10 of the best: nature photographs.

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I was so taken by these photographs from the Guardian (UK) that I'm posting them here.

Please feel free to add any of your choices, too.

Quote:

22 April 2010: A polar bear dance, a doomed thresher shark, and a crowd of giant tortoises gathered at dawn in the Galapagos are just a few of the stunning images that have been selected as the top 40 nature photographs of all time.

The images, chosen by the world's top professional conservation photographers, will be auctioned to raise money for charity to coincide with the 40th annual Earth Day today.

Here is a selection of the photographs

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2010/4/20/1271781669792/Auction-for-40-Greatest-N-001.jpg

Caught in a gill net, a thresher shark in Mexico's Gulf of California is among the estimated 100 million sharks killed annually for their fins. Sharks are vulnerable because they take decades to mature and produce few young
Photograph: Brian Skerry/iLCP

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http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2010/4/20/1271781671206/Auction-for-40-Greatest-N-002.jpg

Australian sea lions play in the sea grass beds off Little Hopkins Island, South Australia. The photographer, David Doubilet, explains how he captured the image: 'While I was photographing them the leader of the group stood straight up and looked around and then swam straight and fast for the beach with the entire group following. The sea was still and quiet and something told us that maybe we should leave too and we climbed into our boat just as great white shark came into view. The Australian sea lion is one of the rarest and most endangered pinniped in the world'
Photograph: David Doubilet/iLCP

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http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2010/4/20/1271781672510/Auction-for-40-Greatest-N-003.jpg

Twilight of the Giants, Botswana 1989. African elephants at twilight, Loxodonta africana, Chobe national park, Botswana
Photograph: Frans Lanting/Corbis/iLCP

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http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2010/4/20/1271781673962/Auction-for-40-Greatest-N-004.jpg

Morning Mist, Rock Island Bend, Franklin River, south-west Tasmania, Australia. This iconic photograph by Peter Dombrovskis played an instrumental role in the campaign to prevent the damming of the river in one of the most significant environmental campaigns in Australian history. The photograph was reproduced by the Wilderness Society, and widely distributed during the 1983 federal election. The photograph turned the Franklin River a household name, and became an icon of the environmentalist cause. In July of the same year, the high court declared the Gordon-below-Franklin dam illegal
Photograph: Peter Dombrovskis/Liz Dombrovskis

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http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2010/4/20/1271781675136/Auction-for-40-Greatest-N-005.jpg

Seeing Double. In this image by Paul Nicklen, a polar bear travels submerged in icy water off the northern tip of Baffin Island - a tactic often used to surprise prey
Photograph: Paul Nicklen/iLCP

1 Reply

@msolga,

Good grief -- the composition on that is amazing for an unretouched photograph. It would strike me as slightly artificial if it were a painting -- TOO perfect.

1 Reply

@sozobe,

Thank you, soz, for posting. I hope I can now continue. (Flood prevention!)

Yes, stunning.

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http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2010/4/20/1271781676151/Auction-for-40-Greatest-N-006.jpg

Stone Canyon. Pulitzer-prize winning photojournalist and landscape photographer Jack Dykinga made this photograph as part of a campaign to create national monuments in both the Paria Canyon and Escalante Canyon drainages. He had tried on six separate occasions to make this image following seasonal rains, dissatisfied each time with the quality of the reflections in the standing water. His final effort paid off after driving south from Salt Lake City and arriving near Paria Canyon around midnight. Dykinga camped at the mouth of one of the side canyons and began hiking in around 3:30am in order to arrive on location in time for dawn and calm water
Photograph: Jack Dykinga/iLCP

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http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2010/4/20/1271781677556/Auction-for-40-Greatest-N-007.jpg

Tortoises at Dawn, Galapagos Islands, 1984. Giant tortoises in pond, Geochelone elephantopus, Alcedo volcano
Photograph: Frans Lanting/iLCP

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http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2010/4/20/1271781678653/Auction-for-40-Greatest-N-008.jpg

Water lilies, Nymphaea nouchali, Okavango delta, Botswana
Photograph: Frans Lanting//iLCP

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http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2010/4/20/1271781679716/Auction-for-40-Greatest-N-009.jpg

Polar Dance. For centuries polar bears have gathered along the western shores of Hudson Bay during late October and early November waiting for the bay to freeze. Here, two adults appear to dance
Photograph: Thomas D. Mangelsen/iLCP

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@msolga,

That's another "holy crap" photo. Wow. (These are all amazing, thanks!)

1 Reply

@sozobe,

Thanks again, soz. (another flood prevention intervention! Smile

)

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2010/4/20/1271781680772/Auction-for-40-Greatest-N-010.jpg

Split Rock and Cloud, Eastern Sierra, California, 1976. The photographer Galen Rowell (1940-2002) was a master of incorporating fleeting qualities of natural light in compelling compositions. He saw this splendidly illuminated cirrus cloud floating quickly on the wind while climbing one evening in the Buttermilk region of California's eastern Sierra Nevada. Rather than simply capturing an image of the cloud out of context with the place, Galen wished to incorporate a sense of the boulder-strewn granite landscape around him
Photograph: Galen Rowell/Mountain Light/iLCP

1 Reply

That's it!
Made it to # 10 with soz's help! Very Happy

As I said, please feel free to add any that you've found, or taken yourself, even!

Isn't nature wonderful? Smile

2 Replies

@msolga,

The world population of the Australian Sea-lion is about 12,000. Of these 8,500 occur in South Australia and 3,500 in Western Australia. They are one of the rarest seal species in the world.

There are various places along South Australia's Eyre Peninsula where you can swim with them, I've experienced it at Baird's Bay and Elliston. They are wonderful nosy creatures.

1 Reply

@msolga,

I remember that one! I think it appeared in a Sierra Club calendar that I had. I recognize it anyway.

1 Reply

@Dutchy,

Quote:

They are wonderful nosy creatures.

Yes?

Tell me more.

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@sozobe,

Looks quite the artistic arrangement, doesn't it, soz?

I can just imagine the moment the photographer saw the scene ... & thought: "Wow. I must catch this!"

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@msolga,

I went diving with the seals in port phillip bay years ago. very rewarding experience. They can be quite curious and are much larger than they appear in photographs.

Look into a seal and dolphin charter boat Ms olga. I'm sure you would enjoy it.

1 Reply

@dadpad,

Oh I will, dp.

You went diving with these cheeky, inquisitive creatures? Now that must have been some experience! Smile

3 Replies

10 of the best: nature photographs.

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