In November, Nat Geo made a request to photographers - both amateur and professional - around the globe to submit their best shots for a photo contest. Here's what they come up with.

In total, 7,000 images were sent in to select the National Geographic's Winning Photos of 2013.

The number one nature shot in the contest went to Paul Souders, who has worked as a professional photographer for 30 years; he took a shot of a polar bear under the ice in Hudson Bay, Canada. This is what the National Geographics Grand Prize winning shot looks like:

This National Geographic's Winning Photo of 'Places'is by Adam Tan from Malaysia. Titled 'Long Road to Daybreak', Tan explains, "Realizing this old town (Laocheng, means old town in Chinese) would soon be transformed into a new town through the speedy economic growth in China and perhaps lose its raw beauty in no time, I was pleased to capture this working mother carrying her child in her basket walking through the thick mist in a very early foggy morning, 2012." -National Geographic