National Wildlife Photo Contest Category Spotlight: Connecting People With Nature

Connecting people with nature is an important part of our mission here at NWF—and it is also one of the seven categories in our annual National Wildlife Photo Contest. The requirement in this category is to show people interacting with nature in an interesting way. That’s much harder than it sounds, but past Photo Contest entrants have found creative ways to meet the challenge. Take a look.

Last year’s first place winner in this category captured a snorkeler surrounded by golden jellyfish in a lake in the Republic of Palau.

Snorkeler comes face to face with a jellyfish. Photo by Bill Lamp'l. 2012 National Wildlife Photo Contest winner.
Snorkeler comes face to face with a jellyfish. Photo by Bill Lamp’l. 2012 National Wildlife Photo Contest winner.
The second place winner captured his own shadow in the ocean spray while photographing a rainbow on the Oregon Coast.

Photographers shadow and rainbow. Photo by Nikhil Bahl. 2012 National Wildlife Photo Contest winner.
Photographers shadow and rainbow. Photo by Nikhil Bahl. 2012 National Wildlife Photo Contest winner.
Other photographers portrayed a little girl on the beach listening intently to a shell and a worker in a rice paddy with rainbows in the background.

Listening to the Waves. Photo by Tina Pizor. 2012 National Wildlife Photo Contest honorable mention.
Listening to the Waves. Photo by Tina Pizor. 2012 National Wildlife Photo Contest honorable mention.
Rainbows over Rice Paddy. Photo by Wolfgang Weinhardt. 2012 National Wildlife Photo Contest honorable mention.
Rainbows over Rice Paddy. Photo by Wolfgang Weinhardt. 2012 National Wildlife Photo Contest honorable mention.

What’s your favorite way to connect with nature?

If your answer is “through the lens of a camera” then we encourage you to enter the 43rd Annual National Wildlife Photo Contest! You could win the grand prize expense-paid trip to see and photograph polar bears, or one of $6,000 in other prizes. Plus you could see your photos in National Wildlife magazine! Enter now to beat the July 15th deadline!


All photos were entries in the ‘Connecting People with Nature’ category of the National Wildlife Photo Contest. See more photos or sign up for the 43rd Annual National Wildlife Photo Contest >>