Smithsonian Photo Contest

Posted on by Andrew Furness

The Smithsonian Institution, located in Washington DC, is described as the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex. The Smithsonian publishes a magazine and for each of the past 22 years they have hosted a photo contest. This year I decided to enter. There are six categories (Drone/Aerial, Artistic, The American Experience, People, Travel, and Natural World) and you are allowed to submit 15 photos in each category. I mostly photograph wildlife and landscapes which fall within the Natural World category. Therefore, I decided to focus primarily on this category. Below are the 15 photos I have entered into the contest and the required details for each of them (i.e. photo name, caption telling the story behind the photo, description of how you captured the shot, photo tags, when the photo was taken, what type of camera was used, if and how the photo was altered, and photo location).

Alligator Alignment

Caption: One evening the alligators in Florida’s Paynes Prairie Preserve aligned themselves on shore like buses parked at a terminal, facing the setting sun.
How: The day after the summer solstice I visited Florida’s Paynes Prairie Preserve in order to photograph alligators. The vast majority of alligators had aligned themselves along one particular section of shore, facing the setting sun. In the days and weeks prior, and those after, I never witnessed this peculiar alligator alignment pattern again.
Tag: alligator, animal, wildlife, Florida, reptile
When: 6/21/2024
Type: Digital Camera (High Resolution Image)
Altered: No
Location: Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, Florida, USA

Alligator Lineup

Caption: One evening the alligators in Florida’s Paynes Prairie Preserve aligned themselves on shore like buses parked at a terminal, facing the setting sun. Interestingly, a stick is balanced atop the snout of one of the alligators.
How: The day after the summer solstice I visited Florida’s Paynes Prairie Preserve in order to photograph alligators. The vast majority of alligators had aligned themselves along one particular section of shore, facing the setting sun. In the days and weeks prior, and those after, I never witnessed this peculiar alligator alignment pattern again.
Tag: alligator, animal, wildlife, Florida, reptile
When: 6/21/2024
Type: Digital Camera (High Resolution Image)
Altered: No
Location: Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, Florida, USA

Balancing Act

Caption: An alligator emerges from the water with a water hyacinth plant balanced precariously on its snout.
How: In Florida, introduced water hyacinth often clings to the rough backs of alligators that swim through it. I have seen this hundreds of times, but only once have I seen an alligator with a hyacinth plant balanced on its snout.
Tag: alligator, animal, wildlife, Florida, reptile
When: 6/6/2024
Type: Digital Camera (High Resolution Image)
Altered: No
Location: Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, Florida, USA

Barbary Macaques

Caption: Atop the Rock of Gibraltar, a Barbary Macaque mother and infant stare thoughtfully into the distance.
How: Just before sunset, I hiked to the top of the rock of Gibraltar hoping for some spectacular views. Not only were the views great but a troop of Barbary Macaques were present. This mother and infant were very accommodating, posing in the golden hour light. 
Tag: animal, mammal, primate, wildlife, Gibraltar
When: 10/17/2023
Type: Digital Camera (High Resolution Image)
Altered: No
Location: Gibraltar Nature Reserve, Gibraltar

Behemoth

Caption: A giant American Alligator, adorned with water hyacinth, rests in the gentle current at Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park in Florida.
How: This massive alligator, adorned with water hyacinth, lied down in the shallow water with its head facing into the current. At this site, alligators often position themselves this way and wait for fish to pass close by.
Tag: alligator, animal, wildlife, Florida, reptile
When: 6/20/2024
Type: Digital Camera (High Resolution Image)
Altered: No
Location: Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, Florida, USA

Black Ctenosaurs Fighting

Caption: Two male Black Ctenosaurs are locked in bloody combat on Key Biscayne, Florida, where they have been introduced and are thriving.
How: While walking in a park on Key Biscayne, Florida, I came upon two battling male Black Ctenosaurs, also known as Black Spiny-tailed Iguanas. The fighting lasted for about 15 minutes, before a victor emerged. The two males were oblivious to observers and bikers passing by.
Tag: iguana, animal, wildlife, Florida, reptile
When: 3/16/2022
Type: Digital Camera (High Resolution Image)
Altered: No
Location: Crandon Park, Key Biscayne, Florida, USA

