unas fotos fantasticas
Very inspiring.. nice photograph.
Great photography! The thunderstorm is astonishing! Gratz for being freshly pressed.
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Wow…never saw a purple praying mantis. Beautiful pictures!!!
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beautiful — thanks for posting them. congrats on being freshly pressed.
WOW! These images are incredible.
Thanks for sharing!
cloud = end of the world
I love National Geographic. It’s excited and inspired me since I was a kid. Supercells and tornados fascinate me because I live in a high activity area for these kinds of things. Always thought it would be exciting to be a tornado chaser. Almost took the classes for it here once. Mostly, I just stand on my front porch waiting for it to happen when tornadoe season rolls around.
Thanks for sharing these wonderful images and for reminding me how great National Geographic will always be!
Absolutely amazing photos. Very impressive. Thank goodness for Nat Geo! Thanks to you as well
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I like Suradita Village the best!
Awesome pictures.
National Geographic is just amazing. I remember how I used to be amazed while going through its pages when I was younger. So many great photos.
Three words: Impressive, delightful and fabulous!
I love Nat Geo. I love natural and human interests photography. These are fascinating selection of works! Thanks for sharing this!
I miss thunderstorms! I grew up in Ohio, where it rains at least once a week. Here in Texas, we only get rain in the winter, then it flash floods a couple times in the early spring. Don’t know where the rain is this year. It hasn’t rained in months. I feel so sorry for the wildlife.
Congrats for all! amazing pictures!
I am from Indonesia, and it’s hard to choose which one(s) I like best
Now I feel like learning more of photography
Outstanding!
These are so cool…. Why can’t I take photos like these…
Very beautiful! I love the brown bear.
i like indonesia
All are amazing.
Praying Mantis is so impressive!
Awesome Photography. Very Inspiring.
These Pictures are excellent!
That storm cloud is unreal…what a tremendous post. Thank you for sharing these…very well deserved FP status!
Good to see this post. I’m a fan of National Geographic, there articles is very informative and well research, you can see that on their documentary images together with the published articles. There photos is really good— great works of a professional. I like to read their series of magazine as well as books. For me NG is the bridge to the people and nature because, when we talk NG it really reflects, cultures, traditions and different practices of other people.
Ha the last one is so funny
Beautiful photos especially that Supercell. I used to love the National Geographic, but stopped buying it for some reason.
its awsome!!!!!
this photos are so great love the way they’re shot thumbs up
the praying mantis is exquisite…reminds me of the movie Pan’s Labyrinth…i feel like the purple mantis is a fairy like creature who could speak to me at any moment..magical!!
Awesome Post! Really these pictures and photography deserves lot!
waww..impressing thanks for sharing..
Harvey’s photo of the supercell thunderstorm over Montana was yesterday’s post on Astronomy Picture of the Day (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap101130.html). Mother Nature is the only electronic enhancement that we need!
best shot i saw !!!!!!! really fabulous
I didn’t know praying mantises could be PURPLE! That’s so awesome!
amazing!! love the pics!!!
I actually entered some of my photos, but as usual, no enough “likes” for me. It’s fine with me, though since it’s my first time to enter this kind of contest. Plus! There are really a lot of very good photos!
nice picks! the photography that people submit (amateur and professional ) to national geographic are always awe inspiring
Great job, beautiful pictures National Geographic ~ZW
Supercell is magnificient!