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2013 National Geographic Photography Contest Winners
The winners have been named in the 2013 National Geographic Photography contest. As a leader in capturing our world through brilliant imagery, National Geographic sets the standard for photographic excellence. Professional photographers and amateur photo enthusiasts from over 150 countries submitted more than 7000 entries. Photographs were entered in three categories: people, places and nature. The competition was judged on creativity and photographic quality by a panel of experts comprising of National Geographic magazine Senior Photo Editor Susan Welchman; and documentary photographers Stephanie Sinclair and Ed Kashi. View the winning images and honorable mentions here. Grand Prize Winner, Paul Souders, will receive $10,000 and a trip to National Geographic headquarters in Washington, D.C., to participate in the annual National Geographic Photography Seminar in January 2014.
Grand Prize and Nature Winner: The Ice Bear- A polar bear peers up from beneath the melting sea ice on Hudson Bay as the setting midnight sun glows red from the smoke of distant fires during a record-breaking spell of hot weather. The Manitoba population of polar bears, the southernmost in the world, is particularly threatened by a warming climate and reduced sea ice. (Photo and caption by Paul Souders/National Geographic Photo Contest )
Places Winner: Long Road to Daybreak- Realizing this old town (Laocheng, means old town in Chinese) would soon be transformed into a new town through the speedy economic growth in China and perhaps lose its raw beauty in no time, I was pleased to capture this working mother carrying her child in her basket walking through the thick mist in a very early foggy morning, 2012. (Photo and caption by Adam Tan/National Geographic Photo Contest)
Honorable Mention Nature: Indian Rhino, Canadian Winter- An Indian rhinoceros, far from home and stuck inside with late-winter blues at the Toronto zoo. (Photo and caption by Stephen De Lisle/National Geographic Photo Contest)
Honorable Mention Nature: Flying Egrets- On a good day in the field, a birder might see flock of birds. Great Egrets; Tidal area of the Danube in Hungary. (Photo and caption by Réka Zsirmon/National Geographic Photo Contest)
Honorable Mention Places: Cows And Kites- I was driving along the beach highway when I noticed the bulls sunbathing on the empty beach. I initially thought I was seeing things, but no it really was sunbathing cows! I had to park my car a fair distance away and that meant a long walk along the beach in 35-degree heat. It did not matter because I had to get the shot! When I got closer to them I was careful not to spook them so I crawled on my stomach on the hot sand to get a good picture of them. Mission Accomplished! It was worth the effort! (Photo and caption by Andrew Lever/National Geographic Photo Contest)
Honorable Mention Places: Graveyard- I cannot describe the eerie feeling I had when I walked in on this scene. I followed a massive storm front several 100 kilometers hoping to capture something special but this blew my mind. The surreal milky green water is a natural phenomenon caused by electromagnetic activity from the lightning hitting the waters surface. There was no rain where I was and not much wind either but in the distance the sky was charged and angry subjecting its wrath over the graveyard of dead trees in this normally very dry lakebed. I was able to capture a series of unique images this being one of the best. (Photo and caption by Julie Fletcher/National Geographic Photo Contest)
Honorable Mention People: Life Along The Polluted River- A boy plays with balloons by Buriganga River as smoke emits from a dump yard during sunset in Dhaka, Bangladesh. (Photo and caption by Andrew Biraj/National Geographic Photo Contest)
Honorable Mention People: Laurentiu- This picture is a part of the series of my work ëFrumoasaí. "Frumoasa" is Romanian for 'beauty'. It's a work about Laurentiu and his family. They live in shacks next to the railway near the Ghent Dampoort. I met him and his family in December 2012. They have to deal with all kind of obstacles on a daily basis. The lack of a legal address gave them administrative problems and made it hardly impossible for them to find a decent job. They form a happy, warm and close family, despite the constant uncertainty in which they live. (Photo and caption by Aurélie Geurts/National Geographic Photo Contest)
