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13 stunning photos that might win the Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest.

The Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest is basically "Planet Earth" meets "Survivor."

For the past 52 years, the competition has introduced us to some of the most remarkable images of the natural world. This year was no different, attracting nearly 50,000 submissions from professional and amateur photographers from around the world.

On Sept. 12, the contest managed to narrow that astounding number of entries down to a handful of finalists, releasing just some of those finalists' incredible images to the public. From the intimidating glare of a bald eagle to tender moments between a mama bear and cub, each one of these images is a truly remarkable glimpse into life on Earth.

Check out the images from 13 of the finalists below.

1. "Swim gym" by Laurent Ballesta

A female Weddell seal introduces her pup to the wonders of their underwater world. While seal pups are born on the ice, by the time they're adults, they'll outclass even the best human divers. Photo by Laurent Ballesta/Wildlife Photographer of the Year, taken off the coast of eastern Antarctica.

2. "Arctic treasure" by Sergey Gorshkov

Caught red-handed with a stolen egg, this arctic fox isn't likely to give up its life of crime anytime soon. Arctic foxes can steal up to 40 eggs a day, burying them in the icy ground for future consumption. When the long, dark winter eventually arrives, these illicit stashes will be a lifeline for this fox and its kits. Photo by Sergey Gorshkov/Wildlife Photographer of the Year, taken on Wrangel Island, Russia.

3. "The power of the matriarch" by David Lloyd

Lloyd captured the image of this female African elephant in Kenya. Likely the matriarch of her herd, Lloyd says her gaze was full of "respect and intelligence — the essence of sentience." Photo by David Lloyd/Wildlife Photographer of the Year.

4. "Romance among the angels" by Andrey Narchuk

One day while diving in the Sea of Okhostk north of Japan, Narchuk found himself surrounded by courting sea angels (a type of marine mollusk that is related to snails). He managed to capture a handful of photographs before he had to surface. The next day, they had all disappeared. Photo by Andrey Narchuk/Wildlife Photographer of the Year.

5. "The insiders" by Qing Lin

[rebelmouse-image 19530835 dam="1" original_size="750x499" caption="You might think "insiders" refers to the clownfish, but if you look closely, you can see that each carries a small crustacean known as an isopod in its mouth. These strange creatures are parasites that consume and eventually replace the fish's tongue. Chilling. Photo by Qing Lin/Wildlife Photographer of the Year, taken in the Lembeh Strait in Indonesia." expand=1]You might think "insiders" refers to the clownfish, but if you look closely, you can see that each carries a small crustacean known as an isopod in its mouth. These strange creatures are parasites that consume and eventually replace the fish's tongue. Chilling. Photo by Qing Lin/Wildlife Photographer of the Year, taken in the Lembeh Strait in Indonesia.

6. "Sewage surfer" by Justin Hofman

Indonesia has some of the world's greatest marine biodiversity, but its waters are also plagued by plastic debris. Hofman spotted this tiny seahorse clinging to a cotton swab during a dive near Sumbawa Island. Photo by Justin Hofman/Wildlife Photographer of the Year.

7. "Bold eagle" by Klaus Nigge

Nigge lay on his belly as a rain-soaked bald eagle approached him. Glowering down at the photographer, the bird presented an intimate, and intimidating, portrait. Photo by Klaus Nigge/Wildlife Photographer of the Year, taken in Dutch Harbor, Alaska.

8. "Resplendent delivery" by Tyohar Kastiel

With an emerald tail streaming behind and ruby chest on display, a male quetzal returns to its nest with food for its two young chicks. Kastiel spent a week camped out in a small patch of the Costa Rican cloud forest to get this shot. Photo by Tyohar Kastiel/Wildlife Photographer of the Year.

9. "Winter pause" by Mats Andersson

Winter is a time of rest for many animals, but not this red squirrel. These animals spend the entire season scraping by on fallen spruce cones. Andersson captured this squirrel's portrait during its rare and brief moment of downtime near his home in southern Sweden. Photo by Mats Andersson/Wildlife Photographer of the Year.

10. "Saguaro twist" by Jack Dykinga

The Sonoran Desert can be a harsh, unrelenting environment for any living thing to grow in, but saguaro cacti find a way. With roots reaching deep underground for water, these incredible plants can live up to 200 years, their branches morphing and twisting into patterns as they age. Photo by Jack Dykinga/Wildlife Photographer of the Year.

