From a sleeping baby chimpanzee to otherworldly ‘Middle Earth’ mountains, 12 incredible images from a prestigious photo competition that will leave you in awe

This incredible photo shows a brown bear “overshadowed by the immense beauty of Katmai,” a volcano in southern Alaska. It is entitled “Mists of Time” and comes from a series by British photographer Harry Skeggs, who received the silver award in the “Nature – Wild” category.

This magnificent image – a second image from Harry Skeggs’ award-winning portfolio – shows a ‘colossal’ iceberg in Antarctica towering over a colony of penguins. Skeggs notes that the deep crack in the iceberg “appears to be dumping tons of ice on it”

Spanish photographer Xavier Ortega captured this “tender” scene of a sleeping baby chimpanzee while hiking through the forests of the Mahale Mountains National Park in western Tanzania. It is part of a series that won the Silver Award in the Nature – Wildlife category.

From Xavier Ortega’s award-winning series, this shot shows elephants on the plains of Kenya’s Masai Mara National Reserve, “where the sunsets and sunrises are spectacular.”

Italian photographer Valerio Sbriglione captured this otherworldly mountain landscape. Although set in Europe, he notes that it reminds him of JRR Tolkien’s Middle-earth. It is part of a larger series that won the bronze award in the category Nature – Landscapes

American photographer Cheyne Walls captured this beautiful photo of a “very unique” Japanese maple. She says she took the photo on a day when “Mother Nature was at her best.” Walls notes, “The scene came alive for a moment when the sun came up … it was as if the tree was on fire.” The image is part of a series that won a bronze in the Nature – Trees category.

This is one of several images that earned photographer Stue Rees the title of New Zealand Photographer of the Year. It’s titled “Don’t Bother Me at Lunchtime” and features an Alaskan brown bear feeding on salmon. It is part of a series that won the Bronze Award in the Nature – Wildlife category.

This fascinating photograph by Stue Rees shows a storm rolling over the Southern Alps on New Zealand’s South Island. It is part of a larger series that is a finalist in the Nature – Landscapes category.

Photographer Yuusei Nagahata is the work of photographer Yuusei Nagahata in this incredible shot of a lenticular cloud over the 2,000-meter-high Mount Yotei, a stratovolcano in Japan’s Shikotsu-Toya National Park. The amateur photographer notes that it was “an incredible sight”. Nagahata’s work wins the bronze award in the “Nature – Landscapes” category

This vivid shot shows 200-year-old ficus trees on the small Australian island of Norfolk Island in the South Pacific. Taken by Australian photographer Stuart Chape, it is part of a wider portfolio which received the bronze award in the Nature – Trees category

Fog covers the landscape around Jamnik, a small town in northern Slovenia, in this enchanting photo. It comes from a photo series by the Polish photographer Jaskula Jan, who won the bronze prize in the category “Fine Art – Landscape”.

This beautiful shot of Seceda, a mountain in the Italian Dolomites, is one of several Jatenipat Jkboy Ketpradit has been recognized as Photographer of the Year. It is part of a larger series titled “Mountains of the World” that the photographer shot over a period of 10 years. The series wins the silver medal in the “Nature – Landscapes” category.