Duck Ripple

Caption: A duck creates a ripple, surrounded by fish in beautiful turquoise water.
How: This photo was taken while walking along the paths of Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia.
Tag: bird, animal, wildlife, Croatia, water
When: 9/4/2023
Type: Mobile Phone or Tablet
Altered: The photo was rotated 1.2 degrees.
Location: Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia

Emergence

Caption: A cicada emerges from its cocoon on a hot summer night in Maryland.
How: While doing some night-time exploring, I photographed a newly emerged cicada still clinging to its cocoon.
Tag: insect, animal, wildlife, Maryland
When: 7/23/2022
Type: Digital Camera (High Resolution Image)
Altered: No
Location: Annapolis Waterworks Park, Maryland, USA

Great Blue Heron With Gar

Caption: For nearly half an hour a Great Blue Heron manipulated a Florida Gar in its bill and attempted to swallow it several times. Ultimately, the gar proved too awkward to swallow and it was dropped on the bank where it was soon eaten by an alligator.
How: Great Blue Heron are known for eating large prey, but I was still very surprised to see one attempting to swallow such an elongated and heavily armoured fish. 
Tag: bird, fish, animal, wildlife, Florida
When: 6/8/2024
Type: Digital Camera (High Resolution Image)
Altered: The edges of the photo were cropped.
Location: Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, Florida, USA

Heron at Sunrise

Caption: The sun rises at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida, illuminating the brackish wetlands in pastel hues. A Great Blue Heron sits motionless in the shallow water.
How: To capture this photo, I rose at dawn and drove to a lookout point hoping for some great early-morning wildlife viewing.
Tag: bird, animal, wildlife, Florida, sunrise, water
When: 2/28/2024
Type: Digital Camera (High Resolution Image)
Altered: No
Location: Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Florida, USA

Living Dragon

Caption: An alligator rests with its mouth partially open, looking dragon-like when viewed head-on.
How: This alligator was found basking on the shore, statue-like, with its mouth partially open. Using a zoom lens, I took many photographs from different angles but my favorite is the eye-level head-on view.
Tag: alligator, animal, wildlife, Florida, reptile
When: 1/26/2024
Type: Digital Camera (High Resolution Image)
Altered: No
Location: Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, Florida, USA

Matterhorn

Caption: The Matterhorn on a sunny fall morning.
How: This photo was taken while hiking the Matterhorn Glacier Trail in Switzerland.
Tag: mountain, landscape
When: 10/3/2023
Type: Mobile Phone or Tablet
Altered: No
Location: Matterhorn Glacier Trail, Switzerland

Natural Camouflage

Caption: An alligator basks on the bank, covered in mud and water hyacinth.
How: Amongst numerous large alligators basking in the early evening sun, this one clearly stood out despite being partially camouflaged by mud and vegetation.
Tag: alligator, animal, wildlife, Florida, reptile
When: 6/19/2024
Type: Digital Camera (High Resolution Image)
Altered: No
Location: Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, Florida, USA

The Alligator’s Mane

Caption: An alligator emerges, lion-like, with a mane of green vegetation. In Florida, introduced water hyacinth sometimes forms mats on the water’s surface. When alligators swim through, it often clings to their rough backs.
How: I was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time to capture this photo of an alligator emerging from the water with a mane of vegetation and walking approximately 20 meters on land before re-entering the water.
Tag: alligator, animal, wildlife, Florida, reptile
When: 6/20/2024
Type: Digital Camera (High Resolution Image)
Altered: No
Location: Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, Florida, USA

Through The Mud

Caption: An American Alligator crawls through the mud on its way to deeper water. The flooded Florida prairie where this photo was taken is characterized by fluctuating water levels to which all animals must adapt.
How: On summer evenings, I frequently walk the 1-mile La Chua nature trail, just outside Gainesville, Florida. As the sun was setting and I was walking back to my car, I noticed an alligator crawling toward me through thick mud. I crouched down and was able to get a head-on view.
Tag: alligator, animal, wildlife, Florida, reptile
When: 6/19/2024
Type: Digital Camera (High Resolution Image)
Altered: No
Location: Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, Florida, USA

2 thoughts on “Smithsonian Photo Contest”

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