11. "Bear hug" by Ashleigh Scully

[rebelmouse-image 19530841 dam="1" original_size="750x499" caption="With plentiful grasses, salmon, and clams, Alaska's Lake Clark National Park is a perfect summer home for brown bear families. "I fell in love with brown bears," Scully said. "This young cub seemed to think it was big enough to wrestle mum to the sand. As always, she played along, firm, but patient." Photo by Ashleigh Scully/Wildlife Photographer of the Year." expand=1]With plentiful grasses, salmon, and clams, Alaska's Lake Clark National Park is a perfect summer home for brown bear families. "I fell in love with brown bears," Scully said. "This young cub seemed to think it was big enough to wrestle mum to the sand. As always, she played along, firm, but patient." Photo by Ashleigh Scully/Wildlife Photographer of the Year.

12. "Glimpse of a lynx" by Laura Albiac Vilas

Iberian lynx are some of Spain's most elusive wild animals. So when one appeared in the Sierra de Andújar National Park, Vilas couldn't help but snap a picture. "The animal's attitude surprised me. They weren't scared of people — they simply ignored us," Vilas said. "I felt so emotional to be so close to them." Photo by Laura Albiac Vilas/Wildlife Photographer of the Year.

13. "Saved but caged" by Steve Winter

A 6-month-old Sumatran tiger cub snarls at the camera, revealing its wild, ferocious heart. But this cub won't be returning to the wild. It was found and rescued from an illegal snare, and its back leg had been so damaged that it had to be amputated. This cub likely will spend the rest of its life in a Javan zoo. Photo by Steve Winter/Wildlife Photographer of the Year.

Through these incredible photographs, the contest showcases the diverse, wild, beautiful, and ultimately fragile world we live in.

Update: The top winners of the contest were announced Oct. 17, 2017.

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A generous photographer braved negative temperatures to take these free holiday portraits.

A severe oil price crash in Alberta, Canada, has left much of the area devastated — and at the worst possible time too.

The Calgary skyline. David Boily/AFP/Getty Images

One of Canada's largest oil and gas hubs, Alberta, and specifically the city of Calgary, has been hit hard by major price drops this year. Tens of thousands of workers have been laid off as a result; upwards of 30,000 by some estimates.

That's not the kind of news anyone wants to hear during the holiday season.

Photographer Ben Logan, a longtime resident of the area, wanted to find a way to give back to the city he loves.

"I've always enjoyed doing what I can for others," he says. "But volunteering at certain places didn't seem like it was enough right now."

So, with the help of his girlfriend, Logan had an idea: free holiday photos for families who might otherwise not be able to afford them.

"We thought we'd pick a spot somewhere, set up the camera, put up a sign," Logan says. "Just see who would come by and pick their day up a bit with a free photo."

He says there's something lovably cheesy and timeless about holiday photos and that even a relatively simple shoot with a professional photographer is more than most people can afford these days.

Initially, Logan prepared for only a handful of families to show. But news of the event quickly spread on social media and local news. Soon, he was prepping for over 1,000 people to show up.

Logan set up shop at Olympic Plaza in downtown Calgary on an icy December Saturday, and he waited.

The city was blasted with frigid temperatures that day, as low as -22 degrees Fahrenheit. The weather, needless to say, put a serious damper on attendance. But it wasn't long before the first families started showing up — below freezing temperates be damned.

The first couple to arrive was bundled head to toe in winter gear. When they stripped down, they showed off sharp dress clothes for a (very) quick photo.

All photos by Ben Logan, used with permission

Others soon followed. Families with giggling kids. Couples in love.

People from all walks of life.

Logan says one man, in particular, stood out in his memory.

The man didn't hear about the photo shoot in advance, he just happened to be passing through. He's currently homeless and had traveled nearly 1,000 miles from Vancouver to see his dying mother.

"While he was walking around, he saw us and was able to capture a Christmas photo for her before she left us," Logan says. "That was pretty touching."

Though only a handful of families were able to brave the breathtakingly low temperatures, the event was a massive success.

Logan says when news began to spread about the photo shoot, a handful of local businesses decided to chip in: They donated a significant sum of money specifically for Logan to give to the Calgary Food Bank in the name of his project.

Logan will be out there at Olympic Plaza again, before Christmas, and he hopes for warmer weather this time. And either way, he plans to do the whole thing again next year. And every year after that.

