There are some pretty cool photos here and a good video if you go to the link. There is the usual save the planet mumbo jumbo, but like Playboy, I looked at the pictures.

The Natural History Museum in London is previewing some of the more than 60,000 photographs entered for this year’s “Wildfire Photographer of the Year” competition.

A record-breaking 60,636 photographs entered this year’s competition. The exhibition will open Oct. 17, featuring 100 powerful images that captured Earth’s most compelling wildlife stories, the Natural History Museum said in a press release.

An international panel of wildlife experts, photographers and scientists are selecting the winning images in secret, judging each photo on creativity and technical skill. The competition will celebrate its 61st year as the world’s premier showcase for nature photography.

TV presenters and conservationists Chris Packham and Megan McCubbin will announce the Grand Title winners at an Oct. 14 ceremony, which will stream live on the museum’s YouTube channel. The exhibition will pair striking artistry with scientific data, including the museum’s Biodiversity Intactness Index, to help visitors understand and advocate for endangered ecosystems, the museum said.

Here are some photos from the exhibition:

A potter wasp turned Bidyut Kalita’s home in northeast India into an unexpected wildlife studio. The determined insect caught Kalita’s eye as it built a mud nest on his picture frame, prompting him to prop open his door and wait. His patience paid off when he snapped the wasp mid-flight, carrying a paralyzed caterpillar that would feed its future offspring.

For three years, Lakshitha Karunarathna tracked a heartbreaking scene in Sri Lanka – elephants scavenging for food in garbage dumps. His drone captured a lone elephant picking through mounds of trash in Ampara, where plastic waste proved deadly. Twenty elephants lost their lives at this single site after eating indigestible wrappers.

Pilot Jassen Todorov found unexpected beauty while landing at San Francisco International Airport. His aerial shot of sunset-lit salt ponds tells environmental success story, where 6,000 hectares of industrial salt flats are being transformed back into thriving wetlands. The restoration project tears down old dikes, letting nature reclaim what industry once took.

Deep in a crystal-clear Florida river, Isaac Szabo Wrapped his feet around a drowned tree to capture an intimate glimpse of longnose gar courtship. His underwater shot caught more than just the spawning fish – a passing turtle completed the scene, showcasing the diversity of Florida’s waterways.

In the ruins of an ancient Indian monument, Sitaram Raul endured an unusual hazard to photograph fruit bats flying. Working in complete darkness, he focused his camera where he thought the bats might appear, all while dodging what he called their “random pooping.”

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