photo contests

When a National Geographic photo editor calls your work "spectacular," you know you've done well.

On Dec. 12, National Geographic announced the winners of its 2017 Nature Photographer of the Year Contest.

Divided into four categories (landscapes, underwater, aerials, and wildlife) and selected from more than 11,000 entries, these winning images represent some of the most stunning, unforgettable, and, yes, spectacular visions of the natural world.

And, by the way, National Geographic has made all of these images available as wallpapers.

Check out this year's amazing winners below.

Landscapes, people's choice winner — Wojciech Kruczyński's "Kalsoy"

Sunset illuminates a lighthouse and rainbow in the Faroe Islands. Photo by Wojciech Kruczyński/2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year.

Landscapes, honorable mention — Gheorghe Popa's "Cold and Misty"

Morning fog blurs the dead trees of Romania’s Lake Cuejdel, a natural reservoir created by landslides. Photo by Gheorghe Popa/2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year.

Landscapes, third place — Mike Olbinski's "Illuminate"

[rebelmouse-image 19533310 dam="1" original_size="749x499" caption="A summer thunderstorm unleashes lightning on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Photo by Mike Olbinski/2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year." expand=1]A summer thunderstorm unleashes lightning on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Photo by Mike Olbinski/2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year.

Landscapes, second place — Yuhan Liao's "Dushanzi Grand Canyon"

[rebelmouse-image 19533311 dam="1" original_size="749x611" caption="Sunlight glances off mineral strata of different colors in Dushanzi Grand Canyon, China. Caption and photo by Yuhan Liao/2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year." expand=1]Sunlight glances off mineral strata of different colors in Dushanzi Grand Canyon, China. Caption and photo by Yuhan Liao/2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year.

Landscapes, first place — Karim Iliya's "Firefall"

Shortly before twilight in Kalapana, Hawai’i, a fragment of the cooled lava tube broke away, leaving the molten rock to fan in a fiery spray for less than half an hour before returning to a steady flow. Photo by Karim Iliya/2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year.

Underwater, people's choice winner — Matthew Smith's "Drift"

[rebelmouse-image 19533313 dam="1" original_size="749x499" caption="A Portuguese man-of-war navigates close to the beach on a summer morning; thousands of these jellyfish wash up on Australia's eastern coast each year. Photo by Matthew Smith/2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year." expand=1]A Portuguese man-of-war navigates close to the beach on a summer morning; thousands of these jellyfish wash up on Australia's eastern coast each year. Photo by Matthew Smith/2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year.

Underwater, honorable mention — Jennifer O'Neil's "Predators on a Bait Ball"

[rebelmouse-image 19533314 dam="1" original_size="749x499" caption="Preparing to strike, tarpon cut through a ribbon-like school of scad off the coast of Bonaire in the Caribbean Sea. Photo by Jennifer O'Neil/2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year." expand=1]Preparing to strike, tarpon cut through a ribbon-like school of scad off the coast of Bonaire in the Caribbean Sea. Photo by Jennifer O'Neil/2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year.

Underwater, third place — Michael Patrick O'Neill's "Flying Fish in Motion"

[rebelmouse-image 19533315 dam="1" original_size="749x499" caption="Buoyed by the Gulf Stream, a flying fish arcs through the night-dark water five miles off Palm Beach, Florida. Photo by Michael O'Neill/2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year." expand=1]Buoyed by the Gulf Stream, a flying fish arcs through the night-dark water five miles off Palm Beach, Florida. Photo by Michael O'Neill/2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year.

Underwater, second place — Shane Gross' "In Your Face"

Typically a shy species, a Caribbean reef shark investigates a remote-triggered camera in Cuba’s Gardens of the Queen marine protected area. Photo by Shane Gross/2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year.

Underwater, first place — Jim Obester's "Fluorescent Anemone"

[rebelmouse-image 19533318 dam="1" original_size="749x500" caption="Blue-filtered strobe lights stimulate fluorescent pigments in the clear tentacles of a tube-dwelling anemone in Hood Canal, Washington. Photo by Jim Obester/2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year." expand=1]Blue-filtered strobe lights stimulate fluorescent pigments in the clear tentacles of a tube-dwelling anemone in Hood Canal, Washington. Photo by Jim Obester/2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year.

Aerials, people's choice winner — David Swindler's "Meandering Canyon"

Green vegetation blooms at the river’s edge, or riparian, zone of a meandering canyon in Utah. Caption and photo by David Swindler/2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year.

