burnthecanvas.com

By Michael Hanson, United States
David Hanson crosses a fallen log beneath soaring trees and a lingering fog in Washington’s Olympic National Park.

By Fausto Podavini, Italy
The picture was shot at San Juan de los Remedios, Cuba, during a local celebration called “Las Parrandas” in which the highlight is fireworks. Here children light the fireworks and escape.

By Robert Garrett, United States
Taken at 1:22 a.m. on March 11, 2008. My wife and I arrived at the 528 Causeway in Cape Canaveral with our Sony 100a DSLR. With a low, solid, overcast of clouds covering the launch site, they launched. I pushed the shutter and started a 15 second time-lapse exposure! Disaster!!! I ripped the camera off of the tripod, spun the program wheel to anything else and started to squeeze the shutter. I was only able to take two photos as the shuttle Endeavour lifted into the overcast. This is the second one.

By Silvia Martinez Dominguez, Spain
Under a beautiful light, a monkey rests on the stones of the Angkor temples, in Cambodia. The image shows animal behavior and suggests the close connection between humans and our nearest relatives in nature.

By Jose Hernandez, United States
This is a shot of three eagles fighting over a fish in Homer, Alaska, from March 2008. You can see the fish at the top of the image flying by itself, but it was caught in its fall by another eagle.

By Jean Claude Louis
This evocative portrait of two Tibetan children looking out on their world captured the imagination—and the admiration—of the panel of judges. Cropped to the exact shape of the window, the photo frames the children in a timeless manner as they peer through the cloudy glass. The judges spent a long time looking at this portrait, observing how the intensity of the faces, the texture of the clothing, the surface of the old red wood, the reflections in the glass all create an absorbing series of levels. The best people photos tell a story and draw the viewer into the lives of the subjects. These children’s faces seem filled with both expectation and sadness. What are they waiting for? Jean-Claude Louis’s photo asks the question; viewers will no doubt provide their own answers.

By Cesare Naldi, United States
Nazroo, a mahout (elephant driver), poses for a portrait while taking his elephant, Rajan, out for a swim in front of Radha Nagar Beach in Havelock, Andaman Islands. Rajan is one of the few elephants in Havelock that can swim, so when he is not dragging timber in the forest he is used as a tourist attraction. The relationship between the mahout and his elephant usually lasts for their entire lives, creating an extremely strong tie between the animal and the human being.

By Hugo Machado, Portugal
Licancabur volcano is located on the border between Chile and Bolivia.

By Yeang Chng, United States
A saltwater crocodile lunges for the camera. This photo was taken just before its jaws closed on the lens shade; the blurred outline of the jaws demonstrates the lightning-fast nature of its lunge.

By Kent Miller, United Sates
Jessie Miller and her children, Jamie, 5, left, and Betsy, 8, of Bay City, Mich. react to the thunderous 747 jumbo jet as it passes within 60 feet above land. As the plane flew over, the sand kicked up and blasted the Miller’s bare skin. “Ahhhhhhhh!” the three screamed, as they ran away from the sand and noise. The Princess Juliana International Airport in St. Maarten is famous for its short runway. At only 7,980 ft, it is barely long enough for large jets to land.