Unique Wildlife Photography From Smithsonian's Annual Photo Contest

Wildlife photography is so amazing. Just like no person is exactly the same, the same goes for wildlife. They all have different environments they live in, they have their own unique personalities which in turn makes every single one unique. That is why when photographing wildlife, you never know what you will find or what you will come up with in the end.  

Every year the Smithsonian has their annual photo contest and we wanted to share with you a few unique wildlife photos from the submissions that poured in during their 13th Annual Photo Awards that we saw on the Mother Nature Network. We hope you enjoy these as much as we do! 

"Red Squirrel Appears To Wear Flower As A Hat"

Photo credit: Geert Weggen via Smithsonian.com.

"Catching Fish"

Photo credit: Simone Sbaraglia via Smithsonian.com

"Papa's Got a Brand New Bag"

Photo credit: Suzan Meldonian via Smithsonian.com

"Wildebeest Leap"

Photo credit: Ricardo Cisneros via Smithsonian.com

"Mating Red-Eyed Tree Frogs"

Photo credit: Jennifer Guyton via Smithsonian.com

"Synchronized Fireflies" 

Photo credit: Radim Schreiber via Smithsonian.com

"Leatherback Pair"

Photo credit: Ben Hicks via Smithsonian.com

"A Little Monkey on the Cliff"

Photo credit: Hidetoshi Ogata via Smithsonian.com

"The Little Jumping Spider"

Photo credit: Barbara Storms via Smithsonian.com

"A King Penguin Feels the Surf Rush"

Photo credit: Beverly Houwing via Smithsonian.com

What amazing wildlife photos these are! If you loved these, here are a few other blog posts that you will enjoy: 

• 8 Top Underwater Marine Wildlife Photos of 2015
•  5 Reasons To Start Photographing Wildlife
• Fine Animal Portraiture By Tim Flach

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Awesome Underwater Photos Of The Rare Dugong

Vaclav Krpelik is an underwater photographer in the Czech Republic who photographs awesome photos with a DSLR while freediving only. During one of these dives, he captured some amazing photos of a dugong while shooting in Egypt. 

A dugong is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae. Many populations of dugong's are close to extinction. Despite being listed among species vulnerable to extinction, most people are not even aware of its existence. Vaclav has been photographing this unique creature since 2012 and he has come across 5 different ones since then. 

Check out these other photos he took of the dugong he saw in the waters off of Egypt. 

See more of Vaclav's work on his website www.vaclavkrpelik.com.  We originally saw these photos in an article on Underwater Photography Guide. 

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5 Minute Video on the History of Photography

Every one of you who is reading this most likely loves photography. Whether you are a professional photographer who has your own business or you just have a passion for taking photographs of anything and everything during your free time, you should check out this video.

This quick, 5-minute video by the Cooperative of Photography is all about the history of photography. See how the first digital camera was created, what the first "photoshopped" photo was and even who took the world's first selfie. Check it out and enjoy! 

We hope you enjoyed this video that we originally found on FStoppers. 

Did you love this? You will also enjoy reading these other fun photography articles:

• The World's Best Places For Photography 
• Animated Short Film On Taking Pictures

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A Photographer's Collection of Vintage Cameras

Cameras have really grown and upgraded over the years since they were first created. A UK-based photographer named Marco Marques own an impressive collection of about 50 vintage cameras that he displays in his office. He had a custom shelving unit made to display all of the amazing cameras on the wall. These photos, which we originally saw on PetaPixel, will show you this photographer's collection of vintage cameras which we find pretty amazing! 

Marques told PetaPixel, "It was my mum who got me into collecting vintage cameras. She knew my love for photography and one Christmas she bought me my first vintage camera, and Agilux agiflash, and this is where it began."

Marques estimates that he has spend about £300 over the years in buying his cameras, mostly from car boot sales and garage sales. 

Pretty amazing, huh? Interested in the different cameras of the past? Check out this blog post to see a great infographic on the history of the photographic camera. 

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Look At The World A Little Closer With This Awesome Macro Photography

When you are looking at an object from a normal distance, you will see what you always do, but when you take the time to get closer, it can be amazing what details you will see. Many objects have so much more detail that we typically can not see unless we get really up-close-and-personal. But, the wonderful thing is that a camera can capture it all. One reason we just love macro photography is because capturing the world's most diminutive visual treasures is simply an amazing thing. 

