“Out for a Walk”. Fred Baldassaro, 40, of Alexandria, got up close to these two lion cubs at a conservation shelter in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, in January. (Photo by Fred Baldassaro)

“Pig in a Tub”. Larry Lee Fickau, 74, of Winchester, Va., captured this scene at Barrel Oak Winery in Delaplane, Va., with a Canon PowerShot G9 in May. (Photo by Larry Lee Fickau)

“African Elephant Family”. Margo Reeves Lewis, 51, of Arlington, caught this family moment at the Lion Sands Game Reserve in South Africa’s Sabi Sands in October 2014. (Photo by Margo Reeves Lewis)

“Goats Eating Argan Nuts”. Nancy Pilchen, 59, of Arlington, took this iPad photo of goats eating argan nuts while traveling between Marrakesh and Essaouira in Morocco in May. (Photo by Nancy Pilchen)

“Stunning Silence”. The quiet approach of the barn owl in Tucson's Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum gave Jon C. Gray, 74, of Alexandria, Va., little time to compose this image in February. (Photo by Jon C. Gray)

“Connemara, Ireland – Before the Storm”. Sharon Darnell, 64, of Falls Church, Va., took this photo while driving along the Connemara coast as a storm approached in October 2014. (Photo by Sharon Darnell)

“Early Morning Crab with Breakfast”. Linda Berneburg, 47, of Warrenton, Va., laid in the sand to get this shot of a crab eating on the beach in Corolla, N.C., in May. (Photo by Linda Berneburg)

“Sparring Polar Bears”. Laurie McLeish, 57, of Burtonsville, Md., took this image with a Nikon 5200 in Churchill, Manitoba, in November 2014. (Photo by Laurie McLeish)

“Friendly Fish Near the Great Barrier Reef”. Paige Bettge, 21, of Fairfax, Va., captured this scene while snorkeling along the Whitsunday Islands in Queensland, Australia, in June. (Photo by Paige Bettge)

“Sniff out the Appenzell Cheese”. Alexander Hunter, 30, of Greenwich, Conn., took this photo in Appenzell, Switzerland, in September 2014. (Photo by Alexander Hunter)

“Great Bear Rainforest, B.C.”. John Potvin, 63, of Annapolis, Md., witnessed this bear feasting on the fall salmon run in Haida Gwaii/Queen Charlotte Islands, B.C., in September 2014. (Photo by John Potvin)

“Gentoo Penguins Resting on Snow”. Roberta Moreland, 60, of Leesburg, Va., caught these two lounging in Paradise Bay, Antarctica, in February. (Photo by Roberta Moreland)

“Pedicurist Wanted”. Claudia Levey, 18, of Bethesda, shot this image of an African elephant from inside a partially buried shipping container at a watering hole in Botswana's Mashatu Game Reserve in June. (Photo by Claudia Levey)

“Mashatu Game Reserve”. Fabia Mahoney, 68, of Bethesda, Md., captured giraffes and zebras at the reserve in Botswana in July 2014. (Photo by Fabia Mahoney)

“Milo at the Summit of Pasochoa, Ecuadorian Andes”. Laura Catania, 25, of Arlington, went on a hike organized by the Secret Garden Hostel, but the hostel's dogs, Milo among them, soon became the guides to the extinct volcano in July 2014. (Photo by Laura Catania)

“Birds Take Flight in Istanbul”. Using a Canon 5D camera, Baris Ornarli, 36, of Washington, took this photo of Istanbul’s Ortaköy Mosque in February on the Bosphorus Bridge, which connects Europe to Asia. (Photo by Baris Ornarli)

“Sea Lion Ponders the Mystery of Flight”. Kevin McCarthy, 54, of Arlington, Va., took this photo of a sea lion and frigatebird on Española Island in the Galapagos in June. (Photo by Kevin McCarthy)