Winners of the National Geographic Photo Contest 2013

Grand Prize and Nature Winner

The winners of the National Geographic Photo Contest 2013 have just been announced! Taking home the grand prize is an image you probably remember spotting on a blog post right here on My Modern Met just over a week ago. Seattle-based photographer Paul Souders took the beautifully eerie photo of a polar bear positioned right beneath the surface of Hudson Bay's freezing waters. He called the once-in-a-lifetime shot Ice Bear.

Souders beat out more than 7,000 images submitted by photographers from over 150 countries to win the $10,000 grand prize. He also receives a trip to National Geographic's headquarters in Washington, D.C., to participate in their annual photography seminar in January 2014.

Below are the images from the other two winners. Cecile Baudier of Jylland, Denmark placed first in the People category for the image Together, Alone while Adam Tan of Selangor, Malaysia, nabbed the top spot in the Places category for Long Road to Daybreak.

The three winning photos will be published in an upcoming issue of National Geographic magazine. Now, courtesy of National Geographic, here are they are along with the 10 honorable mentions.

Above: The Ice Bear
A polar bear peers up from beneath the melting sea ice on Hudson Bay as the setting midnight sun glows red from the smoke of distant fires during a record-breaking spell of hot weather. The Manitoba population of polar bears, the southernmost in the world, is particularly threatened by a warming climate and reduced sea ice.
Photo and caption by Paul Souders/National Geographic Photo Contest

People Winner

Together, Alone
This portrait of two identical twins (Nils and Emil, 15 years old) in Fyn, Denmark, is part of a series of pictures, portraying people who have a strong connection to another person and who often think of themselves as a 'we' instead of 'me'.
Photo and caption by Cecile Baudier/National Geographic Photo Contest

Places Winner

Long Road to Daybreak
Photo and caption by Adam Tan/National Geographic Photo Contest
Realizing this old town (Laocheng, means old town in Chinese) would soon be transformed into a new town through the speedy economic growth in China and perhaps lose its raw beauty in no time, I was pleased to capture this working mother carrying her child in her basket walking through the thick mist in a very early foggy morning, 2012.

                                                                HONORABLE MENTIONS

Honorable Mention Nature

Crows Nest
The crows that live in Tokyo use clothes hangers to make nests. In such a large city, there are few trees, so the natural materials that crows need to make their nests are scarce. As a result, the crows occasionally take hangers from the people who live in apartments nearby, and carefully assemble them into nests. The completed nests almost look like works of art based on the theme of recycling.
Photo and caption by Yosuke Kashiwakura/National Geographic Photo Contest

Honorable Mention Nature

Indian Rhino, Canadian Winter
An Indian rhinoceros, far from home and stuck inside with late-winter blues at the Toronto zoo.
Photo and caption by Stephen De Lisle/National Geographic Photo Contest

Honorable Mention Nature

Flying Egrets
On a good day in the field, a birder might see flock of birds. Great Egrets; Tidal area of the Danube in Hungary.
Photo and caption by Réka Zsirmon/National Geographic Photo Contest

Honorable Mention Places

Cows And Kites
I was driving along the beach highway when I noticed the bulls sunbathing on the empty beach. I initially thought I was seeing things, but no it really was sunbathing cows! I had to park my car a fair distance away and that meant a long walk along the beach in 35-degree heat. It did not matter because I had to get the shot! When I got closer to them I was careful not to spook them so I crawled on my stomach on the hot sand to get a good picture of them. Mission Accomplished! It was worth the effort!
Photo and caption by Andrew Lever/National Geographic Photo Contest

Honorable Mention Places

Graveyard
I cannot describe the eerie feeling I had when I walked in on this scene. I followed a massive storm front several 100 kilometers hoping to capture something special but this blew my mind. The surreal milky green water is a natural phenomenon caused by electromagnetic activity from the lightning hitting the waters surface. There was no rain where I was and not much wind either but in the distance the sky was charged and angry subjecting its wrath over the graveyard of dead trees in this normally very dry lakebed. I was able to capture a series of unique images this being one of the best.
Photo and caption by Julie Fletcher/National Geographic Photo Contest

