“Breach for the sky”. I had never seen a humpback whale breach before. On a recent trip to Cape Cod with some friends we took a small boat out to whale watch. We saw several humpbacks doing their thing with the flippers and the tail, but none breached. Then out of the blue this one whale breached pretty close to the boat. I was ready, and the whale gave me my shot and put on a spectacular show as well. A so called whale of a show indeed. It's amazing how these huge animals propel themselves out of the ocean and get so much air. Watching them up close gives me a whole new appreciation for these wonderful creatures. Photo location: Stellwagen Bank off the coast of Provincetown, Cape Cod, MA, USA. (Photo and caption by Deboraj Das/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Dreams”. Very pleasant girl from Desanache tribe. There is a wish to think that in her life everything will be good. Photo location: Omo Valley, Ephiopia. (Photo and caption by Victor Chistov/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Novice monk with perfect light and incense smoke”. A novice monk reads a buddhist text in an old temple in Began. The light reflected perfectly off the pages of his book and the incense smoke was captured by the beaming light. Photo location: Bagan, Maynmar. (Photo and caption by Neil Herbert/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Two Brothers”. We found about 20 lions eating a buffalo. When the male leaved the group we anticipated him to take photos. It is 8AM, light is perfect and the position too. The lion stops and looks down from the hill, another lion is coming up, it stiffens, I think that will be a fight, i'm tense, the camera is OK, the shots previously made perfect. The two meet, looking directly into their eyes, they sniff, rub against their heads, the tension drops, they start walking with the same step as when they were puppies, they are two brothers. Photo location: Masai Mara, Kenya. (Photo and caption by Massimo Mei/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Monsson”. Rubel (10) is a son of a fisherman. While his father goes fishing he awaits his return. Children accompany their fathers and learn their skills for the future. Many fishermen live along the beach beside the road between Cox's Bazar and Teknaf. Fishing from sunrise to sunset they can barely earn around 60 Taka a day (less than a dollar). Photo location: Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh. (Photo and caption by GMB Akash/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Old woman”. For my final project at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (KASK) in Gent/Belgium I stayed for 4.5 months in Serbia where I made a documentary about the area of Sumadije, who's located in Central Serbia. This woman is 96 years old, nearly deaf and slowly losing vision. Normally her family lights the television on for her but because I was in the room the family was minding other business and forgot to light the TV. I took the picture after 15min that she was starring at the off TV. Photo location: Kragujevac, Serbia. (Photo and caption by Sebastian Steveniers/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Young girls in Alaverdi Cathedral”. On a Sunday morning Alaverdi cathedral in Georgia is full of worshipers. Also young people go to church in this very religious (orthodox) country. Photo location: Alaverdi, Georgia. (Photo and caption by Corneliu Cazacu/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Immensity”. This picture was taken in the North Cascade National park, WA during a 4 day backcountry skiing tour. We linked multiple peaks and valleys, alone and free in the mountains, creating and cherishing our tracks up and down. Photo location: North Cascade National Park. (Photo and caption by Victor Mesny/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Working on the Roof”. A group of workers seen on the roof of the new National Stadium of Singapore. Photo location: Singapore. (Photo and caption by Tong Leng Liew/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Khamu woman”. A Khamu woman walking along a road in Nong Khiau. Photo location: Laos. (Photo and caption by Paul Wager/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Winter”. Walking on a snow day. Photo location: Sondrio, Lombardy, Italy. (Photo and caption by Beniamino Pisati/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Cuban Boxer”. Cuban boxing gym in Havana. Temperature must have been around 40degrees celcius, with 100% humidity. These boxers mostly see their way out of Cuba through their sport, since it provides an opportunity to travel. Fantastic to watch them. Photo location: Havana, Cuba. (Photo and caption by Philippa Dresner/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Amen!” A Second Line reveler feels the joy as he leads a pseudo revival during a performance at The