• Tagged outdoor scenes, people, photo contest, photographers, photography, places, travel, Wikimedia Commons Picture of the Year

A decade ago, there were not tons of terrific photos to choose from in the Commons, but photographers have really stepped up by licensing their photos so people can share them along with knowledge. While you may or may not agree with the 12 Wikimedia Commons Picture of the Year winners, most everyone could agree the competition was smoking hot. Categories like animals, plants, people, panoramas, nature, space, architecture and even miscellaneous objects give us a chance to go globe hopping as we celebrate these 45 sizzling snaps. Congratulations winners and thank you to all photographers who make the Commons a fountain of beautiful knowledge! Why don’t you consider uploading your photos to the Commons and maybe we’ll see you listed as a winner next year? [45 Photos]

• Tagged animals, environment, National Geographic Travel Photo Contest, nature, outdoor scenes, people, photographers, photography, places, sense of place, spontaneous moments, travel, travel portrait, travelers

National Geographic Traveler magazine reported receiving more than 12,000 entries from 6,615 talented photographers in 152 countries around the globe for its 24th annual traveler photo contest. Photos, like music, are subjective and stir up different emotions for different people. What makes each of us unique also guides us to individually interpret art as it influences us. The winners have been chosen, but it must have been extremely difficult to select the best from four travel photography categories: Sense of Place, Outdoor Scenes, Travel Portraits, and Spontaneous Moments. Over the 14 weeks of the contest, the editors picked their favorites among the many awesome shots and turned them into wallpaper. Here’s a look at few of those winning photos and many more that seemed like winners to us. While National Geographic often runs various photo contests in different categories, did you know that it also has photography guides and free tips like the “Ultimate Field Guide to Photography” to help photographers take better photos? Even if you don’t travel, if you keep your camera handy then you might be ready to snap a spontaneous moment that happens around you. Maybe next year you can enter the traveler’s photo contest? We can’t encourage you strongly enough to browse through the 12,000 traveler photo entries. You can be awed while virtual globe hopping and have a ‘staycation’ if you can’t afford a vacation to travel right now . . . all thanks to National Geographic which is kind enough to share these images with all of us. Congratulations and thank you to all the talented photographers! Keep up the great work and fantastic captures! [49 Phenomenal Photos]

• Tagged alpine lakes, animals, backpack camping, bears, bison, black bears, canyons, forests, Grand Teton, Grand Teton National Park, grizzly bears, hiking, Jackson Hole, lakes, moose, Moulton Barn, mountains, National Park, nature, places, rivers, travel, wilderness, wolves, Wyoming

Grand Teton National Park is 310,000 breathtaking acres of wow! 40 miles of jagged peaks making up the Teton Range tower 7,000 feet above gorgeous Jackson Hole valley. The unsurpassed and sublime beauty of the natural landscape and the equally famous abundant wildlife have been called inspirational, stunning, spectacular and it will take your breath away. NPS describes the park as, “Rising above a scene rich with extraordinary wildlife, pristine lakes, and alpine terrain, the Teton Range stands monument to the people who fought to protect it. These are mountains of the imagination. Mountains that led to the creation of Grand Teton National Park where you can explore over 200 miles of trails, float the Snake River or enjoy the serenity of this remarkable place.” Located in Northwestern Wyoming the park is only 10 miles from Yellowstone. Grand Teton National Park is the 8th most visited national park in the U.S. We dare you to stare at the magnificent scenery of this national park and not be struck with desire to hop in your car and head out for an epic nature adventure. We love these pics! [60 Photos]

• Tagged Acadia, Acadia National Park, architecture, bridge, Cadillac Mountain, carriage, environment, forests, islands, kayaking, Maine, Mount Desert Island, mountains, National Park, nature, ocean, places, Thunder Hole, travel, wetland, wildlife, woods

