Great Outdoors Photography

Among the finalists in annual Great Outdoors photography competition were these incredible shots

• The winning snap taken by Indian Times photographer Sudipto Das, from West Bengal

From wonderful waterfalls to figures trudging through the snow this stunning collection of pictures show the beauty and ferocity of nature.

They were all finalists in the Great Outdoors photography competition, which was won with a shot of a camel herder entitled Homebound by Indian Times photographer Sudipto Das, from West Bengal.

It shows a camel seller leaving a fairground with unsold camels after the world's biggest camel fair is over at Pushkar in Rajasthan. Camel sellers from remote villages in Rajasthan gather at the fairground yearly to trade camels which continues for seven day.

Second prize went to Brit mountain guide Andy Teasdale, from Gwynedd, north-west Wales, for his picture of four skiers battling through the snow on Gran Paradiso in the Italian Alps.

Winner: This picture by Sudipto Das, from West Bengal, entitled Homebound scooped the top award in the Great Outdoors photography competition

The picture that came second overall was taken by Andy Teasdale, from Gwynedd, and titled Wild Times on Grand Paradiso in the Italian Alps

Third prize went to model turned photographer Paul Reiffer, from Dorset, for his shot of Horse Shoe Bend in the Grand Canyon

And third prize went to another Brit, model turned photographer Paul Reiffer from Dorset for his shot of Horse Shoe Bend in Page, Arizona.

The competition was organised by the The Society of Nature and Wildlife Photographers, an association for photographers worldwide, based in Wales.

Spokesman Phil Jones said: 'The theme of this competition was the ‘Great Outdoors’ and photographers were encouraged to let their creative juices flourish. 

'Images that depict this vibrant topic were welcome to be submitted, and could include landscapes, seascapes, panoramas, underwater or whatever your creativity captures in this all-embracing photographic competition.

'In the end we had 802 images submitted and they were judged by a panel at the Society.'

Shots that made the final from the UK include a plane coming in to land at City Airport in London and a lighthouse at Whitley Bay on Tyneside.

Nature in all its beauty: Wildlife photographer Mark Bridger's shot titled Fallow Love

A plane coming into land in Andy Palmer's picture of London City Airport at dusk

Csar Armindo Pereira Torres

Moody: Nik Sargent, Ely, took this snap of a remote church

Other finalist Andreas Ettl, from Germany, captured a rainbow next to Seljalandsfoss, a waterfall in southern Iceland.

Mr Jones added: 'The competition produced a load of quality images.

'We have been blown away by the variety and the fact that so many pictures came in from all over the planet.

'As an organisation it shows there is so much talent around the world and we look forward to building on that in the future.'

Here's another picture shortlisted by the Society of Nature and Wildlife Photographers of a surfer by Ewa Figaszewska

Sujan Sarkar's wonderful picture of a remote lake was one of the finalists at the Society of Nature and Wildlife Photographers awards

Beautiful: British photographer Howard Gordon's shot of a lighthouse at Whitley Bay on Tyneside

Awe-inspiring: Stairway to Heaven by Anton Petrus

Marius van Graan's other-worldly picture entitled Beaten by the Sea shows a spectacular shoreline

Andreas Ettl's Earth on Fire, taken in the stunning moonlike landscape of southern Iceland

Finalist: Philip Bird's The Sun Strikes Elephant Rock taken at Ayers Rock in Australia

Hungarian photographer Aron Suveg entered this mountain shot for the Society of Nature and Wildlife Photographers competition

Another picture by Andy Teasdale was featured in the list of finalists, this one called On The Edge

Andreas Ettl, from Germany, captured a rainbow next to Seljalandsfoss, a waterfall in southern Iceland