The EyeEm Photo Blog recently challenged photographers to test their skill at macro photography and we had to share with you some of the resulting images that we found on Huffington Post. 

Check out these awesome macro photography images and we hope you enjoy!

Photo credit: Achille Salem via EyeEm

Photo credit: Diana Vioget via EyeEm

Photo credit: Radoslav Valkov via EyeEm

Photo credit: Manjurul Haque via EyeEm

Photo credit: Sebastian via EyeEm

Photo credit: JM via EyeEm

Photo credit: Garry Solomon Photography via EyeEm

Photo credit: Chris via EyeEm

Photo credit: Retrofokusz via EyeEm

Photo credit: Fernanda Arce via EyeEm

Photo credit: Ashlen Brooke Photography via EyeEm

Photo credit: Diego Jimenez via EyeEm

Do you think these photos are simply amazing? We do too! Be sure to check all of the photos in the original article on Huffington Post! 

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8 Of The Top Underwater Marine Wildlife Photos From 2015

Recently the winners of the 2015 Ocean Art Underwater Photo Competition, put on by Underwater Photography Guide, were announced and each photo is just stunning. Many of them are photos of very rare marine wildlife that are not seen often and we wanted to show you a few of them today! 

In it's 5th year, this contest attracted entrants from over 50 countries! We hope you enjoy these unique underwater photos of some amazing creatures!  

This first photo is of a larval stage eel that was taken at night in 4,000 feet of water off the coast of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. 

Best of Show and 1st Place; Macro Category, "Feeling Exposed"

In this photo, the photographer captured a jellyfish and Snell's Window, which is a phenomenon where an underwater viewer sees everything above the surface through a cone of light. Pretty amazing!  

1st Place, Wide-Angle Category, "The Satellite"

This North Sea Anemone was photographed with a strobe as the backlight to create this awesome shot! 

1st Place, Cold Water Category, "Anemone Light"

This pod of pilot whales was taken off the coast of Nice, France. 

1st Place, Portrait Category, "Pilot Whales"

The photo below captures a moment that has only been seen by a few people. A female Striated frogfish is shown rising toward the surface of water at Lake Worth Lagoon near Riviera Beach, Florida. 

1st Place, Marine Life Behavior Category, "Egg Release"

This photo is of a pregnant blacktip shark that was taken during a shark-monitoring project with the French Polynesia Shark Observatory. 

5th Place, Novice DSLR, "Ma 'O Mauri"

This is a photo of a filefish camouflaged in coral at Mactan in Cebu, Phillippines. 

1st Place, Mirrorless Macro Category, "Shyness"

This jawfish with a mouthful of eggs that was taken during a dive at Tulamben in Bali, Indonesia. 

Honorable Mention in Mirrorless Behavior Category, "More Than A Mouthful"

These photos were found on this article by Discovery. If you loved these unique underwater marine life winner photos, here are a few more photos that you should check out:

• Winners Of The Guardian Travel Photography Contest
• The Best Drone Photography of 2015

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Winners Of The Guardian Travel Photography Contest

Over the past year, people have entered thousands of photos to The Guardian's monthly travel photography competition. Here are a few winner photos that we wanted to share with you today! 

This photo was taken by Jonathan Snowball on a trip to Appin in Scotland when the weather was very changeable. It was winner in the Weather category. 

Photo credit: Jonathan Snowball, February Winner

This photo was by Subodh Shetty and are scenes from the incredible Holi festival in India. It was winner in the Colour category. 

Photo credit: Subodh Shetty, March Winner

This photo by Chris Eley was taken during a stroll through the streets of Copenhagen, where the photographer stumbled across these striking portraits on a wall surrounding a building site. It was winner in the Faces category. 

Photo credit: Chris Eley, May Winner

This photo was taken by Matt Davies and was in the Symmetry category. This is showing passengers as they travel in and out of the abyss at Dupont Circle metro station in Washington D.C. 

Photo credit: Matt Davies, June Winner

Ciara Milne took this photo on honeymoon in Montenegro where a trail led to a lake in Biogradska Gora national park led them to this tranquil location. This photo was in the Summer category. 

Photo credit: Ciara Milne, July Winner

This spectacular scene on Powfoot beach in Scotland suddenly burst into life just before sunset and Chris McBain captured it beautifully! It was in the Coast category. 