Acadia National Park along the rugged coastline of Maine may not be the first place that jumps to mind when thinking about America’s busiest parks, but maybe it should come to mind in the top 10 because it was the 9th most visited U.S. national park in 2011 with over 2,300,000 visitors. Acadia and Cuyahoga switched places from 2010, when Cuyahoga Valley National Park was ranked 9th in visitors. Acadia National Park protects more than 47,000 acres of lakes, ponds, woodlands, granite-domed mountains, and ocean shoreline along the coast of Maine. There are more than 140 miles of hiking trails, 45 miles of historic carriage roads, and scenic park roads for drivers. Diverse wildlife, waterfalls, cliffs, stone bridges and scenic vistas can all be found on this cluster of islands that make up Acadia. Hikers, bikers, horseback riders, kayakers, climbers, bird watchers and photographers are among the nature lovers who visit Acadia National Park. [40 Photos]

• Tagged adventure, Beaver Marsh, biking, Blue Hen Falls, Brandywine Falls, cave, Cuyahoga Valley, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, hiking, ledges, National Park, nature, Ohio, places, Ritchie Ledges, rock formations, train, travel, waterfall, waterfalls, wildlife

Coming in as the 10th most visited national park in 2011 is Cuyahoga Valley National Park in northern Ohio. It offers adventurers a little bit of everything in the 20,339 acres of woods, water, wildlife and even caves. There are nearly 200 miles of trails within the park for visitors to hike, bike or for horseback riding. The Cuyahoga River, meaning ‘crooked river’ in Mohawk, is fed by more than 190 miles of other waterways to tempt fishermen of all ages. Millions of years ago, water etched out the 105-foot high sandstone Ritchie Ledges and Ice Box Cave, also carving other wonderful rock formations. More than 2 million visitors came to Cuyahoga Valley National Park last year to enjoy the wooded ravines, gentle rolling hills, 170 waterfalls, historic railway, buildings and paths. Welcome to Ohio’s only national park, welcome to Cuyahoga Valley National Park! [40 Photos]

• Tagged animals, China, endangered species, giant panda cubs, giant pandas, nature, panda, panda cubs, pandas, places, Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries, UNESCO World Heritage, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Wolong National Nature Reserve

Giant pandas are a highly endangered species, but an UNESCO World Heritage Site in China holds more 30% of the world’s panda population. These beautiful black and white bears roam on more than 2 million acres of the Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries. It is the largest remaining contiguous habitat of the giant panda and contains the most important captive breeding site. The Chinese sanctuaries include seven nature reserves and nine scenic parks in the Qionglai and Jiajin Mountains. The Wolong National Nature Reserve alone has more than 150 of this iconic bears. [42 Photos]

• Tagged animals, architecture, Blossom Kite Festival, Cherry Blossom Festival, cherry blossoms, DC cherry blossom photos, DC kites and cherry blossoms, District of Columbia, Jefferson Memorial, kites, National Mall, nature, people, places, season, Smithsonian Kite Festival, Spring, Tidal Basin, travel, Washington D.C., Washington Monument, White House

Ah beautiful cherry blossoms, kites and love is in the Spring air. It’s that time again for the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C. It would be a great time to see DC since there is also a Blossom Kite Festival, previously called the Smithsonian Kite Festival. An estimated 1 million people will come to witness the events while the cherry blossoms are blooming. With the cost of gas astronomical, here are 44 fantastic photos, a tour for those of you who won’t be able to attend the Cherry Blossom Festival and Blossom Kite Festival this weekend. [44 Photos]

• Tagged adventure, aerial, cliffs, environment, Haena Point, Hawaii, HonopÅ« Valley, island, Na Pali, Napoli, nature, Nā Pali Coast State Park, places, travel

Anyone else thinking, come on Spring, I wanna go out and play in nature? The tropical beauty of Na Pali along the shore of Kauai, Hawaii, and the rugged coastline could give adventure seekers a case of spring fever all year round. Na Pali means “the Cliffs” and those characteristic sheer cliffs which drop 4,000 feet (1200 m) straight down into the ocean make much of Na Pali Coast inaccessible by car. Nā Pali Coast State Park has 6,175 acres and stretches for 16 rugged miles along the northwest side of Kauaʻi paradise. Honopū Valley has been made iconic from movies filmed on Na Pali. Are you tired of winter too? We love these gorgeous pictures which gave us a serious case of Spring Fever. Enjoy! [43 Photos]

