“Lofoten Glow”. I was desperately searching a good sunrise spot this particular morning. Normally Storvatnet Lake is completely covered in snow, so you can only imagine my surprise when I saw these crazy ice formations almost being shot out of the frozen lake. I put my crampons on and took a big risk walking out. I could hear the ice cracking underneath my feet, and when you’re all alone in a fjord/canyon like this – the cracks are echoed and sound really frightening. Was it worth it? I sure think so! Photo location: Storvatnet, Lofoten Islands in Northern Norway. (Photo and caption by Stian Klo/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Cub Scouts Honor”. While watching her mother dive for salmon in the frigid glacier water of the Crescent River this young brown bear cub couldn’t contain her excitement and stood up on her rear legs and politely made a waving direction towards me. In a matter of one hour this young cub ate several salmon that were provided by her intelligent and fearless mother. Deep in the Alaskan wilderness this brown bear family provided my favorite image of the year. Photo location: Chigmit Mountains, Alaska. (Photo and caption by Kevin Dietrich/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Dream In Ancient Battlefield”. This place seems to be back to the ancient battlefield in the morning, when the fog float on the grassland. Photo location: Wulanbutong,The Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region,China. (Photo and caption by Van Hanwood/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Mana flows”. Mana, a polynesian concept of the power alive in nature, flows freely with an ocean rush at queen's bath on kauai's north shore. Photo location: Princeville, Kauai, Hawaii, USA. (Photo and caption by Lee Scott/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Stop on Red”. A man walks in front of the San Francisco MoMa. Walking in white, not stopping on red...no sense of place, no sense of time. Photo location: San Francisco. (Photo and caption by Iris van den Broek/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“‘A’ati Hoi en Vai Hü”. Horse Race in Eastern Island. Photo location: Eastern Island . (Photo and caption by Agustin Rodriguez Garcia/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Lights and colours of Kasuwan Magani”. Bought a bottle of cold drink from an vendor on the Kasuwan Magani market, between Kajuru and Kaduna. The vendor invited me to enter the hut. It was nice to sit in and chill on a bench after the whole day walk and hike. Just like many spots in the country, this small hut was also multifunctional. It served as a tiny community place where people sat in to talk and have a refreshing drink. Photo location: Kajuru, Nigeria. (Photo and caption by Zsolt Repasy/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Cherry blossom!!!” Cherry blossom along Tidal Basin overlooking Jefferson Memorial. Photo location: Washington DC. (Photo and caption by JJ Fu/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Green Pond & First Snow、Hokkaido”. The picturesque pond can be a stunning emerald green. In October last year, I captured this shot of the green pond with snow covered trees. The artificial pond was created as part of an erosion control system that was built to prevent damage to Biei in case of an eruption by nearby Mt.Tokachi. This pond is a beautiful blue usually. But, October of last year, when the first snow fell,the beautiful blue pond turned spectacularly green. All are nature's tints. What a dreamy spot for photographers. Photo location: Biei in Hokkaido, Japan. (Photo and caption by Kent Shiraishi/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Watching Over”. An old man of Mengzhi District in Yunnan Province sits beside the door of his old home. Most of the doors have an emblem of The Warrior God or “Kwan Kung” that they believe will provide them protection and blessings. Photo location: Yunnan Province, China. (Photo and caption by Ng Yeow Kee/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“My trip to Venice, 2013”. Sunny day in Venice. Photo location: Venice, Italy. (Photo and caption by Gity Miller/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Macaque”. Adulte macaque staring at me while I was photographing him.Great respect towards this beautiful living creature. Photo location: Paris, France. (Photo and caption by Bruce Thionville/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Going Home”. Two Vietnamese ladies walking home along the popular sand dunes in Mui Ne in Phan Thiet, Vietnam. Mui Ne remains a must see in Vietnam, and is popular among tourists. Photo location: Phan Tiet, Vietnam. (Photo and caption by Ng Yeow Kee/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Portrait of a buso man”. Portrait of a man during the annual Poklade (Buso festivities) in Mohacs, Southern Hungary. “Buso” wear sheep fur