Aerials, honorable mention — Agathe Bernard's "Life After Life"

[rebelmouse-image 19533320 dam="1" original_size="750x500" caption="Migratory gulls take flight from a cedar tree being washed downstream by a glacial river in British Columbia, Canada. Photo by Agathe Bernard/2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year." expand=1]Migratory gulls take flight from a cedar tree being washed downstream by a glacial river in British Columbia, Canada. Photo by Agathe Bernard/2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year.

Aerials, third place — Greg C.'s "Drip"

On the flanks of Kilauea Volcano, Hawai’i, the world’s only lava ocean entry spills molten rock into the Pacific Ocean. After erupting in early 2016,the lava flow took about two months to reach the sea, six miles away. Photo by Greg C./2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year.

Aerials, second place — Takahiro Bessho's "From Above"

[rebelmouse-image 19533322 dam="1" original_size="749x422" caption="Snow-covered metasequoia trees, also called dawn redwoods, interlace over a road in Takashima, Japan. Photo by Takahiro Bessho/2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year." expand=1]Snow-covered metasequoia trees, also called dawn redwoods, interlace over a road in Takashima, Japan. Photo by Takahiro Bessho/2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year.

Aerials, first place — Todd Kennedy's "Rock Pool"

In Sydney, Australia, the Pacific Ocean at high tide breaks over a natural rock pool enlarged in the 1930s. Avoiding the crowds at the city’s many beaches, a local swims laps. Photo by Todd Kennedy/2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year.

Wildlife, people's choice winner — Harry Collins' "Great Gray Owl"

[rebelmouse-image 19533324 dam="1" original_size="749x464" caption="A great gray owl swoops to kill in a New Hampshire field. Photo by Harry Collins/2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year." expand=1]A great gray owl swoops to kill in a New Hampshire field. Photo by Harry Collins/2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year.

Wildlife, honorable mention — Lance McMillan's "Macaque Maintenance"

[rebelmouse-image 19533325 dam="1" original_size="749x499" caption="A Japanese macaque indulges in some grooming time on the shores of the famous hot springs. Photo by Lance McMillan/2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year." expand=1]A Japanese macaque indulges in some grooming time on the shores of the famous hot springs. Photo by Lance McMillan/2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year.

Wildlife, third place — Bence Mate's "White Fighters"

[rebelmouse-image 19533326 dam="1" original_size="749x500" caption="Two grey herons spar as a white-tailed eagle looks on in Hungary. Photo by Bence Mate/2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year." expand=1]Two grey herons spar as a white-tailed eagle looks on in Hungary. Photo by Bence Mate/2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year.

Wildlife, second place — Alejandro Prieto's "Mother's Love"

An adult Caribbean pink flamingo feeds a chick in Yucatán, Mexico. Both parents alternate feeding chicks, at first with a liquid baby food called crop milk, and then with regurgitated food. Photo by Alejandro Prieto/2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year.

Wildlife, first place and the grand winner overall — Jayaprakash Joghee Bojan's "Face to Face in a River in Borneo"

Bojan's photograph was chosen for both the winner of the wildlife category and the best photograph overall. For his work, he received a tidy prize of $10,000 and a spread in the print magazine.

[rebelmouse-image 19533328 dam="1" original_size="749x500" caption="A male orangutan peers from behind a tree while crossing a river in Borneo, Indonesia. Photo by Jayaprakash Joghee Bojan/2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year." expand=1]A male orangutan peers from behind a tree while crossing a river in Borneo, Indonesia. Photo by Jayaprakash Joghee Bojan/2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year.

Orangutans don't normally like wading through rivers (especially rivers inhabited by crocodiles), but sometimes the choice is unavoidable. Bojan had heard of this male orangutan's rare behavior and spent a day and night sitting near a river in Indonesian Borneo's Tanjung Puting National Park in order to see it for himself. When the ape finally appeared, Bojan actually waded into the river to get this shot.

"Honestly, sometimes you just go blind when things like this happen," said Bojan in a press release. "You’re so caught up. You really don’t know what’s happening. You don’t feel the pain, you don’t feel the mosquito bites, you don’t feel the cold, because your mind is completely lost in what’s happening in front of you."

Thanks to Bojan, National Geographic, and all the other very talented photographers who entered this contest, we all have a chance to get lost in it too.