Honorable Mention People

Arabic in Gambia
Arabic born in one of the biggest city in the World, New York. Right in the middle of the Bronx she grow and go to School. As she's 13 years old, her Father decides to send her to her Family in a small town named Bajakunda. Now she lives here without electricity and a two hours bus drive away from the next city. Working every day from early morning til late night. No chance to leave this Country. Arabic is the only person in this small town whit an official American Passport, everybody dream about that one but she can’t use it anymore because of family tradition.
Photo and caption by Bisig Maurin/National Geographic Photo Contest

Honorable Mention People

Ida
This is Ida. She is seven years old and born in Greenland. A year ago her mother, Marie, decided to move to Denmark in search of an easier life and to give her daughter everything that she never had, but even though the two countries are tied historically, the two cultures are very different and they have no Danish friends or any strong connections to Denmark. In Denmark, Greenlanders are seen as second-class citizens, drunks and socially challenged. This photo is part of an on-going series that is trying to show a different side to the greenlandish minority in Denmark.
Photo and caption by Cecile Baudier/National Geographic Photo Contest

Honorable Mention People

Francesca
My girlfriend in her car at the stop street.
Photo and caption by Michele De Punzio/National Geographic Photo Contest

Honorable Mention People

Life Along The Polluted River
A boy plays with balloons by Buriganga River as smoke emits from a dump yard during sunset in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Photo and caption by Andrew Biraj/National Geographic Photo Contest

Honorable Mention People

Laurentiu
This picture is a part of the series of my work ëFrumoasaí. "Frumoasa" is Romanian for 'beauty'. It's a work about Laurentiu and his family. They live in shacks next to the railway near the Ghent Dampoort. I met him and his family in December 2012. They have to deal with all kind of obstacles on a daily basis. The lack of a legal address gave them administrative problems and made it hardly impossible for them to find a decent job. They form a happy, warm and close family, despite the constant uncertainty in which they live.
Photo and caption by Aurélie Geurts /National Geographic Photo Contest

Christmas Tree Falls (Arbol de Navidad)

The shores of the river that you just can’t see from the top, and the 1 kilometer high steep canyon walls feel much more impressive when you raise your head and look at the peaks of the mountain walls surrounding you. Sumidero Canyon is dotted with waterfalls (many of which are not visible from the viewpoints along the road) but Christmas Tree (Arbol de Navidad) is a waterfall unlike any other. The water spills from a hole above into moss-layered, green rocks that are shaped like the branches of a Christmas tree. The picture with the boat shows how big the waterfall actually is.

Big Buddha - Tian Tan Buddha

Tian Tan Buddha, also known as the Big Buddha, is a large bronze statue of a Buddha Amoghasiddhi, completed in 1993, and located at Ngong Ping, Lantau Island, in Hong Kong. The statue is located near Po Lin Monastery and symbolises the harmonious relationship between man and nature, people and religion. It is a major centre of Buddhism in Hong Kong, and is also a popular tourist attraction.

The statue is named Tian Tan Buddha because its base is a model of the Altar of Heaven or Earthly Mount of Tian Tan, the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. It is one of the five large Buddha statues in China. The Buddha statue sits on a lotus[disambiguation needed] throne on top of a three-platform altar. It is surrounded by six smaller bronze statues known as "The Offering of the Six Devas" and are posed offering flowers, incense, lamp, ointment, fruit, and music to the Buddha. These offerings symbolize charity, morality, patience, zeal, meditation, and wisdom, all of which are necessary to enter into nirvana.

The Buddha is 34 meters (112 ft) tall, weighs 250 metric tons (280 short tons), and was the world's tallest outdoor bronze seated Buddha prior to 2007. It reputedly can even be seen from as far away as Macau on a clear day. Visitors have to climb 240 steps in order to reach the Buddha, though the site also features a small winding road to the Buddha for vehicles to accommodate the handicapped.