cloak and wooden masks and use all kinds of tricks to scare and chase away winter together with bad spirits. Busos rarely remove their masks during the festival, especially in public. I took this photo in a private yard, where I could snap portraits without masks. Photo location: Mohacs, Hungary. (Photo and caption by Zsolt Repasy/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“The Floating Island”. There is an ethereal, other-worldly feeling to this photograph as this little island, in the middle of a northern British Columbia lake, appears as if to be floating in the clouds. To bring us back to Earth, s fish has left a ripple in the water in the left hand side of the shot. The scene was amazing to witness, let alone be lucky enough to photograph – totally right place at the right time. Photo location: Tumuch Lake, Northern BC, Canada. (Photo and caption by Shane Kalyn/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Intha fisherman on Inle lake”. On the way back from a full day on Inle lake (Myanmar) I met two intha fishermen. After a short talk, one of them invited me on his small boat to have a look at his work. What you see on this shot is Ko Aung leg, rowing to find fish before the sunset. Photo location: Inle Lake, Myanmar. (Photo and caption by Nicolas Bages/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Endangered South African White Rhinoceros”. Endangered South African White Rhinoceros. Photo location: Sabi Sand Game Reserve, Kruger National Park 1363, South Africa. (Photo and caption by Leah Sullivan/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Direct Eye Contact with a Cormorant”. There are three cormorants that regularly fish by my house. Over time, by approaching them slowly, they trust my very close presence. Their eyes are so mesmerizing that I shot this with a very narrow DOF to bring the viewers eyes directly to that of the cormorant's. I entered this in spontaneous moments in that as I was shooting the bird, he suddenly turned towards me directly looking at me adding to the impact of the shot. Photo location: Seminole, Florida, USA. (Photo and caption by Sandy Scott/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Feeding pigeons”. Little kid feeding pigeons in Kathmandu Durbar Square during Tihar festival when people worship Laxmi – the Goddess of Wealth. Photo location: Kathmandu, Nepal. (Photo and caption by Olivier Fox/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Walking in The Rain”. This shot was taken at Taiping Lake Garden, Perak, Malaysia. Taiping is well-known as “Raining Town” as it receives the largest rain in Peninsular Malaysia. The walking old man inside the photo is my dad. We both born in Taiping. We are so proud to be part of Taiping citizen and will always love Taiping for the rest of our life. From Taiping with love... Photo location: Taiping, Perak, Malaysia. (Photo and caption by Rozek Ruzaini/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Busy Bee”. Spying on bees is never a great idea, but usually provides an unbelieveable peek inside these fascinating, incredibly ecologically valuable, pollination specialists. Considering I only use my cellphone camera in my macroshots, this image should probably be titled “And Then, I Ran....Really Fast”. Photo location: Dennis, MA., USA. (Photo and caption by Kelly Burke/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Floating car”. Salar de Uyuni is miracle. I was so moved of this landscape. I walked away from the car and took this photo with complete silence. Photo location: Uyuni, Bolivia. (Photo and caption by Takashi Nakagawa/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Lonely Cottage ”. Light born from darkness. There is always warm place for you. Our home is Earth. Photo location: Mount Bufalo. (Photo and caption by Sarp Soysal/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Atlantic Puffin Landing at Hermaness, Shetland”. An Atlantic Puffin returns to its summer nesting site for the evening after feeding at sea. Photo location: Hermaness Nation Nature Reserve, Shetland, United Kingdom. (Photo and caption by Jack Breadmore/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Son of the Yellow River”. A local people stood on Ji Xian. The background is Hukou waterfall. Photo location: Linfen, Shanxi Province, China. (Photo and caption by Van Hanwood/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Water carrier”. Portrait of a girl that bringing water to the village on a hot day in Nyangatom tribe village. Photo location: Nyangatom tribe village, Ethiopia. (Photo and caption by Calla Fleischer/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Fishing on the Rice Terraces”. These men were hunting for frogs in the rice terrace ponds of Yuanyang County at sunset. Photo location: Yuanyang County, Yunnan Province, China. (Photo and caption by Shawn Talbot/National Geographic Photo Contest)