North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA) là hiệp hội nhiếp ảnh được thành lập vào năm 1994 sau cuộc họp mặt của hơn 100 nhiếp ảnh gia, nhà điểu học, nghệ sỹ… tại Roger Tory Peterson, Jamestown, New York. Đây là hiệp hội đại đại diện cho toàn Bắc Mỹ và tập trung vào các vấn đề về môi trường, thiên nhiên. Hiệp hội là đại diện cho các nhiếp ảnh gia về vấn đề bản quyền cũng như giấy phép hoạt động ở các khu vực đất công.
Tổng cộng có 24 giải thưởng được trao cho các nhiếp ảnh gia thuộc 6 hạng mục bao gồm: Birds, Mammals, ‘Scapes, Altered Reality, Conservation, và Macro/Micro/All Other Wildlife.
Birds
Winner | © Tim W. Oliver / Gilbert, Arizona / Anna’s hummingbird attempting to quench thirst on a hot summer afternoon in Arizona.
First Runner-Up | © William Halladay / Provincia de Alajuela, Costa Rica / This Scarlet Macaw was flying by on its way to a perch when it looked over to see me pointing my camera at it. Luckily I was shooting at the precise moment it saw me.
Judges’ Choice | © Owen Deutsch / Maui, Hawaii / I’iwi perching upside down.
Judges’ Choice | © John Ehrenfeld / San Francisco Bay, CA / Sky Surfing’.
Mammals
Winner | © Kevin Dooley / Botswana / Protection of the Herd.
First Runner-Up | © Jennifer Smith / Katmai National Park / Looking For the Off Switch!
Judges’ Choice | © Bruce D Taubert / At a waterhole near Cave Creek, Arizona / A mule deer doe and her fawn are drinking at a desert waterhole at sunset. Fawn mule deer are normally birthed in late July in the Sonoran desert of Arizona.
Judges’ Choice | © Carol Grenier / Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming / Members of the Wapiti Lake pack had frequent interactions, re-establishing bonds and confirming the pack hierarchy.
Scapes
Winner | © Chris Bartell / Lavender Field in Hood River, Oregon / Lavender Dreamscape – Milkyway in the lavender field during the summer.
First Runner-Up | © Carl Johnson / Denali National Park & Preserve, Alaska / A flock of Sandhill cranes head south as a thick lenticular cloud hovers over the summit of Denali. This is one of my favorite aspects of visiting the park in the autumn. To be out hiking on the tundra and hear the calls of Sandhill cranes as they pass overhead on their way south is peaceful, elating and part of how I can really feel autumn in my bones.
Judges’ Choice | © Joyce Harman / Near Hanksville, Utah / Flying my drone over this landscape was one of the most amazing things i have done photographically. The soft early morning light added texture to the landscape. I played around with compostion until I had a nice background.
Judges’ Choice | © Larkin Nature Photos / Columbia River Gorge, Oregon / Columbia River Gorge Sunset/This photo was taken in May at peak wildflower bloom when yellow Balsamroot and Lupine file the hillsides.
Altered Reality
Winner | © Stephanie Becker / Moraga, CA USA / For a year and a half I took photos of the moon during the pandemic and created this collage. Amidst a time of isolation and uncertainty, the moon became a comforting companion, reminding humanity that even in the darkest of nights, there exists a celestial light to guide us towards brighter days.
First Runner-Up | © Joyce Harman / Near Hanksville, Utah / Flying my drone over this landscape was one of the most amazing things i have done photographically. The soft early morning light added texture to the landscape. I played around with compostion until I had a nice background.
Judges’ Choice | © Marty Purdy / Christmas, Florida / Checking out the Nest’. A Roseate Spoonbill busy with nest building activities, descends to check out his progress.
Judges’ Choice | © Andy Wolcott / Tanzania, Ndutu Region, Ngorongoro Conservancy / Let It Snow!’ These young jackals will never see snow. Yet, their luxurious coats, dappled with white, certainly suggest a wintry day. Two youngsters stopped their boisterous play long enough to assess whether or not that camera thing was a threat and, deciding it wasn’t, resumed a spirited game of tag.
Conservation
Winner | © Heather Valey / Centennial, Colorado / In The Middle of it All.
First Runner-Up | © Ryan Wagner / Hebron, Ohio / Dogpile – A pile of a dozen dead coyotes at a hunting contest in north central Ohio. Hunting teams spend three days shooting as many coyotes as they can. Over 150 coyotes are harvested for this competition, one of dozens like it throughout the state. Following awards for heaviest coyote and most kills, carcasses are haphazardly discarded. No part of the coyotes is used. This image captures the detached and callous nature with which we approach other living beings.
Judges’ Choice | © Dan Mele / U.S. Virgin Islands / Corals Last Hope – Just before sunset, the Grooved Brain Coral spawns in a coral restoration laboratory. The tiny pink bundles of sperm and egg float to the surface where scientists collect them. Through assisted fertilization with other conspecifics, this is the best chance for many corals to create the Grooved Brain Corals of tomorrow.
Judges’ Choice | © Wayne Wolfersberger / Yellowstone National Park / Fishing Line Captures Raven
Macro, Micro, and All Other Wildlife
Winner | © Thomas Myers / Ecuador / Ant tending membracids.
Judges’ Choice | © Kathy Raffel / Sarapiqui, Costa Rica / Within a few feet of the trail, we spotted a basilisk lizard which had just caught a coffee snake. We watched in amazement as the snake struggled to get free. Over about five minutes, the lizard gradually began swallowing the snake. The snake twisted and pulled right up until the last moments when it disappeared down the lizard’s throat.
Judges’ Choice | © Chris Higgs Photography / Phil Foster Park, Riviera Beach, FL / Old Blue Eyes.