Off the coast of Guadalupe Island, great white sharks gather to feed on sea lions. It is an ideal place to observe these majestic animals in their natural state. Far ideas through Hollywood movies, the great white shark remains fearful of man and does not leave easily approached. (Photo and caption by Marc Henauer /National Geographic Photo Contest )

My mother Playing with her Grand Daughter (Photo and caption by Sahasrangshu Choudhury /National Geographic Photo Contest )

Flame of hand tube fireworks. They are the traditional fireworks of Japan. The event will be the ritual worshipping God. Third Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in July: Gion Matsuri Festival of Yoshida-jinja Shrine (held in Toyohashi City, Aichi Prefecture; Old Tokaido Road, Yoshida-juku, the inn town). In the festival, you can see powerful hand-tube fireworks. (Photo and caption by Hidenobu Suzuki /National Geographic Photo Contest 2014)

On a windy day right after a cyclone passed the far northern Great Barrier Reef I took some friends out to the reef. Never before i saw that many glass fish on this particular coral "bommie.". Just when I set up my camera, this Napoleon Wrasse swam right through the school of fish, building a living frame. (Photo and caption by Christian Miller /National Geographic Photo Contest 2014)

I was traveling by car across beautiful Masurian Lakes district in Poland together with my family. Being impressed with the beauty of the landscape, we decided to make a stop by the field of bales and take some nature shots. Before I knew it, my niece, who trains in gymnastics, was happily jumping from one bale to another, presenting her skills. I thought it was great moment to snap her summertime joy. (Photo and caption by Malgorzata Walkowska /National Geographic Photo Contest 2014)

I headed out one night to photograph the Milky Way. As I reached the top of the mountain, this magnificent scene presented itself to me. I immediately wanted to photograph it in all its glory. After trying out a few different exposure times, I settled on a duration of roughly 16 minutes. This allowed me to capture the intense glow of the fire along with the surreal star trails seen in the sky. (Photo and caption by Dave Kan /National Geographic Photo Contest 2014)

El fénnec es un animal sorprendentemente fácil de domesticar, que se habitúa fácilmente a vivir con humanos. No obstante, se le considera una especie rara y por ello es ilegal tenerlos como mascota en muchas zonas de su área de distribución. (Photo and caption by José Mingorance /National Geographic Photo Contest 2014)

l had a chance to photograph a puma at very close distance in Bozeman. When a puma focuses on a target, its very impressive to watch its concentration, eyes, speed, opening his paws and nails. (Photo and caption by Serhat Demiroglu /National Geographic Photo Contest 2014)

A teenager jumping into the red sea from a pier in Aqaba, Jordan (Photo and caption by Ulrich Lambert /National Geographic Photo Contest 2014)

Glass eel fishing season starts in Japan in the winter. Hunters illuminate the water with a mercury lamp from onboard and scoop up eel gathering in the light with a small net. During the new moon, hunters search for glass eel and wander about with many lights in the estuaries. (Photo and caption by Yusuke Sakai /National Geographic Photo Contest)