Marine biologist Simon Pierce, who studies whale sharks, happened to be in the right place at the right time to capture amazing photo off Cancun, Mexico. (Photo by Simon Pierce/Mercury Press/Caters News)
Honorable Mention: “The Storm”. During I was taking photo with my nephew, the storm came and I caught this beautiful moment. Photo location: Kocaeli, Turkey. (Photo and caption by Aytül Akbaş/National Geographic Photo Contest)
A not-so-famous photographer Robert Jahns can do impossible things with common photos. He takes two pictures and joins them into a single composition. Thanks to this creative idea, which is based on the combination of contrasts, ordinary photos become interesting and attractive. Jahns combines several pictures into one seamless scene. A leafless crown of the tree, layered onto deer antlers, creates a real and natural continuation of the deer`s head. Likewise, a rollercoaster with an overview of the city frightens us by being very realistic. (Photo by Robert Jahns A.K.A. Nois7)
Goat herder Dana McGregor's goats Pismo, left, and Goatee surf at San Onofre State Beach, Calif, on July 11, 2012. McGregor started taking Pismo's mother Goatee to the beach, and it wasn't long before she was on a surfboard. When Pismo was born, McGregor put her on a board too, and she was a natural, he says. (Photo by Rod Veal/The Orange County Register via AP)