Nature Photography

A glistening-green tanager sits in the crook of a leaf.

See Ten Stunning Images From the Bird Photographer of the Year Awards

The annual contest unveiled its winners this month, recognizing skilled captures from a striking falcon to grouse performing a courtship display

A mountain gorilla seemingly enjoys a moment of solitude in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, surrounded by orange, yellow and green leaves.

Celebrate World Gorilla Day With 15 Primate Pictures

These highlights from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest feature our close “cousins”

Minerals from a melting glacier mix with clear water and wind a colorful path through the trees at Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve.

Explore the Great Outdoors With Photography From U.S. National Parks

Travel the country's beautiful natural wonders from home with these breathtaking highlights from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest

A bison runs amid the snow in Yellowstone National Park.

See Ten Breathtaking Images From the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Contest

The highly commended shots call to mind both the wonders of the animal kingdom and the risks wild creatures face

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Ten Wildlife Photographers Zoom In on Their Favorite Birds

Get up close and personal with a birder’s-eye view of the United States, as reflected by our beloved feathered neighbors

Farmers in North Dakota planted 625,000 acres of sunflowers this year.

Stunning Fields of Sunflowers Are Blanketing North Dakota

Sunflower seekers can consult an online map to determine where the best views can be found

A female American kestrel, the smallest falcon in North America, catches a bug in her beak. Among other traits, female kestrels can be identified by black bars on the tail; males have red tail feathers with black tips.

See Stunning Images of Female Birds, Often Overlooked by Wildlife Photographers

The sex frequently neglected by birders and scientists takes the spotlight in the Audubon Photography Awards’ Female Bird Prize

Can a shark be aerodynamic? Like a rocket shooting up into the sky, aiming toward the sun, this blue shark near Pico Island in Portugal’s Azores archipelago rips through the water. Blue sharks’ average top speed is around 40 miles per hour.

15 Shark Photos That Will Terrify and Delight You This Summer

In a collection pulled from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest, catch a wave with these predators of the sea

A reddish egret catches a fish.

See 11 Breathtaking Bird Images From the Audubon Photography Awards

The pictures capture the marvelous behaviors of Earth's feathered species and the habitats they need to survive

A three-to-four-minute exposure captures the light of a drone as it traces the shape of two cones in the sky along California's coast.

This Physicist Uses Drones to Create Giant Light Cones in the Desert

Evoking a key concept in relativity, Elliot McGucken traces out hourglass-like shapes in the sky that stretch as high as a seven-story building

Members of the Quelcanca community in Peru return from planting trees in the mountains, hoisting their country's flag.

These Stunning Photography Projects Tell Stories of Conservation

A new grant from Vital Impacts funds long-term efforts to document environmental solutions in the photographers' own communities

A spider hides between its own legs.

See 15 Breathtaking Shots From the Close-Up Photographer of the Year Challenge

This themed contest rewarded minimalism, with clean photographs of insects, spiders and plants earning accolades

A team skis from the remote Taku D site to the Camp 10 sleeping quarters. Students often travel as much as 8 to 10 miles a day, carrying packs a third of their body weight.

These Students Are Part of a 75-Year Study to Map Alaska’s Glaciers

Traversing an icefield by foot and on skis, the young researchers experience one of the coolest classrooms in the nation

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Announcing the Winners of Smithsonian Magazine’s 20th Annual Photo Contest

From Norway to Nepal, this year’s winning images span the globe to capture the extraordinary

A puffin in soft light surrounded by faint raindrops.

See 15 Amazing Wildlife Images From the Sony World Photography Awards

The contest showcases the work of some of the planet’s best photographers

A bear in Colorado took a liking to a wildlife camera, capturing hundreds of selfies.

This Black Bear Took Hundreds of ‘Selfies’ on a Wildlife Camera

Of the 580 images captured by the camera in November, about 400 were of the bear

A snowshoe hare in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado

See 25 Stunning Images From the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Contest

Vote for your favorite among these photos shortlisted in the People's Choice category until February 2

Atlas Moth by Uday Hegde, the second-place winner in the butterflies and dragonflies category of this year's Close-up Photographer of the Year competition

These Awe-Inspiring Images Capture the World's Little Details

See this year's winners of the annual Close-up Photographer of the Year competition

Copepods at various life stages teem inside a water droplet. The creatures go through six larval and six juvenile stages between egg and adulthood. They grow a new pair of legs at each stage.

These Gorgeous Photos Capture Life Inside a Drop of Seawater

A passion for the infinitesimal leads a photographer to discover the countless creatures that live unseen in the ocean

King Fire Self Portrait by Jeff Frost (2018)

See How California Artists Process Wildfires Through Their Work

A new exhibition showcases art that seeks to make sense of destruction

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