![](http://www.haseenvilla.com/"http://oi41.tinypic.com/wugyma.jpg")
Grand Prize and Nature Winner: The Ice Bear- A polar bear peers up from beneath the melting sea ice on Hudson Bay as the setting midnight sun glows red from the smoke of distant fires during a record-breaking spell of hot weather. The Manitoba population of polar bears, the southernmost in the world, is particularly threatened by a warming climate and reduced sea ice. (Photo and caption by Paul Souders/National Geographic Photo Contest )
![](http://www.haseenvilla.com/"http://oi39.tinypic.com/2hs3ddg.jpg")
Places Winner: Long Road to Daybreak- Realizing this old town (Laocheng, means old town in Chinese) would soon be transformed into a new town through the speedy economic growth in China and perhaps lose its raw beauty in no time, I was pleased to capture this working mother carrying her child in her basket walking through the thick mist in a very early foggy morning, 2012. (Photo and caption by Adam Tan/National Geographic Photo Contest)
![](http://www.haseenvilla.com/"http://oi43.tinypic.com/29getxg.jpg")
Honorable Mention Nature: Indian Rhino, Canadian Winter- An Indian rhinoceros, far from home and stuck inside with late-winter blues at the Toronto zoo. (Photo and caption by Stephen De Lisle/National Geographic Photo Contest)
![](http://www.haseenvilla.com/"http://oi44.tinypic.com/14wdgts.jpg")
Honorable Mention Nature: Flying Egrets- On a good day in the field, a birder might see flock of birds. Great Egrets; Tidal area of the Danube in Hungary. (Photo and caption by Réka Zsirmon/National Geographic Photo Contest)
![](http://www.haseenvilla.com/"http://oi41.tinypic.com/2jg75kx.jpg")
Honorable Mention Places: Cows And Kites- I was driving along the beach highway when I noticed the bulls sunbathing on the empty beach. I initially thought I was seeing things, but no it really was sunbathing cows! I had to park my car a fair distance away and that meant a long walk along the beach in 35-degree heat. It did not matter because I had to get the shot! When I got closer to them I was careful not to spook them so I crawled on my stomach on the hot sand to get a good picture of them. Mission Accomplished! It was worth the effort! (Photo and caption by Andrew Lever/National Geographic Photo Contest)
![](http://www.haseenvilla.com/"http://oi40.tinypic.com/ndwwo3.jpg")
Honorable Mention Places: Graveyard- I cannot describe the eerie feeling I had when I walked in on this scene. I followed a massive storm front several 100 kilometers hoping to capture something special but this blew my mind. The surreal milky green water is a natural phenomenon caused by electromagnetic activity from the lightning hitting the waters surface. There was no rain where I was and not much wind either but in the distance the sky was charged and angry subjecting its wrath over the graveyard of dead trees in this normally very dry lakebed. I was able to capture a series of unique images this being one of the best. (Photo and caption by Julie Fletcher/National Geographic Photo Contest)
![](http://www.haseenvilla.com/"http://oi42.tinypic.com/i74b52.jpg")
Honorable Mention People: Life Along The Polluted River- A boy plays with balloons by Buriganga River as smoke emits from a dump yard during sunset in Dhaka, Bangladesh. (Photo and caption by Andrew Biraj/National Geographic Photo Contest)
![](http://www.haseenvilla.com/"http://oi42.tinypic.com/2epkdvl.jpg")
Honorable Mention People: Laurentiu- This picture is a part of the series of my work ëFrumoasaí. "Frumoasa" is Romanian for 'beauty'. It's a work about Laurentiu and his family. They live in shacks next to the railway near the Ghent Dampoort. I met him and his family in December 2012. They have to deal with all kind of obstacles on a daily basis. The lack of a legal address gave them administrative problems and made it hardly impossible for them to find a decent job. They form a happy, warm and close family, despite the constant uncertainty in which they live. (Photo and caption by Aurélie Geurts/National Geographic Photo Contest)
![](http://www.pegham.com/"http://oi57.tinypic.com/14cfvb7.jpg")
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