New Orleans' Jazz and Heritage Festival. Photo location: New Orleans, LA, USA. (Photo and caption by Marc Pelletier/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Alm Shepherd”. During a hiking trip in Zermatt, Switzerland, I met this incredible old man with a smile on his face that I will never forget. With kind, wise eyes he told us stories about his life. Photo location: Zermatt, Switzerland. (Photo and caption by Nicole Luettecke/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Champaign supercell”. This photo of a very lightning active supercell thunderstorm has been taken in the late evening of June 8th 2014. I had been on a stormchasing photo tour through France, Belgium and Germany while these countries were experiencing severe storms for several days in a row. In this nighttime image you can see nearly all optical features of a supercell under a clear starry sky thanks to very frequent intracloud lightning and moonlight. On this occasion I was able to find a good position for a quite rare view onto such storm in the north of the Champagne-Ardennes. Photo location: Rethel, Champagne-Ardennes, France. (Photo and caption by Maximilian Conrad/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Tham Lod Cave”. One of the most spectacular natural caves I've ever adventured into, Tham Lod is a piece Mother Nature's masterpieces in the Mae Hong Son region of Northern Thailand. The Lod is a natural limestone cave system, its main feature is the freshwater stream which runs through the middle of the cave for about 200-300 meters. Photo location: Tham Lod Cave, Thailand. (Photo and caption by Drew Hopper/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Vitiligo woman”. Woman during her prayer inside of a temple. This beautiful lady has Vitiligo (Bolli in Telugu), a common disease with white patches appearing on the body.Unfortunately in India, a lot of social stigma is attached to the disease and patients are treated as outcasts some times. The social stigma in countries like India might be due to our dark complexion on which the white patches stand out. Aside from that, you can feel her warmth, balance and beautiful soul. Photo location: hidambaram Temple, Chennai, India. (Photo and caption by Katarina Benzova/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Moon Light”. This shot is taken by the full moon light. The moon light is coming through a key hole. Only couple of times through the year can capture this. Photo location: Big Sur, California, USA. (Photo and caption by Kenji Yamamura/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Festival of Light”. The Festival of Lights, otherwise known as Yee Peng Lantern Festival, is an unforgettable spiritual event held all over Thailand. Yee Peng takes place on the full moon of the second month, as the twelfth month in the Thai Lunar Calendar corresponds to the second month in the traditional calendar of the old northern Lanna kingdom. The festival features millions of illuminated lanterns being launched off into the night sky to create an almost “milky way” effect gracefully floating off into the distance. Photo location: Chiang Mai, Thailand. (Photo and caption by Drew Hopper/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Dusty Dreams”. I had the privilege of being asked to help out a small local Campdraft, by taking photographs to be used for post-event promotions in the local newspapers, industry magazines & for social media. I love having the opportunity to shoot something new and this two day event watching the amazing athleticism and skills of both horse and rider at the Baryulgil Campdraft, rates as one the best, especially when that late afternoon sun hit the low angles and lit up the dust magically! Photo location: Gordonbrook Station, Fine Flower, New South Wales, Australia. (Photo and caption by Katrina Wade/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“O gelo flutuante”. A bordo do navio polar brasileiro Ary Rangel, no caminho para a Antártica, o Icebergue é visto flutuando. Photo location: Antártida. (Photo and caption by Igo Bione/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Old rural worker Guillermo Pino”. Almost blind from diabetes and very fragile health this humble worker rural Guillermo Pino, 69, has worked as a child laborer farm in much of the Northern Patagonia. His last working years were in St. Thomas Ranch near the village of Piedra del Águila. Photo location: Piedra del Águila, Neuquén, Northern Patagonia, Argentina. (Photo and caption by Efraín Dávila/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Sunset with a chance of lightning & thunder”. Instead of letting the menacing weather outlook cast a shadow on my short stay in Rome, I chose to embrace the moment. Photo location: Via della Salaria Vecchia, 5/6, Rome, Italy. (Photo and caption by Bao-Loc-Yvan Tran/National Geographic Photo Contest)