Announcing Smithsonian’s 10th Annual Photo Contest Winners!

Prepare to be amazed by these seven award-winning images

The morning this photo was taken was unusually quiet, Olesen says. "I was about to pack my bags I heard this juvenile Spectacled Spiderhunter (Arachnothera flavigaster) calling 'chi-chit, chi-chit,' trying to attract the attention of its parents above while flapping its wings." Olesen snapped as many shots possible before the bird flew away seconds later. "[It was] the highlight of my Borneo Trip." Taken with a Nikon D3. Wallpaper Download: Desktop | iPad Photo by Bjorn Olesen.
The photographer captured this image of the Milky Way rising up from behind Mount Rainier with a Nikon D800. “The stars almost looked as though they were erupting from the mountain and I knew this was a moment in time that I had to capture,” Morrow says. Wallpaper Download: Desktop | iPad. Photo by David Morrow.
The photographer captures a person framed by the annular solar eclipse, watching as the sun sets. “I feel it can inspire so many people around the world, no matter what race, religion or gender,” Pinski says. “Anyone can look at it and feel touched by a ‘beyond this world’ experience.” Wallpaper Download: Desktop | iPad. Photo by Colleen Pinski (Peyton, CO). Photographed in Albuquerque, NM, May 2012.
Three girls take a break from the day inside a small Greek Orthodox Church in Nazareth. The camera used is a Canon 3D. Wallpaper Download: Desktop | iPad. Photo by Ilan Fain.
Workers in cowboy hats try to wrangle a horse during Miles City’s annual bucking horse sale. Wallpaper Download: Desktop | iPad. Photo by George Burgin.
The multiple shots depicting a busy morning in this image took the photographer, who served as the model, less than an hour to complete. The camera used was a Nikon D5000. Wallpaper Download: Desktop | iPad. Photo by Brittney Callahan.
A hiker looks onto the path before him in Bryce Canyon National Park in the middle of the night as the Milky Way stretches upward above. The photographer, who used a Sony A900, had been shooting the day’s solar eclipse. Wallpaper Download: Desktop | iPad. Photo by Jason J. Hatfield.

Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.