my favorite time of year

Okay it's true: I have about 365 favorite times of the year. But on a slow Sunday at the office in slower holiday season, with only a bag of trail mix to keep me company, I felt like highlighting this favorite. Ladies and Gentlemen: the National Geographic Photo Contest 2012 has accepted submissions. From macro animals to stunning human beings, from planned moments to happenstance, here are some of what I consider to be the best (credit and links listed below photos. No copyright infringement intended).

lovely dinosaur

Photo and caption by mehmet karaca
Strong enough to hold on to life ...
Location: Kahramanmaras, Turkey

Bold & Shy

Photo and caption by Anjum Vahanvati
The unlucky car breakdown turned lucky when I found this school in a small village Khangral in Kargil on the way to Leh from Srinagar. The teachers also let me and my friends in to take pictures and most of the kids were excited about it. Some were shy and kept hiding while this little girl enjoyed the limelight.
Location: Khangral, Kargil, Jammu & Kashmir, India 

 

"Dedication"

Photo and caption by Handi Laksono
76 Years Old Mbah Mertadiredja (Mbah is called for an oldman in Javanese Language), dedicates his life making Javanese Puppet for decades.
Location: Solo, Central Java, Indonesia

Pelican, Walvis Bay, Namibia

Photo and caption by ROMULO REJON
A marine cruise in Walvis Bay, Namibia, is a memorable experience. I remember watching dolphins, seals, mola molas, cormorants... and having the privilege of picturing that one pelican at the exact moment he grabbed a bite thrown from the boat.
Location: Walvis Bay, Namibia

The fisherman

Photo and caption by Ban Hup Teh
Fisherman repairing his net at dawn.
Location: Bali

How's my hair look ?

Photo and caption by Graham McGeorge
Female bonobos carry and nurse their young for four years and give birth on average every five years
Location: Jacksonville Zoo, Jacksonville, Florida

City birds

Photo and caption by Matthias Luetolf
Strolling through downtown SF during our vacation, the birds sitting on the wires and skyscrapers in the foggy background caught my attention. A lucky shot!
Location: San Francisco

...if you hadn't guessed yet, my "shortlist" of favorites was much longer than this...picking from this group is always difficult. The composition on that last one is so perfect it looks fake, and that fisherman...oh that fisherman! The details! And you haven't even seen yet the beautiful tribeswomen, the sunset on the red fields of China, or the Hamer women from Ethiopia (who are exquisite, by the way).

Go have a look yourself. Way too many beautiful stories and images to highlight here.