Nature's Best: Wild Winter

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  Pinnacle Peak, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington
  "Finding a fresh perspective of Pinnacle Peak and the surrounding area was a challenge. I snow-shoed for a long distance to find the right vantage point and returned several times. Finally, I took this shot that had the best lighting and a new-fallen layer of snow on the treetops."
  Equipment: Canon EOS 20D; 17-40mm lens with reverse 3-stop graduated neutral density filter; 1/200 sec at f/10; ISO 400; tripod.
  
  
  

  Kevin McNeal / Nature's Best Photography Awards

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  Canada Goose, Sacajawea Park, Livingston, Montana
  "I have photographed Canada geese with their young on many occasions, but have only seen this behavior during a snowfall. Here these goslings peer out from under their mom's protective wing."
  Equipment: 80-200mm lens; 1/125 sec at f/4; Fujichrome Sensia film; tripod.
  
  
  

  Keith Szafranski / Nature's Best Photography Awards

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  Pack Ice, Baffin Island, Northwest Territories, Canada
  "This particular shot was taken from an icebreaker. I used a fisheye lens to emphasize the round global shape showing the melting of Arctic pack ice on Queen Maud Gulf."
  Equipment: Nikon D2X; 10.5mm fisheye lens; 1/250 sec at f/16.
  
  
  

  Daisy Gilardini / Nature's Best Photography Awards

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  Adelie Penguin, Brown Bluff, Antarctic Peninsula
  "While leading an expedition to Antarctica, I saw Adelie penguins jumping around on this iceberg like kids on a jungle gym. One after another, they would leap from this same point allowing me to pre-focus and fire off a rapid burst. Having a digital SLR capable of taking 8 frames per second made it possible to capture this action."
  Equipment: Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II; 70-200mm lens; 1/2000 sec at f/8; ISO 200; tripod.
  
  
  

  Ralph Lee Hopkins / Nature's Best Photography Awards

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  Emperor Penguins, Dawson-Lambton Glacier, Antarctica
  Pölking traveled through extreme conditions, deep into the frozen icescape where temperatures dip to minus 30°F, to witness penguins gathering in colonies of up to 10,000 individuals.
  Equipment: Nikon F5; 80-200mm lens; settings unrecorded; Fujichrome Sensia film.
  
  
  

  Fritz Pölking / Nature's Best Photography Awards

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  Japanese Snow Monkeys, Jigokudani, Japan
  This pair of adults huddled close warming themselves in the thermal waters of natural hot springs, with an infant nestled between them.
  Equipment: Canon EOS 3; 70-200mm; settings unrecorded; Fujichrome Velvia film.
  
  
  

  Yukihiro Fukuda / Nature's Best Photography Awards

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  Polar Bear on Iceberg, Svalbard, Norway
  "I was traveling on a cruise ship in an archipelago near Svalbard. As far as the eye could see, the Arctic Ocean was covered with small pieces of broken ice drifting slowly wuth the current. The only place this bear could have gone was to the nearest island by swimming."
  Equipment: Leica R9; 28-90mm lens; 1/800 sec at f/5.6; Fujichrome Velvia film.
  
  
  

  Norbert Rosing / Nature's Best Photography Awards

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  Ice Patterns, Merced River, Yosemite National Park, Calif.
  This is a photo of three different types of ice over an area of 4 feet by 5 feet. The dark blue on right is ice forming over solid ground, and on the left is a thin sheet of ice over the river. Between them is a very thin lip of light blue ice extending from the frozen earth.
  Equipment: 300mm lens; 1 sec at f/22; Fujichrome Velvia film; tripod.
  
  
  

  George Ward / Nature's Best Photography Awards

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  Polar Bears, Churchill, Manitoba, Canada
  "As these bears started wrestling, through my camera lens was a photographer's goldmine: a scene of awesome power and fast-paced play fighting, with the low light of sunset. The sounds of their grunts and paws beating on one another was unforgettable."
  Equipment: Leica R8; 800mm lens with APO tele-converter; 1/800 sec at f/5.6; Fujichrome Velvia film.
  
  
  

  Norbert Rosing / Nature's Best Photography Awards

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  Great Grey Owl, Oulu, Finland
  Great grey owls hunt in the open fields that dot the northern boreal forest near Peltomaki's home. This owl appears to be taking a bow, but he is actually swooping down to capture a vole under the snow.
  Equipment: Canon EOS 1D Mark II; 70-200mm lens; 1/1000 sec at f/8; ISO 400.
  
  
  

  Jari Peltomaki / Nature's Best Photography Awards