National Geographic reveals its amazing top pictures of 2015 and the winner, from more than 13,000 submissions, is James Smart with this rare anti-cyclonic tornado.
The winners where chosen from the three image groups: People, Places, and Nature:
Above: James Smart. A rare anti-cyclonic tornado tracks in open farm land narrowly missing a home near Simla, Colorado.
Honorable Mention, Nature
Orangutan in the Rain. Andrew Suryono, Bali. I was taking pictures of some Orangutans in Bali and then it started to rain. Just before I put my camera away, I saw this Orangutan took a taro leaf and put it on top on his head to protect himself from the rain! I immediately used my DSLR and telephoto lens to preserve this spontaneous magic moment.
Honorable Mention, Nature
Acrobats of the Air: Alessandra Meniconzi. A flocks of Alpine choughs (Pyrrhocorax graculus), mountain-dwelling birds, performs acrobatic displays in the air. I was able, during a windy day, to immortalize their impressive flight skills.
Honorable Mention, Nature
Changing Shifts. Mohammed Yousef. In Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya, the cubs of the famous cheetah Malaika learned to hunt. They moved from one hill to another, scanning the lands. Here, they seemed to change shifts as one cheetah left the hill while another took her place.
Honorable Mention, Nature
Colorful Chaos. Bence Mate. White-fronted Bee-eaters getting together on a bough before going to sleep to their burrows, scraped into a sand wall. I was working on this theme for 18 days, as there were only 5-10 minutes a day, when the light conditions were appropriate, 90% of my trying did not succeed. I used flash lights to light only the ones sitting on the branch, and not to the others, flying above. When in the right angle, the backlight generated rainbow colouring through the wings of the flying birds.
Honorable Mention, Nature
Surrealist Painting in Nature. Tugo Cheng. As the largest mountain ranges in Central Asia, Tian-shan (‘sky-mountain’ in Chinese), has one of the best collections of natural landscapes in the world and is seen by many as a paradise for outdoor adventures. Thanks to the richness of sediments compounded with the power of erosion by rivers flowing down the mountains, the north face of Tian-shan is carved into stunning plateaus and colorful canyons hundreds of meters deep, resulting in this surrealist painting in nature.
First Place Winner, Places
“Asteroid.” Francisco Mingorance. On the occasion of the preparation of a report on Ríotinto from the air, I decided to include phosphogypsum ponds located in the marshes of red and whose radioactive discharges has destroyed part of the marsh. As an environmental photojournalist had to tell this story and report it but had to do with an image that by itself attract attention of the viewer. I discovered this on a low-flying training that caught my attention for its resemblance to the impact of an asteroid on its green waters.
Honorable Mention, Places
Hill of Crosses. Hideki Mizuta, Siauliai, Lithuania. There are about 100,000 crosses in the hill. Many people pray for god and mourned the death of people killed by war. When I visited here, a girl ran through the hill of crosses. It was a strange sight.
Honorable Mention, Places
From Generation to Generation. Jackson Hung, Taiwan. This photo was taken during Chinese New Year’s Eve of 2015. While paying respects to our ancestors, I noticed how the light was coming into the room and saw the passing of incense sticks to each of our family members after sending our prayers. The photo is symbolic since the passing of incense sticks resembles and knowledge and wisdom passed down from generation to generation.
Honorable Mention, Places
The Game. Simone Monte. The Game (Altinho) in Ipanema – Rio de Janeiro.
Honorable Mention, People
Overlooking Iraq From Iran. Yanan Li, Shalamcheh, Khuzestan, Iran. Overlooking Iraq from Iran. There are relics left along the Iran-Iraq boarders. A group of Iranian female students play around an abandoned tank. Among them, one girl stands on the tank with her arms open.
Honorable Mention, People
Nothing to Declare. Lars Hübner, Taiwan – In the countryside, the funerals are usually accompanied by local chapels. When a family member dies, their body is kept in the house, or in a tent built specifically for this purpose. After a set period of time, the deceased, accompanied by a funeral procession is buried.
source National Geographic
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