Photos: National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year Highlights

“The image was taken from Hallstat Village in Austria right after sunrise. I had to walk some distance to reach this village view point.” (Shanof K. / National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year contest)

[Yahoo News}- From the heights of the Arctic to the depths of Africa, week two of the National Geographic Nature photographer of the year contest features a range of Earth’s most fascinating and beautiful creatures and landscapes.

The annual competition is split into four subsections: Wildlife, Landscapes, Underwater and Aerials.

A winner will be selected from each category at the end of November, before one overall winner is selected in December.

Patrick Witty, National Geographic’s Deputy Director of Digital Photography, said of the competition so far: “The strength and diversity of the submitted photos are always astounding, and this contest gives those incredible entries a platform that is seen by millions ­– including National Geographic’s photo editors.”

Here are some of the best entries so far.

“The image was taken from Hallstat Village in Austria right after sunrise. I had to walk some distance to reach this village view point.” (Shanof K. / National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year contest)

“Kalsoy island and Kallur lighthouse in sunset light, Faroe Islands.” (Wojciech Kruczyński / National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year contest)

“A spectacular sunrise at the old man of storr, on the isle of skye, scotland.” (neil@njphotographic.co.uk JACKSON/ National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year contest)

“Every summer, a thousands of belugas come back in the shallow whater of Nunavut. The photo was taken during a wildlife reportage in Nunavut and Greenland during Summer 2017.” (Florian Ledoux / National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year contest)

“Morning at Koruldi Lakes in Georgia (country).” (Witold Ziomek / National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year contest)

“Went to the very north of Denmark, skagen, at sunrise and found this willing model.” (Lars Lykke / National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year contest)

“My daughter and her best friend on their backs in a clearing, just between planted fir forest and natural beech forest.” (Anders Andersson / National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year contest)