12 Incredible Photographs

Many of us had different reasons for becoming photographers, but ultimately we all want the same thing: to take amazing pictures. Our friends at the weekly iPad magazine Photography Week do an incredible job of finding the best photographers across a wide range of genres. Their popular Photo of the Day feature is part of what makes their thriving Facebook community such an inspiring place to be. We’ve selected the 12 most popular photos from Photography Week’s Tumblr blog – and in some cases the photographers have told us the story behind the image.

Via michalkarcz.com

Above Allby Michal Karcz

“This picture contains three shots mixed together in Photoshop. This is I what do with my pictures, to create a fantasy version of the Earth.

“This picture contains photo of a mountain path in West Tatra Mountains and includes the clouds structures, and the main, high peak is Ama Dablam shot in Himalayas.” Michal Karcz.

Visit Michael's website.

Via Flickr: stevedocwra

Blazing Duskby Steve Docwra

This calming seascape makes the most of the vibrant pink of the clouds, giving it a somewhat surreal quality against the dark blues of the sea and sky.

View Steve's photography on Flickr.

Via fotoblur.com

Secret Baseby Hideyuki Katagiri

"I would often observe the stray cats living in Kawasaki city in Japan and wanted to capture a shot of a feral cat in its secret home.” – Hideyuki Katagiri

Visit Hideyuki's website.

Via lichtjahre.eu

The Spirit of Icelandby Christian Klepp

“Dramatic cloud sceneries with stray sun light are typical for Iceland. Such unique moods of the light arise from low elevation sunlight not reaching the ground that falls through broken multi-layered cloud decks.

“This indirect light is causing different hues and light intensities at the surface. The black hills in the background belong to the 330 ft (100 m) high terminal moraine of Svínafellsjökull glacier in Skaftafell, southern Iceland.

“The moraine is composed out of volcanic breccia eroded by the glacier from the surrounding mountains. The steep ice fall of Svínafellsjökull follows gravity at a speed of 3.3 ft (1 m) per day. Hence, the ice of the bordering glacial lake, that is up to 1.3 ft (40 cm) thick, is steeply piled up at the terminal moraine.

“This glacial drift of 0.4 inch (1 cm) within 15 minutes causes the ice of the glacier and the ice on the lake to crack constantly under this immense pressure. A multitude of tension cracks form within the ice.

“This produces a stunning network of parallel aligning white lines. The cracking sounds produced by the drifting ice, the harsh winter conditions at 17°F (-8°C) and chilly winds together with the impressive light situation made this experience on the ice unforgettable.” – Christian Klepp.

Visit Christian's website.

Via Flickr: 64882836@N02

Lion at the WHFby Linda M

Linda’s image of a wounded lion at the Wildlife Heritage Foundation in Kent, UK, takes the term ‘animal portrait’ to a whole new level. “He’d just had a disagreement with his brother and he came off worst,” explains Linda. “I think his pride, along with the cut on his nose, was a little hurt!”

The image is beautifully lit, the high-contrast mono conversion is perfectly suited to the subject matter, and the angled pose makes for a very dynamic and arresting photo composition.

But as with all great portraits, it’s the subject’s expression that makes the shot – it’s not often you see an image of a lion looking vulnerable, and in this respect Linda’s lion portrait is truly original.

View more of Linda's photography on Flickr.

Via Flickr: mrjones131

Dark and Stormyby Mike Jones

Now here’s a striking image! The storm rages right on the edge of a cloud, revealing a clear and calm sky to the left. Mike has been lucky to capture this lighting strike, which has lit up the majority of the cloud, and is very well framed in the centre of the image.

View more of Mike's photography on Flickr.

Via Flickr: tinmanizer

Red Pouncing Foxby Tin Man Photography

This fantastic shot was timed perfectly to capture the red fox seemingly hanging in the air, hovering inches above the ground. The white background ensures that the fox is the only focal point, helping its red coat stand out and making this an image with real impact.

View more photography by Tin Man on Flickr.

Via expatriategames.net

Teamworkby Michael Steverson

This iconic image of a Chinese fisherman with a cormorant would be right at home in a travel book or magazine.

With the light from the lamp lighting the fisherman’s face, and the bird’s head turned to the side to create a perfect profile, you are drawn right into this image, which has an almost cinematic quality owing to its high contrast and deep shadows.

Visit Michael's website.

Via photos.skarpi.is

Geothermal activity in Hveravellir, central highlands of Icelandby Skarphéðinn Þráinsson

“The colored surface is rich with silica minerals among other geothermal materials making this unique hotspring area one of the most spectacular sights in Iceland. In 1960 Hveravellir was made one of the protected nature reserves of Iceland.

“During this late summer sunrise I was lucky to have some wind blowing most of the steam away from the hotsprings, to capture the texture of the surface and also include the Hofsjökull glacier in the background.

“Iceland’s most famous outlaw Fjalla-Eyvindur was maybe the first to discover Hveravellir, when hiding in the highlands of Iceland for about 20 years, after stealing some sheep from farmers. He was clever to make use of the geothermal area to survive the cold winter in Iceland.” – Skarphéðinn Þráinsson

View more of Skarphéðinn’s photography at his website, or visit his Flickr page.

Via Facebook: MarcinSobasPhotography

Farm on the Hillby Marcin Sobas

“This photo was taken in Tuscany in spring. Contrary to appearances, it was a chilly morning, but the light was gorgeous. To this day, I have in mind the sound of sheep grazing next to us!” – Marcin Sobas.

Follow Marcin on Facebook.

Via annemaenurm.com

Under the Rainby Anne Maenurm

“This was taken in Val Badia, in Italy, one April evening. I used a Lee graduated ND filter and a polariser. It was rainy and grey, but evenings like this have their own special charm.” – Anne

Visit Anne's website.

Via Flickr: landescapephotography

Calm Before the Stormby Jeff Lewis

“The light changed so much over the hour I spent shooting that my toughest decision was which shot to post first! This one’s actually just before sunset; what you see is strong sunset light, not true alpenglow, on the domes.

“I chose this time because the sky was still blue and I really liked how it complimented the blue in the ice. I do have vertical comps as well, but by now you’ve probably seen a couple verticals, so here’s a horizontal to show you both sides of the lake.” – Jeff Lewis

View more of Jeff's photography on Flickr.