Big Picture is a photographic competition that celebrates the beauty of the natural world. The recent reveal of its 2018 winners and finalists highlight a remarkable array of sights from all corners of the world moving from stunning snaps of aquatic life to microscopic landscapes found in crystallized chemicals.
This year the winning images were chosen from over 6000 entries across seven categories, from a deep dive into the world of marine creatures to a thrilling display of land-based animals. Every year the competition also includes a novel, one-off special category and in 2018 this was dubbed "Time Capsule." This category asked for a 3 to 5 image series that chronicled a process of growth or change seen in the natural world.
The Time Capsule prize was awarded to French photographer Isabelle Jouvie, for a remarkable five-image series examining the life of the Amsterdam Albatross, one of the worlds rarest seabirds. The Grand Prize for best overall photograph went to Tanya Houppermans' image Harmony, depicting a shark engulfed by a school of small fish.
The judging panel this year was composed of an impressive array of people including the legendary astronaut Scott Kelly, Sandesh Kadur a filmmaker who recently worked on BBC's Planet Earth 2 series, and Kathy Moran, a senior editor for National Geographic magazine.
Take a look through the gallery for a glimpse at the extraordinary winners and finalists in this epic photographic competition.
Source: Big Picture Competition