The World's Best Photos of #Spring2020

Spring is the symbol of life and rebirth in all civilizations, a time when seeds come to life and flood our beloved Earth with colors. Through Agora, we get the opportunity to discover the best images of this wonderful period of the year: enjoy the show!

Octavi Royo, Agora's CEO & Co-Founder

With this photo, I wanted to show the beauty of Vietnamese culture to the world. This group of friends were all wearing an 'Ao Dai', Vietnam's national garment.  This outfit is inseparable from the image of Vietnamese women, both within Vietnam and beyond its borders, and especially at official ceremonies, conferences, and weddings. It is also one of the most popular uniforms for Vietnamese high school and university students.  In this poetic setting with blooming flowers floating on the river, the authentic bamboo bridge symbolizes the connexion between the past and the present. 

@quytran (Vietnam)

I was lucky to capture the moment where a bee collected the pollen from a sunflower. The process of pollination is very important and bees have a crucial role in this. As they fly from flower to flower, they transfer pollen with their legs. Over 80% of the world's flowering plants require a pollinator to reproduce. Bees are the most efficient pollinators. As I watched the whole process, I felt excitement and admiration for their work, transferring the pollen tirelessly from one flower to another.

@irokiorapostolou (Greece)

Spring is seen as a time of new life and the beginning of warm weather. Sadly in Te Anau, spring can be very harsh with lambs often being born in snow, and some don't survive the cold nights. I wanted to show that spring is a hard time in a new lambs life and that only the strongest survive the frosts and snow.

@brin_griffiths (New Zealand)

Due to the Corona crisis, we are not allowed to see or visit anyone: just plain loneliness in the big wide world. My only way to avoid lockdown anxiety in my apartment is going to the forest to enjoy the silence and tranquility. I am glad that there are so many woods in Germany, this is where I like to withdraw and fill up with energy. In this photo, my girlfriend is standing at the end of the forest, at the limitation of the beach. One step further and you'd fall 10 meters deep.

@arnold_maisner_photo (Germany)

I went out to take a picture of this Indian Paradise Flycatcher in the scorching heat that morning, and it only appeared around noon. After running after it for a while, I was able to take some good pictures.

@tamzeedalamtoken (Bangladesh)

Every year, the tulip fields are the first signs of Spring in the Netherlands. If you drive through particular farmer areas, you see them everywhere! This year, 2020, I thought I wouldn't visit my homeland fields as I was traveling the world with my partner (and our cameras). Just like everyone else on this planet, we were forced to go home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which meant that we had to go back to the Netherlands. As soon as our quarantine ended, we visited the Tulip Fields close to our home. My partner and I decided to take my mother with us and we were very happy to let her see what we’re doing as photographers. We woke up at 5 am and drove to Noordwijkerhout to see the sunrise. My mother was pleased to model for us and the happiness she radiated is something I will never forget.

@michelle.wandering (Netherlands)

The black-naped monarch is a small bird that lives throughout tropical Southeast Asia. During spring, the female lays three eggs in a small cup-shaped nest up in a tree. In the photo, you can see the male bird feeding its new-born chick: unfortunately, it's the only hatching that remained alive in the nest, as it has been previously destroyed by a bunch of local kids who stole the 2 other eggs. 

@rafid007 (Bangladesh)

Bees move erratically all the time, taking such a neat picture wasn't easy.

@philrobson (UK)

During springtime in Sa Dec, you can notice the chrysanthemums blossoming everywhere you look. Visiting this village makes you feel so peaceful inside!

@thuanvo (Vietnam)

Spring is not only about flowers. It's also the season when birds start singing again, searching for love in the blooming trees.

@simonpastor (France)

I was photographing blue magpies, and suddenly this beautiful red fox appeared from the bushes. The fox is one of my favorite animals and I never imagined seeing it in these circumstances, surrounded by lavender flowers. It was an exciting day!

@mary_bassani (Italy)

One of those spring evenings, exploring the world and making childhood memories to cherish forever.

@zayarhtut (Myanmar)

This Plexippus Petersi jumping spider was waiting for its prey on a fully bloomed Portucala flower. 

@markbadayos (Philippines)

Capturing the beautiful colors of spring in Bavaria was an incredible experience. 

@cannonmatt (UK)

I wanted to emphasize the importance of flowers in our lives, since they are present at all stages: from the moment we are born and until we die. The photo represents how flowers are our companions and that we must learn to respect and care for them from childhood, teaching our children to plant them, water them, fertilize them and that they are given the importance that they have as living beings that, in addition to being decorative, they also give life to other beings and keep the planet alive. To create the photo, I cut a flowerpot and glued soil for plants inside so that it did not move while taking the photo. I had to take the photo from below and I explained to the girl who held the plant that I was like a worm that came out of the ground, so that she could understand what she was doing and how she had to position herself. This made her laugh and it was difficult to take a clear picture because she shacked from laughing.

@mcarmen (Spain)

While flying my drone above the tea plantations, I noticed a red dot running in the middle of the vibrant green alleys. Rather intrigued by that beautiful contrast, I decided to lower my drone to follow the red dot who happened to be a Hmong girl protecting herself from the sun with an umbrella. 

@phamngocthach (Vietnam)

Waking up at 4 am was worth it to capture this beautiful, soft light. This place is normally crowded with tourists, but we got it just for ourselves for a short time. The only other people we saw were walking their dogs or doing their morning yoga routine. The vibe you get from this place is absolutely magical. I can’t wait to come back to Japan again! I left part of my heart there.

@alvarovaliente_ (Spain)

Getting into this flower field implied stepping into a lot of mud, so we both ended up with dirty shoes.