• Tagged art, castle, Château de Villandry, decorative garden, environment, Fickle Love Garden, France, French gardens, garden, gardens built for love, holiday, Loire Valley, love, nature, Passionate Love Garden, places, Tender Love Garden, The Love Garden, Tragic Love Garden, travel, tribute, UNESCO World Heritage Site

While researching castles built for love, we stumbled upon another castle located in Villandry, France. But it was the magnificent gardens that were built for love — and even the French name jardin de l’amour sounds divinely romantic. While these gardens have serene elements like Chinese gardens, the Château de Villandry gardens have been called the most romantic and beautiful gardens in France. There is a love story behind Love Garden and the entire estate was designed with romantic symbolism from the Renaissance era. The Villandry has three garden styles, a formal water garden, a 2-part ornamental garden with topiary hedges ripe with symbolism for love including for the “Garden of Love” and the “Garden of Music,” and a huge decorative kitchen garden (potager). The gardens of Château de Villandry are an UNESCO World Heritage Site. We’d never seen anything like it. Welcome to the most romantic gardens in Loire Valley, France! [40 Photos]

• Tagged architecture, architecture for love, art, castles, castles built for love, castles love built, haunted, holiday, love, odd, places, travel, Valentine's Day

Love is the most powerful force that exists. In the throes of love, your feet are nowhere close to the ground but floating in the clouds. Love has inspired all types of art, poems, novels, plays, music and paintings. After Cupid shoots an arrow through the heart, some people are so inspired as to erect architecture. We’re not talking about building a Love Shack, but of big-scale and divinely romantic architecture such as castles built for love. Margaret Anderson once said, “In real love you want the other person’s good. In romantic love you want the other person.” Castles built by love seem like both. There are many examples of architecture built for love, but to celebrate Valentine’s Day we wanted to hone in on castles love built. While this amazing architecture seems like something out of a fairy tale, and a wonderfully romantic way to say I Will Always Love You, not all end with happily ever after. The irony is that almost all of these grand displays of love ended in tragedy. [15 Castles presented in 83 Photos]

• Tagged abandoned, Apocalypse, Apocalyptic, bizarre, deserted, environment, nature, places, post-apocalypse, post-apocalyptic, snow, Snowmageddon, Snowpocalypse, snowy landscapes, travel, winter

Snowy landscapes can alter a viewer’s perception of the scene, sometimes making it seem deserted and surreal as if the world has ended and a blanket of white descended. This had us musing on what a post-apocalyptic Earth might look like IF the world didn’t burn, but the people disappeared for some reason or another. In some of these photos, it seems as if the few lone Apocalyptic survivors are out and about to view the rebirth of the world 2.0. While this is a bit bizarre to be pondering, all of these winter snow photos struck a chord with us in harmony with what the world might look like after the Apocalypse. Most of the people would undoubtedly be gone, so seeing ‘survivors’ would be few and far between. In our Snowpocalypse or Snowmageddon scenarios, buildings would be abandoned and a quiet world would be wrapped in a heavy white blanket of snow. Some people love winter, the cold and the snow — perhaps even the photographers who captured these unbelievably beautiful and snowy landscapes that seem to us as if they could portray a world after the Apocalypse. [41 Photos]

• Tagged environment, erupt, eruption, Hawaii, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, National Park, nature, phenomena, photography, photos, pics, places, UNESCO World Heritage Site, volcano, volcanoes

Volcanic activity is spiking in Hawaii and people are flocking there to see the spectacular show. Visitors, both regular folks and scientists, to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park are able to witness the active volcanic personality and the formation of new cinder cones, glowing pit craters, rivers of lava and fountains of spatter. This volcanic paradise shows off 70 million years of volcanism, but was only established as a National Park in 1916. It stretches over 333,086 acres (505.36 square miles) and has two active volcanoes. While Kīlauea is one of the world’s most active volcanoes and has been in nearly continuous eruption since 1983, Mauna Loa is the world’s most massive volcano. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park has seven ecological zones, was designated an International Biosphere Reserve in 1980 and became a World Heritage Site in 1987. Welcome to the Big Island and volcanic paradise! We love these pics! [48 Photos]