Earth Day with TIFA 2021 Winner Photos

April 22, 2022

Every year on April 22nd, Earth Day commemorates the 1970 start of the contemporary environmental movement. Earth Day is now generally acknowledged as the world's largest secular celebration, with over a billion people participating each year in a day of action to improve human behavior and implement global, national, and local policy reforms.
We want to celebrate and raise awareness about the need of fighting for our planet and appreciating all of its beauty. Enjoy this compilation of TIFA 2021 winners in the Nature category, which includes some of the stunning professional images submitted to the competition.

magical forest with himebotarus

Summer Forest Fairies - Kazuaki Koseki

Himebotaru, a Japanese native firefly species, flies over the forest, blinking for a brief period of time, evoking Christmas illumination. The scene is stunning enough to make you forget about the night forest's amazement. For only 10 days in the summer, it is the radiance of life. Forests are living organisms with a diverse range of vegetation and wildlife. Each creature's lifespan is unique; time will pass through each life, and life will be repeated. They are a priceless existence that should not be jeopardized. The photographer just wishes for the preservation of this woodland and its firefly.

A Lighthouse - Henrique Murta

Furious land. There is no sun, and the light is dim. Heavy clouds are straining to stay afloat. High waves and cold water. Strong gusts are slamming onto the cliffs. Lands that are hostile and where one may not live long. There's a light to help you through it all.

a lighthouse
kiawe tree standing alone on the beach

Kiawe: Coastal Trees of Maui - Scott Reither

I was drawn, again and again, to the swirling thorny branches and last rooted remains of the Kiawe trees littering the coast. In every aspect of life, there is Form and there is Space. In photography, Form refers to the subjects and shapes, while Space is everything in between. Internally, Form is represented in our thoughts and emotions, while Space is the stillness that surrounds them. Finding a balance between Space and Form is an important practice both personally and artistically.

The Last Guardian - Zhikun Yang

The lonely pine tree on the snow mountain at an altitude of 4200 meters has survived years of earth movement, climatic change, and human activity. The human homeland is being guarded. Allow life to continue while protecting the environment.

a lonley pine tree in the mountin
huge octopus  in the ocean

Glittering Juvenile Octopus - Sayaka Ichinoseki

This is a larval stage. A colossal pacific octopus. Even the biggest pacific octopus, which can grow up to 3 meters in length as an adult, has a childhood.

A Mystic Place - Virgilijus Usinavicius

Morning fogs cover everything from holy gardens to historic burial sites in Kernav as mystic days break above the mounds. It was the medieval capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the last European pagan capital, located in the famed Pajauta Valley. Various cultural, historical, and archaeological sites going back to the late Palaeolithic Period abound in the region. One may practically feel the souls of ancestors breathing behind one's shoulder on such mornings. Neo-pagan societies still congregate to kindle holy fires at spectacular stone altars atop bald hills.

a foggy mystic place
sunset

Alien Sunset - Craig Bill

After setting up camp, some of the first catches were "Alien Sunset." While resting and soaking in the low sun glow, the photographer was thrilled to observe sun rays streaming from the final light.

Millennium Pine Tree and Milky Way - Ling Jyi Chao

In Taiwan's Hehuan Mountain, there is a thousand-year-old pine tree. It was captured when the Milky Way was visible. It was really stunning!

pine tree and the milky way
barracuda

Barracuda - Yung-Sen Wu

The great barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda) is a huge, predatory ray-finned fish that may be found in subtropical waters all around the world.

Family Bonds - Lars Gesing

When things are rough, we lean on the people we care about and trust the most. When the photographer had the wonderful fortune of observing this family of bison endure a deep, early-season Colorado snowfall, he instantly thought of that. He'd been watching the herd for quite some time. Initially, these amazing creatures were dispersed, each going about its own thing. But then something wonderful occurred. Individual family members within the herd began to congregate near each other as the snow began to fall more forcefully, in a spectacular show of the power of family relationships.

bison endure family

Read more:

an elderly lady between leaves
flamingos gazing through a lake, from above
A surrealistic image: on a crosswalk, there is a paper boat, fish coming our of the tarmac and a lady looking down.