At the end of each year, National Geographic
rounds up its best photos - and here we will take a look at 20 of them.
Every day throughout the year, National Geographic releases a Photo of the
Day - some classic, others quirky, but they always select an image with a
story to tell. In their pick for 20 of the best photos, this year, they
selected photographs with the most shares, likes and comments from the
social sphere. Let's take a look:
1. Cracking the Surface, Lake
Baikal
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Photographer Alexey Trofimov, captured quite
an unusual picture of the ice, here. He writes that the 'ice on Lake
Baikal is a very interesting phenomenon.'
2. The Village,
Hungary
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This photograph was taken by Gabor Dvornik,
who lives half a mile from The Village, which is set on a natural reserve
in Szõdliget Hungary. While the air in this place is special every season,
it is especially rare to have a nice, mist day. 'It was utterly ghostly
and very moody out there' he writes.
3. When Penguins Attack,
Antarctica
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Captured with a GoPro on Antarctica's sea
ice. The photographer, Clinton Berry had studied the movements of the
penguins for weeks. The day that this shot was taken, there were over 60
penguins and Berry says that there was a bit of luck involved
too.
4. Against the Wind,
Canada
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In this shot, photographed by Domnic Roy, a
snowy owl appears to be fighting against the elements during extreme
weather conditions near Quebec City, Canada.
5. Something's Fishy, British
Colombia Coast, Canada
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Photographed by Ian McAllister using an
underwater housing, this shot captures an intimate portrait of a wolf
wading through the inter-tidal zone on the British Colombia coast in
Canada. The wolf took a break from eating herring roe to investigate the
photographer's half-submerged camera.
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6. Who's There?
While taking this photo, Cezary Wyszynski
imagined this mouse thinking 'Who was knocking at my
door?'
7. Falls in Autumn, Plitivice Lakes
National Park, Croatia
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This is the country's oldest and largest
National Park, which boasts 16 terraced lakes, formed by natural
travertine dams that change color throughout the day. This photo was taken
by Vedrana Tafra.
8. Bioluminous Larak, Iran
This shot was taken along the shore of
Larak, Iran - an island in the Persian Gulf. 'The magical lights of the
Plankton enchanted me so that I snapped the shot,' Pooyan Shadpoor
says.
9. Mother of the Forest,
Madagascar
The boabab trees on Madagascar are 800 years
old. They are home to snakes, bats, bush babies, bees and at times,
humans. The trees are an important source of water - once can store up to
4,000 liters of water in its trunk. This photo was taken by Marsel Van
OOsten.
10. Fox Found, Gran Paradiso
National Park, Italy
Gran Paradiso National Park, was once a
royal hunting retreat. Here, a red fox lies in wait, camouflaged by the
autumn woods. This photo was captured by Stefano
Unterthiner.
11. Dancing with the Moon,
Iceland
The vivid beams of light are a result of
collisions between charged particles released from the sun's atmosphere
and gaseous particles in Earth's atmosphere. This shot was captured by
Andrew George.
12. Winter White, Gran Paradiso
National Park, Italy
Another great shot taken at Italy's Gran
Paradiso National Park by Stefano Unterthiner. Among the wildlife
inhabiting this pare are ibex, chamois, red foxes and ermines (pictured
here).
13. Big Baby,
Tonga
This young humpback whale was captured in
the waters off Tonga. Karim Iliya writes that she 'could not help but wave
and smile at the newborn whale almost three times my length' Curiosity got
the better of it and emerging from under its mother's fin, it swam toward
me, approaching less than 30 centimeters (11
inches).
14. Bird Feeders,
China
Abderazak Tissoukai was near Xingping in
China's Guanxi region when he took this shot - a cormorant fisherman at
sunset. 'Xingping is definitely one of the most beautiful places in China,
with its scenic karst landscapes, and it traditional and genuine people,'
he writes.
15. Kit Friendly,
Estonia
This kit fox appears to be weighing the
presence of Kalmer Lehepuu's camera lens. He writes that 'on one beautiful
evening, the mother went to get food and left the kits on their own.'
Lehepuu then snuck closer to observe them.
16. Shining Through, Apostle
Islands, National Lakeshore, Wisconsin
This shot, taken by Ernie Vater, captures
the setting sun shining the rough ice on the shore of a frozen Lake
Superior. Part of the beauty of this place is its silence. Vater writes
'you hear nothing except for the occasional creaking of the
ice'.
17. Yellow Jellies, Rock Islands of
Palau
These golden jellyfish are harmless to
humans, they spend much of their time following the sun as it moves across
the sky. Sunlight for these jellyfish is essential. Captured by Ciemon
Frank Caballes.
18. All the Fish in the Sea, Cabo
Pulmo
'This is what our oceans should look like',
Jeff Hester, who captured this shot says. But Cabo Pulmo, a marine park
off Mexico's Baja California, hadn't always been this
way.
19. Imperial Blossoms,
Japan
These weeping cherry tree blooms, were
captured on the grounds of the Imperial Palace in Kyoto, Japan. They
typically bloom in late March and early April. This photo was taken by
Yukio Miki.
20. Hull-o, Caribbean Island of
Bonaire
This photo shows a diver gazing at Hilma
Hooker, a cargo ship purposely sunk off the Caribbean island of Bonaire -
a popular destination for scuba divers.