"That was the dream behind it all," he says. "I would really, really love to do that."

Hopefully, things will have turned around for the citizens of Calgary by this time next year. But if they don't, Logan says he's ready and eager to spread holiday cheer to people when they need it the most.

In 1904, a schoolteacher named Lewis W. Hine started photographing immigrants as they arrived at Ellis Island.

Photography turns light into a palpable record of a moment in time, which is incredible when you think about it. And Hine knew just how powerful those moments could be.

An Albanian woman from Italy at Ellis Island in 1905 (left) and an Armenian man in 1926 who was fleeing persecution in Turkey (right). Photos by Lewis W. Hine/The New York Public Library.

Hine was working as a teacher and photographer at the Ethical Culture School in New York City when he started taking his students on field trips to Ellis Island to show them the conditions of millions of immigrants.

He believed that if people could see images of the abuse and injustices that were happening in America, it might make social reform a reality.

And, eventually, his dream started coming true. He's now known for creating images that brought to light scenes of child labor, poor living conditions, unemployment, immigration, and human ingenuity.

After he left his teaching position, he went on to work with the National Child Labor Committee — which lobbied for the abolition of child labor — to document and expose the exploitative practices in the United States. His photos were used in publications all over the world, and they inspired many people to fight for change.

Self-Portrait by Lewis W. Hine/Wikimedia Commons.

By capturing intangible moments of reality, Hine connected human faces to society's wrongdoings.

Here are some of the thousands of images that Hine took during his life — pictures that brought dignity to millions of Americans and helped enact positive change:

Hine gave voice to the voiceless in an era when communication was limited.

A group of Slavic immigrants at Ellis Island in 1905. Photo by Lewis W. Hine/The New York Public Library.

“There are two things I wanted to do. I wanted to show the things that had to be corrected. I wanted to show the things that had to be appreciated,” Hines said about his work.

Group of immigrants from Italy at Ellis Island in 1905. Photo by Lewis W. Hine/The New York Public Library.

He followed the immigrant experience to the tenement buildings in major cities and helped expose terrible living conditions.

A mother and her two children live in one room on the top floor of a building in New York. Photo by Lewis W. Hine/The Library of Congress.

His work with the NCLC often required him to sneak into factories and workshops with a disguise to avoid notice.

Two young boys working a spinning frame at a mill in Macon, Georgia, in 1909. Photo by Lewis W. Hine/The Library of Congress.

"There is work that profits children, and there is work that brings profit only to employers. The object of employing children is not to train them, but to get high profits from their work,” Hines said in 1908.

Workers take a break at the Newberry Mills in South Carolina. Photo by Lewis W. Hine/The Library of Congress.

Through reform and laws enacted on the state and federal level, “by 1920 the number of child laborers was cut to nearly half of what it had been in 1910,” according to the National Archives.

Donnie Cole, known as "Our Baby Doffer," hesitantly said his age was 12 when asked by Hine. A doffer is someone who replaces spindles in spinning frames. Photo by Lewis W. Hine/The Library of Congress.

His work with National Research Project of the Work Projects Administration exposed the indescribable conditions of everyday people during the Great Depression.

Callie Campbell, 11 years old, picking cotton in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma. When asked about her job, she said, "No, I don't like it very much." Photo by Lewis W. Hine/The Library of Congress.

His photos championed hardworking everyday people, which is most vividly shown in his incredible photos of the construction of the Empire State Building.

Two ironworkers connecting beams on the Empire State Building in 1931. Photo by Lewis W. Hine/The New York Public Library.

Hine was a beacon of humanism at a time when the world was rapidly changing. He was a champion for the exploited. He was an activist.

He was also an incredible pioneer of documentary photography in America.

Despite the power of his work, the changing times of the Great Depression stalled interest in his work, and he died in poverty in 1940. Over the years, though, his legacy has grown exponentially since his death. His investigative photos are still a stark reminder of the kinetic effect images can have on society.

By recognizing the need for change and using his photography skills to help usher it along, Hine demonstrated the true power of images.

That's something that inspires me, and other photographers, daily.

His photos are humbling reminders of the struggles of everyday people at the dawn of the modern era. They're a reminder that each of us can change the world, even if it's in a small way. And they're a reminder of the hurdles America has overcome to get to where we are today.