Photo credit: Chris McBain, August Winner

This photo was taken for the Solitude category by Rukhsana Yates and is a Douglas Super DC-3 plan that lies hollow and forgotten on a deserted and black-sand beach in Iceland. 

Photo credit: Rukhsana Yates, September Winner

This was the overall runner-up taken by Finbarr Fallon and was in the Architecture category. The Choi Hung estate is one of the oldest public housing complexes in Hong Kong. 

Photo credit: Finbarr Fallon, October Winner

The overall winner photo was taken by Michael Grolys in the Wild category. When Michael was ascending Hallin Fell in the Lake District he experience snow, rain, sleet, strong winds and captured this shot when the sun was filtering through the clouds. 

Do you love taking photos while you travel? Be sure to read this great post that includes some awesome tips for taking photos while traveling. 

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5 Great Photos To Ring In The New Year!

Can you believe that another year has come and gone? We hope that all of you had such an amazing year and wish you nothing but success, love and happiness in 2016! To help ring in the start of the New Year tonight, here are 5 great New Years photos that we just love.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!  

This beautiful couple shares a kiss after getting engaged in Times Square! Such a perfect photograph! 

Photo credit: REUTERS via Boston.com

New York City knows how to ring in the New Year right! What a gorgeous view with such bright colors and millions of people who come from all over the country and world to see the Times Square ball drop! 

Photo credit: timessquarenyc.org 

Here are some amazing fireworks with a spectacular view of the Eiffel Tower in Paris while ringing in the New Year! 

Photo credit: 99TravelTips.com

Another photo of more gorgeous fireworks in San Francisco on New Years Eve! 

Photo credit: 99traveltips.com

We love this unique photo of these children and the fireworks done with sidewalk chalk. What a cool idea! 

Photo credit: PagingFunMoms.com

Will you be taking photos of New Year fireworks when the clock strikes 12:01? Here are 10 tips to photographing fireworks that you should read!

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5 Holiday Photography Favorites

The holidays are such a wonderful time of year! From colorful decorated Christmas trees, twinkling white lights, and all of the excitement that we share during this special time of year, it really is a magical time that brings out the children in all of us! We hope that each one of you have a great holiday and take some amazing photographs (and of course be sure to share them all with us)!

Enjoy these 5 holiday photography favorites that we simply love! 

We love this gorgeous Christmas cottage in Grand Isle, Vermont. 

Photo credit: George Robinson via 500px.com

Who doesn't love seeing the excitement of Christmas through a child's eyes? Here are two kids reading a Christmas story together in front of their Christmas tree! 

Photo credit: Corrie Lindroos Photography

The holidays are even a great time of year to say "I do!" This is such a fun idea for bride and groom photo at their Christmas wedding.

Photo credit: SnapKnot.com

Decorating the tree is the perfect time to capture some great photos of your family or friends. Here are some great tips on photographing Christmas lights that you may want to read! 

Photo credit: Trains and Tutus

We absolutely love this snowy holiday photo... and happy snowman and gorgeously decorated tree. 

Photo credit: Christmas 4U

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The Best Drone Photography of 2015

Drone's have really taken off (literally!!!) over the past year. Mashable published a post of their favorite drone photography from 2015 and the photos are pretty amazing. From aerial views of beautiful cities around the world, to animals and bodies of water, you will definitely be impressed! Check a few of them out below. 

Lost island. Photo by Marama via Dronestagram. 

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Christ the Redeemer from above in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Photo by Alexandre Salem via Dronestagram. 

Amalfi Bay, Italy. Photo by Irus via Dronestagram. 

Mont Saint Michel, in Normandie, France. Photo by Jeramie Eloy via Dronestagram. 

Above the Xiwei Reservoir, Zoucheng, Shandong, in China. Photo by Ambroselune via Dronestagram. 

Paracatu, Brazil. Photo by Alexandre Salem via Dronestagram. 

Al Marmoun camel racetrack, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Photo by Shoyab via Dronestagram. 

Above the mist in Maringa, Parana, Brazil. Photo by Ricardo Matiello via Dronestragm. 

An arial shot of Lake Turgoyak in Miass, Russian Federation. Photo by Maksim Tarasov via Dronestagram. 

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