Extreme patience and a sliver of light through the canopy created The Thinker, an intimate portrayal of a chimpanzee in repose in its jungle habitat. The animal was unaware that a talented amateur was zooming in to create an image that would win one of two top awards in Natural Habitat Adventures' (Nat Hab - www.nathab.com) recently concluded 2016 Wildlife Photo Contest.
The Experts' Choice Grand Prize Winner - The Thinker by Cheryl Ramalho was captured while Ramalho was a guest on Nat Hab's Ultimate Gorilla Photo Safari in Uganda's Kibale National Park. It earns an eight-day Hidden Yellowstone Photo Safari, a Nat Hab adventure valued at $6,600, A panel of professional nature photographers who are Expedition Leaders on Nat Hab's photography trips chose the winning selection. Judges included Melissa Scott, Eric Rock, Colby Brokvist, Court Whelan, and Drew Hamilton, as well as Nat Hab's Creative Director Mark Hickey. Click here.
Winning the popular vote, with 17,843 votes cast, The People's Choice Grand Prize Winner is Cheetah Sunset by Susan Leece. She accomplished this stunning portrait in the Namiri Plains in Tanzania's Serengeti National Park while on
Nat Hab's Tanzania Migration Photo Safari. Her award is a place on Nat Hab's seven-day
Classic Polar Bear Photo Adventure valued at $7,700.
Click here.
Eight Honorable Mentions (five for Experts' Choice and three for People's Choice) each received a $200 gift certificate to
B&H Photo Video store. The work of the two grand-prize winners and the Honorable Mentions are on display
here.
Professional and amateur photographers alike accepted Nat Hab's invitation to submit photographs of wildlife captured in a wild setting anywhere on the planet. Photo submissions were to depict animals in their natural habitat, and each entrant could submit a maximum of three entries.
A total of 2,298 photographs were submitted, receiving an impressive total of 112,869 votes from the public during the voting period. Voters' names were entered into a drawing for a $500 Visa gift card each time they voted. The contest created a major social media buzz with 232,909 visits to Nat Hab's Wildlife Photo of the Day website during the contest that spanned May 1 through July 31, 2016.
Wildlife photography lovers can sign up for Nat Hab's Wildlife Photo of the Day Weekly Digest, a weekly roundup of seven stunning wildlife photos hand-chosen by Nat Hab editors and delivered to inboxes weekly at
dailywildlifephoto.nathab.com/subscribe-today.
Since 2003, Nat Hab has been the travel partner of World Wildlife Fund, the world's leading conservation organization. Nat Hab operates WWF's travel programs and donates to the nonprofit's global conservation efforts.
For information on all of Nat Hab's trips, descriptive itineraries, date availability and reservations, call 800.543.8917 or visit
www.nathab.com. Click
HERE to order a copy of the 2016-2017 catalog.
Natural Habitat Adventures is a world leader in responsible adventure travel and nature-based ecotourism. Since its founding in 1985, the company has offered eco-conscious expeditions and wildlife-focused small-group tours to the planet's most remarkable nature destinations. Inspired and created from years of scouring the planet for the singular and extraordinary, Nat Hab's itineraries are artfully crafted experiences that are far from "typical." Trips are guided by professional naturalist expedition leaders, and Nat Hab enjoys a longstanding reputation for hiring some of the world's best guides. Conservation is at the forefront of everything NHA does, and its philosophy is simple: tourism must work with and benefit local communities, which will in turn find value in protecting natural resources and wildlife. NHA is proud to be the travel partner of World Wildlife Fund, sharing a mutual commitment to travel as a means of helping to protect the world's wondrous natural places. Nat Hab has donated more than $2 million to WWF and will continue to donate 1 percent of gross sales plus $100,000 annual through 2018 in support of WWF's mission.
