The 12 most stunning entries from this year's National Geographic photo contest

Every year, photographers around the globe submit throngs of groundbreaking digital photographs to National Geographic's prestigious photography contest.

A selection of photos from this year's competition - the 2015 National Geographic Photography Contest - have just been released, and they are absolutely spectacular.

Judges evaluate these photographs on their creativity, photographic quality, and authenticity of the content. They are sorted into three categories of people, places, and nature. All images were taken within the past two years.

Here are 12 of our favorite photographs from this year's competition. The contest is accepting entries through November 16.