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.
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’.
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.”
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