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Stand Out

Laura Merz

United States of America

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The mirrorlike surface of the lake in Amboseli provided the perfect reflection of these avocets.

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Honorable Mention

Suspended

One bathed, one minded the baby, another sniffed the bones of a fallen companion. Eventually they all came to drink and bathe together. I wanted to capture the dynamics this family and watched as they raised and lowered their trunks, until the echos of lines and shadows came together in this frame.

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Nominee

At the Watering Hole

Reticulated giraffe seek shelter from the desert sun under Doum palms in Samburu, Kenya. This image was created with the Brenizer method, shooting 8 images at 50 mm and then stitching them together to capture the entirety of the scene, while keeping the focus and depth of the original composition.

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Giraffe under the Doum Palms

A single-image capture of three flamingos flying over Lake Elmentaita, Kenya. Their perfect spacing and low pass over the other birds seemed too good to be true. The soft misty morning made for the perfect conditions to capture the colors of the scene, while a 1/8000 shutter speed froze the action.

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Silver

Three Flamingos Flying

As the sunlight shine through the dust kicked up by passing cars, it created a wonderland of visual effects and I was taken with these giraffes emerging from the haze.

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Giraffe on the Dusty Plain

Craig is one of just 24 "Tuskers" that remain in all of Africa. A "Tusker" is an elephant whose tusks are estimated to weigh over 100 pounds, and they often scrape the ground.

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Craig

Cut flowers so often feel limited, life cut short to be stuck in a vase. I wanted to set them free, allow them to dance in the sunlight once more. This image was created using a reversed free-lens (5O mm handheld backwards against the camera body) to create a movement and light leaks in the image.

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Free

The shapes and colors of an orchid, the hypnotic dance of lace-like clouds in the darkness, all at once calming and electrifying. 

This image of a Moon Jelly was captured at an AZA accredited aquarium.

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Sea Flower

A raindrop, suspended from the pistil of a hibiscus, contains the particles of pollen within it while providing a view of the flower it sits on.

This image was created with a reverse free-lens (50 millimeter lens removed from the body, and reversed against the sensor, handheld.)

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Untitled

A message in the clouds, reflections of black an white against the colors of the sky.

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Despite the lore, chameleons do not change to the color of what they touch, but rather based on emotion, for mating, and heat retention. This Jackson's chameleon displays the green of dominance in the burgundy vines where he lives.

Several Jackson's chameleons made their homes in the burgundy plant that lined my garden walkway in Nairobi. I was always transfixed by the males' color displays - the bright chartreuse of mating and dominance - while sitting on this plant, drawing your eye to the patterns of their skin.