2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer Of The Year Publishes First Round Of Beautiful Entries

The 2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year contest is now accepting submissions. We’re looking for spectacular pictures that tell the story of animals, lands, and environments around the world. The deadline to enter is November 17 at 12 p.m. EST.

This is Cheia (DN1A) road that takes you to Transylvania. Yes, THAT Transylvania, the birthplace of the legendary Count Dracula (Vlad Tepes). The legend says that this shot imagines what he might have seen on his nocturnalflights! Nevertheless, it’sa breathtaking view with a magnificent road. (Photo and caption by Calin Stan/National Geographic NaturePhotographer of the Year contest)

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A macaque being groomed at the Jigokudani snow monkey park in Japan. The Jigokudani snow monkey park has become a major tourist hot spot, attracting visitors from all over the world hoping to get a glimpse of these amazing creatures huddled together in hotsprings. But because of the warmer than usual weather during this time, the macaques were frequently found lazing about on some nearby rocks instead of spending much of their time keeping warm in hot springs. (Photo and caption by Lance McMillan/National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year contest)

Tadami line is a JR East line that connects Fukushima pref and Niigata pref. It is a single-track, non-electrified local line. This line runs through the serene countryside where people live closely to the nature in satoyama, the border area between mountain foothills and flat land. Especially along the Tadami River, the view from the train is stunning. The train goes overa number of bridges passing cherry blossoms in spring, greenery in summer, colored leaves in autumn, and snow in winter. (Photo and caption by TERUO ARAYA/National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year contest)

A tidal pool at Lofoten islands in northern Norway acts as natural eye catcher. with the high tides around full moon, white sand gets washed into the pool and then the magic unfolds. Photo and caption by Felix Inden/National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year contest

A coorg yellow bush frog photographed in the rainforests of Agumbe, Karnataka. The frog was formerly known as blue-eyed bush frog due to the blue ring around its eye. (Photo and caption byangad achappa/National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year contest)

A lioness stretches into the immensity of Masai Mara, Kenya. (Photo and caption by Joël Fischer/National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year contest)

Golden Hour at Bombay Hook NWR this morning. There was not a hint of wind when this Great Blue Heron began to preen. (Photo and caption by Jerry am Ende/National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year contest)

A magical moment in the morning right after sunrise with 2 horses in Fundatura Ponorului Transylvania, Romania (Photo and caption by Sebastiaen ./National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year contest)

Each year between the months of December-March, Northern California becomes the winter home to thousands of migratory birds (geese,egrets, ducks, herons and others). Aerial image (photographed from a plane while flying at 120 miles per hour). (Photo and caption by Jassen Todorov/National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year contest)

This photograph was taken in the cold waters of Whyalla, South Australia during the annual australian giant cuttlefish aggregation. this annual event sees hundreds of thousands of cuttlefishmake their way here seeking to find a mate and is the only place where they are known to aggregate in such large numbers. mating can be aggressive, with males usually dominating the females by 10:1. this is a larger male showing his dominance over the smaller female after they have finished mating. (Photo and caption by Cameron McFarlane/National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year contest)

A bird’seye view of a caravan of camels walking along Cable beach at sunset. (Photo and caption by Todd Kennedy/National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year contest)

My two loves in one picture. My beautiful girlfriend and nature. This is a drone long exposure. It took a few attempts to be able to have the water blur and her freeze in time. This photograph will be a timeless memory for us to share forever. (Photo and caption by sean stalteri/National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year contest)

Flying above the saline of Aigues-Mortes, in Southern France, aboard an ULM, captured my heart, my soul and my mind one year ago. The mother Nature there can be pretty spectacular, is one of the best designer. This is a place where we can discover in another way wildlife, where also happen amazing actions and reactions, which never fail to impress. Here, pink flamingos walking in small groups in an emerald colored water, leaving, in passing, their traces in the saline. (Photo and caption by Magali CHESNEL/National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year contest)

the 3 months cub was so cute i almost dropped the camera and run to hug him. almost :) mother bear (huge female) was looking at me suspiciously :) (Photo and caption by anat gutman/National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year contest)

Gator waiting in Duckweed in New Orleans, LA. This was taken off of a board walk so don’t worry for my safety. (Photo and caption by Cole Frechou/National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year contest)

This is one of my favorite photos of my favorite critter. Shot with a +25 magnifier, it really brings out the detail in this otherwise very small skeleton shrimp. It’s face is clear, it’s reddish eyes are visible, and the way it faces my camera with it’s arms wide makes it almost symmetrical. It’s clear color matches the hydra that it is living on. Plus the colors in the background really make this an interesting and beautiful photo. Don’t think there are aliens on earth? Look no further! (Photo and caption by Adam Silverman/National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year contest)

Starburst anemone at Half Moon Bay, California (Photo and captionby Corbin Morgan/National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year contest)

I was on my way home in the morning after doing some photography when I saw a larger gaggleof geese on one such spot on a lake. I quickly assembled my drone and flew above them at a height of 15 to 20 meters where they were not disturbed by the equipment. They were swimming nonchalantly, some flew off, others had just arrived at the lake. I hadalready been taking photos for a while, looking for interesting compositions when a smaller skein of geese arrived onto the lake. (Photo and caption by Csaba Daróczi/National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year contest)

Rich colours fading into the grey ruggedness of the Makenzie Mountains approximately 200 km NW of the Nááts’ihch’oh National Park Reserve (Photo and caption by Alain Boudreau/National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year contest)

An early morning view of the neist point lighthouse in scotland. (Photo and caption by Justin Bylicki/National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year contest)