Many of the beautiful photos featured in this list may become fiction in the future if climate change isn’t controlled, forcing massive changes in ecosystems. The BBC reports that 2023 is “virtually certain” to be the hottest year on record.

Though the rate of global warming has sped up in recent decades, climate change still isn’t in the ‘runaway’ phase (yet).

"It doesn't have to be worse than we expected to be a huge problem that society urgently needs to deal with. Climate change is as bad as we expected. And that's bad enough,” climate scientist Zeke Hausfather, at Berkeley Earth, said.

According to the BBC, some scientists believe that our planet’s climate hasn’t fully responded to greenhouse gas emissions yet. This could happen in the near future.

We asked photographer Sberna about what to keep in mind when taking photos in nature compared to photographing people. "When taking nature photos, you don't want to disturb the natural scene. At least that's my way of looking at things. Try to respect nature and the surroundings that you're capturing," the Berlin Heights-based professional told Bored Panda.

"When working with people, you have the ability to adjust until you get the right shot and have them move or stand a different way. You can't always do that with a nature scene. You can adjust your placement, but not the scene," he explained to us.

We were curious whether the fundamentals of photography are the same whether shooting in nature or taking snaps of people. Sberna told us that the fundamentals "will always be just that—fundamentals.

"You want to make sure your composition is strong and that you're presenting the scene how you want it to look. Whether that is a portrait session or a nature hike that you're taking photos on. You want your composition to be strong."

The photographer agreed that photo editing software is "extremely important" for any professional. However, it's the communication surrounding its use that's essential. Pros need to be honest about how they're using it.

"It's easy for someone to say, 'Why edit your photos?' The reason we post-process is to either change an image to fit the art style we are creating or to return things to the way we originally saw them when the photo was taken. Cameras only do so well in capturing accurate colors and more times than not, we need to bring those back in post-processing," Sberna explained to Bored Panda.

"What is 'acceptable' in regards to nature photos is up to the person taking it. I personally try to not edit too much other than color vibrancy, exposure correcting (if needed), and increasing clarity and sharpness. To me personally, adding anything to an image that wasn't already there is a very fine line of realism," the photographer shared his thoughts on what may and might not be 'acceptable' when using software.

"We've all seen a photo where someone took two separate photos and placed them together and rather than being honest about it, they've implied that it's the same shot. An example would be a zoomed-in photo of the moon that is imposed in over a photo of a city skyline at night," he said.

"Now there are photos like this that are 100% real, but then there are photos where it is physically impossible for the moon to appear as large as it does in the shot presented."

Photographer Sberna noted that anyone who's doing a composite photo should be honest about it. "Your art will come off with more integrity. Photo editing software is an incredible thing and we are able to create some amazing images with its abilities and our own, but, just be honest with your work and your intent. If you do that, in my opinion, you can't go wrong."

The photography-focused EEP project on X, run by an anonymous curator, has 16.7k followers. The account was created way back in January 2014 when the social network was still called Twitter. According to the curators, the goal of the account is to show off “Mother Nature in all of her succulent beauty.”

However, at the time of writing, it seems like the curators have decided to move on from the project. Their last posts were in early 2020. Meanwhile, the project also had a Facebook account, but it’s no longer functional.

The power of these photos lies at the intersection of striking nature and high-quality photography. Without gorgeous vistas, you won’t have anything to work with.

On the flip side, professional photographers, armed with the right equipment, can bring out the full potential of scenic views.

However, it’s not just the equipment you’re working with that matters. A good photographer will make do with whatever tools are at hand. Similarly, someone who’s an amateur and still developing their sense of taste won’t be able to use even the most expensive tech to its best capabilities.

Good equipment augments the skills that we already have, but it won’t magically impart us with a feel for aesthetics, timing, and framing.

Let’s not forget that light lies at the core of photography. The same place can look vastly different depending on the time of day or even the time of year you visit it.

It’s one thing to go hiking and to snap photos because you think something looks nice. But if you’re working on a particular project or have a unique style, taking random photos and hoping for the best simply won’t do.

You’ll need to scout out a place that you think has the potential to fit your project to see how it looks with different light. A mountain lake might be gorgeous, but it might not suit your purposes if your entire aesthetic is focused on forests under starlight.

What this means, essentially, is that photography is about more than just pointing and shooting your camera.

Photography requires patience. It requires research. It requires being honest with yourself about art and what does and doesn’t look good. Real photography is as much about embracing growth and overcoming artistic frustration as it is about working with light.

A stunning portfolio may look good to strangers, but if the photographer is dissatisfied with their results, then the project’s success isn’t as clear-cut as you’d think.

One thing that photographers—veteran and amateur alike—should consider is how heavily they want to rely on photo-editing software. Processing images on a computer, after taking them, is a core part of many photographers’ jobs. A lot depends on their goals and styles, though.

While some pros might massively adjust colors to create lots of clashing contrast, others may prefer ‘raw’ footage, to make everything seem more ‘natural.’

Which of these stunning photos did you like the most, dear Pandas? Which locations would you love to visit in person someday? We’d love to hear what you think and why you enjoyed the images that you did, so scroll down to the bottom of this list and share your thoughts in the comment section.