Once again, it’s all about the glories of nature - Our December Photo of the Day contest winners revealed!

We here in the northern hemisphere don't tend to associate December as the best month for nature photography, but our December Photo of the Day monthly award winners and runners-up tell a different tale. From a gorgeous shot of a wild dolphin by longtime POTD contributor Karen Celella to a whimsical and compelling desert juxtaposition from yet another longtime contributor Judith Sparhawk, this month's theme is clearly a natural one.

 

First place • Wild Dolphin by Karen Celella • Canon 7D

And while the images themselves were likely shot in previous months when the weather was more cooperative, we still enjoy spotting themes in our winners' circle when they do occur (for anyone interested in previous monthly winners and runners-up placements please see the links at the bottom of this page).

 

Second place • Inevitability by Tomas DiValentin • Nikon D800E

Taking second prize for December (and you wouldn't believe how close the voting was) is an intriguing shot by Tomas DiValentin of a storm rolling across a magnificent desert scene - one of those images that gets better and better the more you look at it and the larger you print it (click here to see another top 5 photo from Tomas from this past October). In third place from yet another or our regulars, Keith Nichols, is a nice composition of a female mallard pruning herself, followed by a rather playful shot of two snowy egrets from another of our regulars who's been no stranger to the POTD podium, Debra Dorothy (click here for another prize-winning shot from Debra this past September).

 

Third place • Nature Revealing its Beauty by Keith Nichols • Nikon D7100

Thanks so much to everyone who enters our Photo of the Day contest, and congratulations to the winners this month. The top three all receive gift certificates from Adorama of $300, $200 and $100, respectively. Please keep the wonderful submissions coming our way! [Our publisher Dave Etchells usually offers special commentary on the winners from each month but had to miss this one - our apologies, but he'll be back next month!]

 

First runner-up • Last One Ins a Rotten Egg by Debra Dorothy • Canon 5D Mark III
 

 

Second runner-up • Juniper and the Stone by Judith Sparhawk • Canon T2i

For anyone wanting to know more about our competition please visit this news story which describes our contest and also offers some useful tips to help you succeed. To see camera and exposure information on this month's winners or to visit previous months please visit our POTD winner's gallery.

And for anyone who astutely noticed yet another month populated with winning images from only Canon and Nikon cameras, click here for some interesting statistics on this trend that we published just a few months ago!

[Ready to submit a photo of your own? Just click here! And to compliment these photographers on their submissions or offer your own analysis, please use the comments section below.]

• • •

News stories from previous monthly winners:

November 2014 POTD Winners

October 2014 POTD Winners

September 2014 POTD Winners

August 2014 POTD Winners

July 2014 POTD Winners

June 2014 POTD Winners

May 2014 POTD Winners