12 award-winning nature photos that will show you the beauty of the world
- The winners of the California Academy of Sciences BigPicture: Natural World Photography Competition for 2020 were announced.
- Almost 6,500 photos were submitted to the contest across 6 categories, with only 36 pictures being selected as finalists.
- The winning images ranged from wide shots of sea animals to close ups of sundew, and Andy Parkinson won the grand prize for his shot, "Hare Ball."
- These images originally appeared on bioGraphic, an online magazine about science and sustainability and the official media sponsor for the California Academy of Sciences' BigPicture: Natural World Photography Competition.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
Jak Wonderly snapped "Caught by Cats," a haunting image that won first place in the Human/Nature category.
The photo, which was taken at an animal hospital, shows an array of deceased birds.
Although the picture is melancholy, there's also beauty in it, with the arrangement of the birds creating an image that will stay with the viewer long after they stop looking at it.
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This is just one shot of Amy Vitale's "Guardian Warriors," a series that shows the relationship between humans and animals.
A man shares a tender moment with a giraffe in this photo. The giraffe leans over the man's shoulder in what looks like a hug. He gently rests his hand on the base of the giraffe's neck.
Their intimacy is almost startling, prompting the viewer to contemplate the relationship between man and the natural world.
Agorastos Papatsanis took "Rain's Visitors at Dusk," a finalist in the Landscapes, Waterscapes, and Flora category.
The picture could be a simple photo of a mushroom, but instead Papatsanis imbues this forest scene with mystery and romance.
The blue and green light shines onto the mushrooms, creating a spotlight in nature.
The candid moment documented in Piotr Naskrecki's "A Sip" earned first place in the Winged Life category.
A bat skims the surface of a body of water in this photo, with Naskrecki capturing the moment the animal flies away with a mouthful of water.
From the bat's reflection to the splashes of water, the simple moment seems profound from behind the camera lens.
"Cheetah Hunting in Maasai Mara," taken by Yi Liu, was awarded first place in the Terrestrial Life category.
Liu snapped her shot at the exact moment a cheetah lunged for a fleeing antelope, with both animals suspended in the air.
The dust clouding around them as they run drives home the urgency of the moment, and their frozen pose leaves an air of suspense, as it's unclear if the antelope will be able to escape the predator or not.
"Frozen Mobile Home" took home the top prize in the Aquatic Life category.
Greg Lecoeur documented a group of seals swimming near an iceberg, capturing them as they moved in the space.
The underwater photo feels like a glimpse into a secret world.
"Sundew," taken by Edwin Giesbers, won first place in the Landscapes, Waterscapes, and Flora category.
Giesbers got up close and personal with this carnivorous plant, capturing the dewy stalks that help the sundew catch its prey.
The focused view of one leaf with its blurrier sisters in the background give the plant a mystical look.
Juan Jesús González Ahumada's "Snowbreak" won the Art of Nature category.
The snowy river bank Ahumada shot is dynamic, showing off both the icy water and the cracking bank.
The grooves in the sand almost look like waves, adding another layer of interest to the shot.
You might not even see the animal in Gunther De Bruyne's "The Elephant" at first glance.
In the photo, which was a finalist in the Human/Nature category, De Bruyne captured a humorous wildlife moment.
An elephant trunk reaches into an open kitchen, and the juxtaposition of natural life and domestication is stunning.
Mathieu Foulquié's "Amplexus" shows a moment of harmony in nature.
A finalist in the Aquatic Life category, the photo shows two frogs floating through a body of water together, with the two animals attached so closely that the second almost looks like it's part of the first.
Sunlight shines through the water on the right side of the image, hinting at how large the world is beyond these two creatures.
Talib Almarri's mesmerizing shot of a group of hippos bathing was a finalist in the Terrestrial Wildlife category.
Titled "Hippopotamus Group from Above," you might not even notice that there are living animals in Almarri's shot at first glance.
But the pattern the animals create prompts you to keep looking, and the shot just gets more interesting as you investigate, with the differences between the hippos becoming clearer as your gaze wanders.
The grand prize went to Andy Parkinson's photo, "Hare Ball."
The punny title highlights the moment Parkinson captured: a hare curling in on itself on a snowy day.
The hare is mid-motion in the shot, and you can almost feel how cold it is in the image thanks to the close range Parkinson was able to get to the animal.
You can see the snow cracking on the hare's fur, and its ears bracing back against the chilly air.
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