The Tian Tan Buddha appears serene and dignified. His right hand is raised, representing the removal of affliction.The Buddha's left hand rests on his lap in a gesture of giving dhana. The Buddha faces north, which is unique among the great Buddha statues, as all others face south.

In addition, there are 3 floors beneath the Buddha statue: The Hall of Universe, The Hall of Benevolent Merit, and The Hall of Remembrance. One of the most renowned features inside is a relic of Gautama Buddha, consisting of some of his alleged cremated remains. Only visitors who purchase an offering for the Buddha are allowed to see the relic, in order to leave the offering there. There is a huge carved bell inscribed with images of Buddhas in the show room. It was designed to ring every seven minutes, 108 times a day, symbolising the release of 108 kinds of human vexations.

History — The Tian Tan Buddha was constructed beginning in 1990, and was finished on December 29, 1993, the day of the enlightenment of Gautama Buddha, the founder of the Buddhist religion. The statue was formed out of 202 separate pieces of bronze. In addition to the exterior components, there is a strong steel framework inside the statue to support the heavy load. When the statue was completed, monks from around the world were invited to the opening ceremony. Distinguished visitors from mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and the United States all took part in the proceedings.  On October 18, 1999, the Hong Kong Post Office issued a stamp depicting the Tian Tan Buddha. The MTR corporation has also issued a souvenir ticket featuring a photograph of the statue.

Buddhistic statues praising and making offerings to the Tian Tan Buddha. 

View from the upper platform, with the detail of the Buddha's robes clearly visible. 

Tian Tan Buddha ↔ Ngong Ping, Hong Kong.

Real Hulk

Fans of sci-fi superheros of comics can be found in any country, but not every country can boast of its own, the real "Hulk." Denis Cyplenkov is a Ukrainian strongman and arm wrestling champion known not only for his incredible strength, but also for his unusually large palms ... I imagine this dude would be some legendary swordsman if he lived in middle ages. Professional athlete, world champion in armsportu, whose friends and acquaintances are called - "The Hulk." A multiple winner of the World Championships in arm wrestling. Such as: Nemiroff World Cup, Arnold Classic, Russian arm wrestling championships. Medalist of the most prestigious tournament of professionals armrestlerov A1. Member of the team professional league PLSE power extreme, led by Vladimir Turchinsky. Take part in various sports competitions and events.

Miniature Antelope

Meet the Aluna. Her name in Swahili means “come here.” It’s dik-dik, a miniature antelope. Her height is only 20 cm! A Zoo keepers name Chester raised her,when her mother rejected her. Looking at these photos, zoo keeper can only envy. Is not it,she is very nice and lovely. Innocent creature just love her new mom.

Baby antelope at Chester Zoo Time cuddles his adoptive daughter 

Dikdiki (Latin Madoqua) – sort of miniature bovids belongs to the subfamily of  antelopes. Dikdiki are common in grasslands and semi-deserts of central and eastern Africa (from Namibia to Somalia).

Baby antelope at Chester Zoo The baby was rejected by her mother 

Dikdiki is 30-40 cm in height and 50-70 cm in length and weighs less than 6 kg.

Aluna is bottle-fed milk five times a day 

Baby antelope makes big impression at Chester Zoo

Photographer Self-Promotes

Malmö/Copenhagen-based photographer Jens Lennartsson knew he had to do something spectacular to stand out as a travel and lifestyle photographer, so he opted to create 400 action figures of himself as self-promotional mailers. His little GI Jensfigurines were sure to catch people's attention and stick out in the minds of prospective clients. The clever marketing project sought to separate Lennartsson from the countless others in his field of work who focused on sending out flat, unoriginal portfolios.

The innovative photographer says, "Many photographers spend a lot of cash to design the perfect portfolio, print it and send to the people they want to work for. Just to have it disappear among hundreds of similar mailings. If you’ve ever been in touch with an art director, art buyer or owner of an ad agency, you’ll know that they have a zillion things to do and as many people to meet. Unless you make an epic impression, you’ll be forgotten. I needed more than a paper folder to stand out."