World of Wonders
Take a closer look at some of our favorite images from TNC's 2021 global photo contest.
Spring 2022
In 2021, photographers from 158 countries submitted a total of 100,190 pictures to The Nature Conservancy’s global photo contest. Here are some of the winning images from around the world.
![a person in blue seen from behind on amber sand, with white head scarf unraveling in the wind](https://natureconservancy-h.assetsadobe.com/is/image/content/dam/tnc/nature/en/photos/s/p/SPR22_F_PHOTO_1.jpg?crop=0%2C0%2C4000%2C2657&wid=828&hei=550&scl=4.830917874396135)
![in a black & white image, a silhouetted person carries an instrument & water spills from a pipe above](https://natureconservancy-h.assetsadobe.com/is/image/content/dam/tnc/nature/en/photos/s/p/SPR22_F_PHOTO_2A.jpg?crop=0%2C0%2C4000%2C2657&wid=828&hei=550&scl=4.830917874396135)
![in an underwater image, someone in blue swims, surrounded by numerous pieces of brightly colored garbage](https://natureconservancy-h.assetsadobe.com/is/image/content/dam/tnc/nature/en/photos/s/p/SPR22_F_PHOTO_2B.jpg?crop=0%2C0%2C4000%2C2657&wid=828&hei=550&scl=4.830917874396135)
![several divers are silhouetted against a blue water background, in a beam of light streaming down from a hole in the ground at top of image](https://natureconservancy-h.assetsadobe.com/is/image/content/dam/tnc/nature/en/photos/s/p/SPR22_F_PHOTO_3.jpg?crop=0%2C0%2C2479%2C1646&wid=828&hei=550&scl=2.993961352657005)
![seen from above, alligator-like carcass blends into brown cracked dirt seen in all directions](https://natureconservancy-h.assetsadobe.com/is/image/content/dam/tnc/nature/en/photos/s/p/SPR22_F_PHOTO_4.jpg?crop=0%2C0%2C4000%2C2657&wid=828&hei=550&scl=4.830917874396135)
“I took this picture during a visit to the Pantanal wetlands just a few days after the region was struck by the worst wildfires in its recent history. I have been visiting that area frequently for many years, but had never faced such a sad scenario of destruction.”
—Photographer Daniel de Granville Manço
![in a geometric image seen from above, pools of different brown hues are seen against each other with a dark stream running between them](https://natureconservancy-h.assetsadobe.com/is/image/content/dam/tnc/nature/en/photos/s/p/SPR22_F_PHOTO_5.jpg?crop=0%2C0%2C2670%2C1773&wid=828&hei=550&scl=3.2246376811594204)
![against a dark blue background, a silhouetted tree is seen covered in neon green-like specks of light (fireflies)](https://natureconservancy-h.assetsadobe.com/is/image/content/dam/tnc/nature/en/photos/s/p/SPR22_F_PHOTO_6A.jpg?crop=0%2C0%2C4000%2C2657&wid=828&hei=550&scl=4.830917874396135)
“I decided to venture out every night [to find the fireflies]. Luckily, one night I could see many places where there were a lot of fireflies, but still I could not find that one tree where I could isolate the fireflies from the rest of the frame. After about three hours, I saw this tree and immediately knew this was it.”
—Photographer Prathamesh Ghadekar
![in an underwater image, two large fish are seen up close with one fish caught in the mouth of the other, grass/seaweed surround them](https://natureconservancy-h.assetsadobe.com/is/image/content/dam/tnc/nature/en/photos/s/p/SPR22_F_PHOTO_6B.jpg?crop=0%2C0%2C4000%2C2657&wid=828&hei=550&scl=4.830917874396135)
![a large green tree or moss covered plateau stretches toward the viewer and stands above a stretch of clouds and fog](https://natureconservancy-h.assetsadobe.com/is/image/content/dam/tnc/nature/en/photos/s/p/SPR22_F_PHOTO_7.jpg?crop=0%2C0%2C4000%2C2657&wid=828&hei=550&scl=4.830917874396135)
![in a black & white image, a wall divides the image into two sides: on left, a boy sits on a staircase alone, on right, dozens of windows and balconies are seen on the side of a building](https://natureconservancy-h.assetsadobe.com/is/image/content/dam/tnc/nature/en/photos/s/p/SPR22_F_PHOTO_8.jpg?crop=0%2C0%2C4000%2C2657&wid=828&hei=550&scl=4.830917874396135)
![seen from above, a small baby orangutan lies on its back on an operating table. many gloved hands reach out to hold it](https://natureconservancy-h.assetsadobe.com/is/image/content/dam/tnc/nature/en/photos/s/p/SPR22_F_PHOTO_9.jpg?crop=0%2C0%2C4000%2C2657&wid=828&hei=550&scl=4.830917874396135)
“When I saw the number of people around the operation table, I decided immediately to get on a chair. The ceiling was not very high so I could hold on to the ceiling to be stable to shoot the picture.”
—Photographer Alain Schroeder
![amid swift brown water, 4 cheetah heads peak above the water with gritted teeth](https://natureconservancy-h.assetsadobe.com/is/image/content/dam/tnc/nature/en/photos/s/p/SPR22_F_PHOTO_10.jpg?wid=640)
![amid swift brown water, 4 cheetah heads peak above the water with gritted teeth](https://natureconservancy-h.assetsadobe.com/is/image/content/dam/tnc/nature/en/photos/s/p/SPR22_F_PHOTO_10.jpg?crop=0%2C0%2C4000%2C2657&wid=828&hei=550&scl=4.830917874396135)
![several small orange and brown birds are seen on snowy ground with gray remnants of large sunflower stems standing above them with dead sunflower heads hanging](https://natureconservancy-h.assetsadobe.com/is/image/content/dam/tnc/nature/en/photos/s/p/SPR22_TOC_1.jpg?crop=0%2C0%2C4000%2C2657&wid=828&hei=550&scl=4.830917874396135)
![in a black & white image, a wildebeest leaps with many wildebeests in the background](https://natureconservancy-h.assetsadobe.com/is/image/content/dam/tnc/nature/en/photos/s/p/SPR22_INFOCUS_2-3.jpg?crop=0%2C0%2C3068%2C2038&wid=828&hei=550&scl=3.7054545454545456)
Want to learn more?
See more winning images and get updates on future Nature Conservancy photo contests: nature.org/photography.
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