Photography

Crafty chameleon snatches top prize in Agora’s nature photo contest

Crafty chameleon snatches top prize in Agora’s nature photo contest
Agora's Best Nature Photography. 'Strike'. Jakarta, Indonesia
Agora's Best Nature Photography. 'Strike'. Jakarta, Indonesia
View 18 Images
'Early fog'. B'lao, Bao Loc city, Lam Dong province, Vietnam
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'Early fog'. B'lao, Bao Loc city, Lam Dong province, Vietnam
'Freediving underwater caves'. Ciutadella de Menorca, Spain
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'Freediving underwater caves'. Ciutadella de Menorca, Spain
'Follow the tracks'. Notsuke Peninsula, Hokkaido, Japan
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'Follow the tracks'. Notsuke Peninsula, Hokkaido, Japan
'Colorful Nature'. Lahore, Pakistan
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'Colorful Nature'. Lahore, Pakistan
'Lightnings'. Hpa-An, Kayin, Myanmar
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'Lightnings'. Hpa-An, Kayin, Myanmar
'Nature is beautiful'. Tavira, Portugal
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'Nature is beautiful'. Tavira, Portugal
'Living in a Giants World'. Sequoia National Park, USA
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'Living in a Giants World'. Sequoia National Park, USA
'Miracle'. South Africa
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'Miracle'. South Africa
'Iceland in summer'. Hengifoss waterfall, Iceland
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'Iceland in summer'. Hengifoss waterfall, Iceland
'Iceland alive in the summer'. Kirkjufell Mountain, Iceland
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'Iceland alive in the summer'. Kirkjufell Mountain, Iceland
'T I G E R'. Seoni, India
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'T I G E R'. Seoni, India
'Peru, Rainbow Mountains'. Rainbow mountains, Peru
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'Peru, Rainbow Mountains'. Rainbow mountains, Peru
'The Island | Philippines'. El Nido, The Philippines
13/18
'The Island | Philippines'. El Nido, The Philippines
Agora's Best Nature Photography. 'Strike'. Jakarta, Indonesia
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Agora's Best Nature Photography. 'Strike'. Jakarta, Indonesia
'Stake Out'. Tangerang, Banten, Indonesia
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'Stake Out'. Tangerang, Banten, Indonesia
'The land of sunsets'. Kenya
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'The land of sunsets'. Kenya
'The leader'. Muriwai beach, New Zealand
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'The leader'. Muriwai beach, New Zealand
'Sand Dune'. Namibia
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'Sand Dune'. Namibia
View gallery - 18 images

An incredible shot of a long-tongued chameleon snatching a dragonfly has won the best nature photograph in global photography social network Agora’s latest contest. New Atlas has selected some astonishing highlights from the top 50 finalists, spanning a sublime array of beautiful perspectives on the natural world.

Agora presents itself as a social network, similar to Instagram or Flickr, but with a particular focus on HD images, protected by watermarks. Different themed mini-contests appear on the platform every week, with the best photograph, voted on by the community, winning US$1,000.

'Iceland alive in the summer'. Kirkjufell Mountain, Iceland
'Iceland alive in the summer'. Kirkjufell Mountain, Iceland

The platform’s nature contest generated a truly spectacular collection of shots with over 11,000 submissions whittled down to a strong top 50. And after one week of voting, the grand prize went to Indonesian user Georock888 for a shot entitled ‘Strike’.

'Miracle'. South Africa
'Miracle'. South Africa

Japanese photographer Reiko T’s shot entitled 'Miracle’ is also a highlight of the top 50. With a rainbow in the background while a humpback whale leaps into the air, the genesis of the photograph was unexpected and unplanned.

“I went to South Africa last June to shoot a sardine run. Unfortunately, the shooting of Sardine Run failed: we looked for them all day but they never showed up,” says Reiko. “However, I was able to witness the best scene: blue sky, clouds, rainbow and whale jump! It was just a miracle.”

'Stake Out'. Tangerang, Banten, Indonesia
'Stake Out'. Tangerang, Banten, Indonesia

Other highlights include a shot of the verdant and iconic Kirkjufell Mountain in Iceland, perhaps most recently known for its appearances in Game of Thrones; an impressively scaled look at the giant trees in USA’s Sequoia National Park; and a frightening portrait of a camouflaged crocodile in Indonesia.

Take a look through our gallery at some more highlights from Agora’s top nature photographs.

Source: Agora

View gallery - 18 images
2 comments
2 comments
Monika Saringer
Just amazing & beautiful! good to see there are still pristine places left on this earth, hopefully it will stay that way.
ljaques
I'd love to visit Hengifoss and Kirkjufell to see those lovely waterfalls. All great pics.