Truly great photography comes from light, lens and a great opportunity.
Whether it’s a natural phenomenon or a heartfelt display of human emotion, you’ll see in this collection photos that sometimes you don’t need photoshop to create the perfect shot.
1. Firefly squids


These incredible phosphorescent jellyfish light up the night’s ocean in Japan.
2. Fields of blue


This beautiful Japanese bloom looks absolutely whimsical.
3. Ants at a raindrop


The zoom on this lens created an incredible photo of ants drinking from a raindrop.
4. Pink pond


The millennial pink trend was pulled off in this photo without any help from editing apps.
5. Lightning striking an eruption


Lightning struck just as this volcano was erupting capturing the astonishing force of nature.
6. Patterns on the beach


How mesmerizing are these beach umbrellas on an Italian beach?
7. Moon in a satellite


The timing of this shot was perfect making it look like the rising moon is resting in this radio satellite.
8. A storybook village


This village near Arkhangelsk, Russia looks like it’s straight out of a holiday storybook.
9. Nature’s coolest lizard


How could you not love this picture? This little guy looks like a total rockstar!
10. Sleeping cloud


It’s crazy when clouds take such realistic shapes, but this photo literally goes above and beyond anything we’ve ever seen.
11. Flock of flamingos


We all know that birds of a feather flock together, but this incredible, aerial shot found this flock of flamingos in a formation that looked exactly like themselves.
12. Hot tea in the arctic


Hot tea stands no chance against these sub-zero temperatures. The tea froze before hitting the ground creating this beautiful burst.
13. An iceberg above and below


By taking this shot partially submerged in the water, the photographer was able to capture the grandness of this iceberg.
14. Snow on the mountains


The valley of this small village protected it from the mountain’s snowfall but created a beautiful photo with natural contrast.
15. Rainbow trails


While a lot of beautiful photos have come from staged shoots that use prisms to create the rainbows, none of them compare to the chance beauty that this photographer captured. The rainbow was caught through the airstream of a passing plane.
16. Light on the mountain


The icy tops of this peak captured the light of golden hour in a way that makes it look like it’s being artificially lit up.
17. Cold calls


This photographer’s timing was near perfect as they captured this Chinese regiment’s morning exercises.
18. Pancake ice


These circular disks of ice form on rough seas creating the illusion of snowy pancakes on the water’s surface.
19. A real life mermaid


This beautiful underwater shot looks surreal with all of the fish and blue tones.
20. Lightning


Photos of lightning are always incredible because of the small window of time the photographer has to capture the strikes.
21. Flying to the moon


Another subject that’s hard to shoot is the moon. It takes a great lens and a keen eye for composition. This photographer got lucky with the plane climbing by at the perfect time.
22. The tornado touchdown


This Russian photographer captured the pure power of nature in this tornado shot.
23. Before and after


The dirt road dividing this forest stopped a wildfire from spreading further creating a striking contrast.
24. Mirror image


Sure this photo may look photoshopped, but really it’s just being in the right place at the right time.
25. Above the clouds


This photo was taken from a plane above the clouds just as a thunderstorm was forming.
26. Red skies for the win


It was hard for the crowd at this game in New York City to pay attention once nature started putting on its own incredible show.
27. A perfectly timed rainbow


As it comes through the clouds, this rainbow over The Academy of Arts looks as though it was lifted right from the rim of the building’s circular structure.
28. Rockets take flight


This perfectly timed photo looks magical as rockets launch, leaving a golden trail.
29. White border


The snow on the boarder of Italy and Switzerland creates a beautiful, minimalistic photo.
30. Perfectly synchronized


The photographer who captured this photo has a keen eye for composition.
Which striking photo was your favorite? Be sure to tell us in the comments below!
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