@carlesalonsophotography (Spain)

6 months have passed between the 2 shots made at the same location: I stitched together springtime (left) and autumn (right). I wanted to share the different colors announcing the seasons, when nature turns orange and comes back to life again with beautiful flowers and lavish green grass.

@emxpi (France)

Seeing the sun shining through the blooming trees and down the tea hill was such an enchanting, magical moment. Sapa has a unique climate that has all the characteristics of the 4 seasons in one day: spring in the morning, summer at noon, fall in the evening and winter at night.

@nguyenvietcuong (Vietnam)

It’s a story of a beautiful brown girl who was not confident about her beauty. She wasn’t born with a silver spoon in her mouth, so she faced life as a reality to provide for her loved ones, until someone told her “flip the beauty upside down, and you'll see if it’s real”.

@smazzi (Nigeria)

Since the beginning of the quarantine, I've been working on macro photography series in my garden. Macrophotography allows you to discover another side of nature. 

@pascalpbz (France)

The blooming tulip fields make every spring special in the Netherlands. Seeing them from above makes it even more special!

@erwindoorn (Netherlands)

I wanted to convey the stillness and tranquillity of this beautiful lake, where a couple of swans have taken up residence.

@javito80 (Spain)

If you look closely, you'll see two umbrellas in the middle of the water lilies: they belong to two brothers who collect the flowers to sell them in the local market. 

@azimronnie (Bangladesh)

Sa Dec flower village provides a large number of trees and flowers to the southern Vietnamese regions, especially during the Vietnamese Lunar New Year or Tet Festival. Unlike normal plantations, flowers in Sa Dec are grown on high pergolas and water from nearby canals.

@anhtrungqng (Vietnam)

My girlfriend and the nice weather and flowers are the main subjects. I wanted to show that spring has started with this photo: a nice, fresh snapshot with bright colors. The birds were flying around us and it took a little while to get them at the right spot!

@cunodebruin (Netherlands)

2020 turned out to be a very unusual year for the whole world, to put it mildly. We have spent most of the spring at home, in isolation. This magical moment, when nature awakens and where everything blooms, we need to observe it from our windows. Spring is the beginning, just like a new-born: it's young, unbelievable, pure, and soft. That's why my 6-year-old daughter and I decided to saddle this picture using artificial flowers and sunlight from the window at home. In Russia, all the flower shops are closed for the period of the quarantine. They have suffered great losses, millions of fresh flowers were destroyed.

@nayagrig (Russia)

It was incredibly windy on this day and it wasn't easy to get the framing right, as the blossoms went in and out of focus constantly. I wanted to combine the softness of the blossoms with the imposing structure behind them, creating a strong yet beautiful contrast between nature and architecture.

@francesco_treu (Italy)

I remember that everyone had left the house, and I was alone in the kitchen. There was a special atmosphere, I felt at peace. Knowing this, I left everything I was doing, sat down on a little bench (the one in the photo), and I let my senses be flooded by what was happening. I could still smell the coffee and the toast, the silence was absolute... but the light was sublime. When I realized this, I went from contemplation to action. I looked for my camera, went out into the garden, looked for some flowers, distributed them in three little jars of water, and put them in the same place where I had been sitting and had felt sheltered. I don't really know why I did it. I guess I wanted to show that sometimes the light embraces us in a very special way that we do not realize it.

@paulaaranoa (Argentina)

With a total area of up to 7000 m2, the West Lake flower valley is like a garden of Eden in the heart of Hanoi. Previously this area was largely a deserted lotus lagoon; but since it's been restored with thousands of flowers, this land has turned so vibrant. When you step into this place, you step in a bubble of peace and quiet away from busy and noisy Hanoi. In this vast flower garden, there are thousands of flowers displaying their beauty, thousands of colors are opening before your eyes.

@nguyentungviet (Vietnam)

To me, blooming rapeseed fields show the spring season has officially arrived. There's nothing more beautiful than these endless, yellow fields as far as the eye can see. 

@mondscheinfotografie (Germany)

I met these two Hmong girls on the side of the road during my trip to North Vietnam.  It was a mild day, where you could still feel the fresh air coming from the mountains. They had spent the afternoon picking these beautiful flowers that would be used for medicinal purposes in their tribe. Their lovely faces and beautiful smiles made me appreciate the moment.

@thongnguyengallery (Vietnam)

I took this photo when I visited the Japanese gardens in Buenos Aires City. It was the first time I ever saw a tulip, and I wanted to capture their beauty. When I saw them, it was love at first sight!

@regulogomez (Venezuela)

I love taking photos of mother nature, especially birds and butterflies. Flowers are my best allies: when I spot a blooming flower, I just need to prepare my camera and wait for a butterfly to come by.

@ngocson (Vietnam)

I was on my first photo trip with friends. We share the same passion for photography and went on a holiday together to improve our skills. On this particular morning, we went to a spot renowned for its great view over the valley. Because of the popularity of the place, it was impossible for me to get a good view without a telephoto zoom lens, so I flew my drone. The final result seems so quiet: just a new peaceful day starting in Italy. Ironically, the bustling coronavirus pandemic had started to spread a few days before that - I will remember this sunrise for the rest of my life...

@marfle (Germany)

This church was built after the aborted attack against Emperor Franz Joseph in 1853. The emperor's brother asked the citizens to contribute to the construction of this church to thank God and the Heavens for sparing his brother's life. It’s one of the most famous photo spots during spring in Vienna.

@seplb (Austria)

Every year from late February, the Pink trumpet trees offer an impressive display of pink flowers all over the bustling city. If you put aside the impressive heights and the hot weather these guys have to deal with, it must be something else to witness such great views over the blooming city from up there.

@caokynhan (Vietnam)

My friend Wayra is a passionate gardener and I wanted to transmit her love and care for nature and life.

@suewetjen (Germany)