This year, National Geographic's theme behind their 2011 Photography Contest is "Nature's ability to inspire". The winning snapshot could earn the entrant a nice prize of $10,000. Last year, photographers from over 130 countries ended up submitting over 16,000 photographs and this year they are expecting even more submissions.

One winner will be selected from 3 different categories: People, Places and Nature.The Grand Prized winner will also receive in addition to the $10,000, a trip to participate in the annual National Geographic Photography Seminar in Washington, D.C.

"We want to challenge photographers to capture true moments enhanced by composition, lighting and mood - without enhancement through digital effects, photo stitches, HDR and fisheye lenses," said Kurt Mutchler, National Geographic magazine’s executive editor for photography.

Enjoy some of the photos that have been submitted below to the nature category. They are quite wonderful views of some of the marvelous creatures that are a part of our beautiful world.