A Snapshot of 2011

Australian Scott Jones kisses his Canadian girlfriend Alex Thomas after she was knocked to the ground by a police officer's riot shield in Vancouver, British Columbia. Canadians rioted after the Vancouver Canucks lost the Stanley Cup to the Boston Bruins.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words and I am going to let these images speak for themselves. Click on the title below to view remarkable images capturing the highs and lows of this year:

The 45 Most Powerful Images of 2011

Two lights from the former site of the World Trade Centers shine for the 10th anniversary of 9/11

US gay service members march in a gay pride parade for the first time ever.

Picture Perfect

National Geographic has announced the winners of its 2010 Photography Contest. Over 16, 000 photographs were submitted from 130 countries! The grand prize winner (also won the nature category) received $10, 000 as well as a trip to Washington, DC to visit National Geographic's headquarters for their photography seminar. There are 3 categories: Nature, People, and Places. I present to you the winners of each category, starting with the grand prize winner!

Nature Winner: "Eruption of Gunung Rinjani" photographed by Aaron Lim Boon Teck

People Winner: "Buffalo Race" photographed by Chan Kwok Hung

Places Winner: "Ship Breakers of Chittagong" photographed by Jana Asenbrennerova

The next batch of photographs were voted the Viewers' Choice winners for each category:

Nature: "Smile Please" photographed by Sanjeev Bhor

People: "Manog Giri" photographed by Bill Watson

Places: "Ki Gompa" photographed by Natalia Luzuriaga

I strongly encourage you look at the honorable mentions for this contest. The photography is mind blowing! Click here to go to the website. You can learn about the story behind each picture (it's quite fascinating)! Also, to look at 2009's contest winners click here to check out my FactSnack from last year!

Bird's Eye View

Thank you Atiya for showing me this mind-boggling image taken by photographer Robert B. Hass. He captured this image for National Geographic in the Yucatan peninsula. When describing the photo, Hass has been quoted saying the following:

"People are stunned by the improbability. What are the odds that hundreds of flamingos form a shape like that?"

I could not agree more, what are the chances that hundreds of flamingos are chillin' in the formation of a giant flamingo?! Impressive and exceptionally rare to say the least.

Picture This!

Photo by Bernardo Medina

I have always been a fan of National Geographic photography, so when I was searching for a new desktop wallpaper for my computer I naturally went to their website to see what was there. I came across the 2009 Ultimate Photo Contest and was blown away by the finalists. There were 6 categories: Inspiration/Keep Going, Animals/Wildlife, Nature, People/Cultures, Travel, and Weather. The GRAND PRIZE winner was the Inspiration/Keep Going photo at the top of the post. I have also added the winners of each category below because they are all worth taking a look at. Outstanding work! What are your thoughts?

Weather

Photo by Frederick Abels

Travel

Photo by Glenn Traver

People/Cultures

Photo by Bernardo Medina

Nature

Photo by Tracy Hagen

Animals/Wildlife

Photo by Ruston Agte