[imagesource: Giulio Montini]

In some circles, talking about the weather is boring chit-chat.

In others, it’s a critical conversation, as the ice melts, seas rise, and the globe warms.

Somewhere in between, are the people trying to capture the ever-changing essence of the weather to bring us closer to understanding the maddening power and brilliance of nature.

Thus, the 8 900 photographs submitted for the Royal Meteorological Society’s annual awards by more than 3 300 photographers from 114 countries, per The Guardian.

The Weather Photographer of the Year competition is now in its sixth year, having seen everything from rain, to shine, to snow, and storms.

A weather photographer hopes to find themselves in the exact right spot to capture the dynamic subject, oscillating between light and dark, big and small.

Giulio Montini captured the competition’s winning shot of a foggy autumn day from a small church on a hilltop in the town of Airuno, Italy.

Through the fog and with the help of the trees, you can just about see the winding course of the river Adda, illuminated by the first light of sunrise.

Giulio had to be quick to take this photograph of the magical beams of light, called crepuscular rays, as within 20 minutes the scene had completely changed.

Here are more of the best shots from the competition.

Jiming Zhang’s ‘Floating Red’ of the Sapu Mountains, which were hidden in the clouds for three days, clearing just as the sun set for this magical photo:

The ‘Joy Of Children’ was captured by Muhammad Amdad Hossain as children from a village celebrated and played in the water in Chittagong, Bangladesh, during a monsoon:

Michelle Cowbourne captured the view of Glastonbury, UK, on a cold January morning as the sun rose:

For something a little bit sci-fi looking, Christopher de Castro Comeso shot the Qasr al-Hosn, one of the oldest landmarks in Abu Dhabi, shrouded in morning fog:

Evgeny Borisov shot this ‘Self-Portrait in a Boat’ on what appears to be an icy Lake Kok-Kol in Russia:

In a more sunshiny part of the world, Dani Agus Purnomo took this photo of a ‘Misty Rainbow’ that peaked over tea fields in Tangerang Selatan, Indonesia:

I think I will take my conversations about the weather more seriously now.

For more, you can head to The Guardian, or straight to the source of the action here.

[sources:guardian&rmets]