Spectacular photos from 2023 National Geographic 'Pictures of the Year' competition

Here we take a look at some of the outstanding photographs that were chosen from a pool of 5,000 photos of animals, nature, people, and places and found a notable mention in the 2023 National Geographic 'Pictures of the Year' award.

Grand Prize Winner: Beating over 5,000 entries, Indian-American Karthik Subramaniam, a San Francisco-based software engineer, won the 2023 National Geographic 'Pictures of the Year' award for his photo titled 'Dance of the Eagles'. Credit: Karthik Subramaniam

Honorable Mention: On a road trip through the Austrian Alps, photographer Alex Berger spotted this golden tree blooming from between the trunks. Credit: Alex Berger

Honorable Mention: Photographer W Kent Williamson snapped this image at about 03:40 am on a summer morning from Tipsoo Lake in Mount Rainier National Park, Washington. Credit: W Kent Williamson

Honorable Mention: Iceland’s Fagradalsfjall volcano erupting for the first time in over six thousand years in 2021. Credit: Riten Dharia

Honorable Mention: King penguins crowd together on the beaches of the island of South Georgia. Credit: Rhez Solano

Honorable Mention: Early morning view of the foggy valley from North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Parkway. Credit: Tihomir Trichkov

Honorable Mention: Asiilbek, a nomadic Kazakh eagle hunter, preps his golden eagle, Burged, for a horseback hunt in the grasslands outside Bayan-Olgii, the westernmost province of Mongolia. Credit: Eric Esterle