Last month, National Geographic asked readers to submit photos of perfect moment, which were submitted via its online photo-sharing platform, Your Shot. Out of more than 14,000 submissions, 27 made it into the final story, entitled The Moment. Moments can be large, loud, and in your face. They can also be soft, gentle, and intimate. Some of the large and explosive moments made it into the final selection, as did some of the quiet and personal moments. It really came down to the power of the image.

Here are a handful of the selected images:

The Moment they Met by Wendell Reyes
The Moment they Met by Wendell Reyes
I saw this little White Chested Emerald taking his time, waiting his/her turn to go to the feeder. While observing and taking some portraits, I saw the bird being very alert and edgy and then this little wasp came to view. As the wasp got closer, he/she took off in mid air and it looked as if they were having a conversation. I figure perhaps he/she was telling the wasp, “you better stay over there, because you are a threat to me, and I am thinking of having you for lunch!

Freeze Frame by joseph grant trammell
Freeze Frame by joseph grant trammell
The rising sun provides plenty of backlight for this ‘moment in time’ as a solo fisherman at Snapper Rocks in Australia calmly reels in his (hardly visible) line despite powerful surf lapping at his spot.

Moments by Bridgena Barnard
Moments by Bridgena Barnard
We decided to have a totally different Xmas in 2009–and wow was it different. Temperature of 42degrees,Typical kids they prompt me for a Xmas wish. We are going to see something spectacular! Like what they asked: My answer “A cheetah kill”, was accepted with roarning laughter ,but my wish came true

The Power of the Criollos by Chris Schmid
The Power of the Criollos by Chris Schmid
The power of the Criollo horses at the Cabanha Ipuã located in Paranà, Brazil. The Criollo is the native horse of Uruguay (1910), Argentina (1918), Brazil (1932) and Paraguay. It may have the best endurance of any horse breed in the world next to the Arabian.

Stuntman by Jiri Strasek
Stuntman by Jiri Strasek
Photo arose during filming

Pacujawi @ Bull Race  by  mohd irman ismail
Pacujawi @ Bull Race by mohd irman ismail
Pacu Jawi consists of two syllables that is meaningful Pacu track, being Jawi mean cow or cows, so if translated into Bahasa Indonesia, Jawi is track Cattle Pacu. Pacu Jawi is an event that is in the child NAGARI Land DatarSumatera Regency West.

Seraphim   by J. Goodman
Seraphim by J. Goodman
This photograph is of a gull hitting the brakes in mid-flight while in competition for a few airborne scraps at a California beach one evening.

Airborn by Christy D.
Airborn by Christy D.
This was the ending of a family portrait session, a storm was rolling in over the front range. I had just finished some father & son shots, when I looked down at my camera and back up to see him tossing his boy in the air. I was lucky to get this shot and to also have this beautiful dark sky in the background accompanied by the golden light of the late Summer evening. The joy in his face is because he sees his mom standing behind me. I knew immediately that this shot would be special.

One more throw by Spencer Selvidge
One more throw by Spencer Selvidge
After an afternoon photographing dogs and owners at Lady Bird Lake in Austin, Texas, there was just one dog left. And she did not want to leave. It was well past sunset and the owner kept trying to coax her out by giving her one more throw but she cleverly stayed away from the shoreline and let the ball float back instead. After 15 minutes of working the situation, and some hoping for a break in movement, I had my shot.

CatWalk by Nancy Leigh
CatWalk by Nancy Leigh
One day, I visited the quaint village of Gordes, but there were so many tourists, I decided to leave. As I headed to the car, I noticed two women talking just beyond the car park. From afar, I saw that one of the woman had something crawling around on her shoulders. As I got closer I realized it was a Siamese kitten. I quietly photographed a series of this adorable, inquisitive kitten and was so amused by his playful antics, it was difficult not to laugh.

Pariah do and woman, each on their side by Serge Bouvet
Pariah do and woman, each on their side by Serge Bouvet
In this picture, a pariah dog and a woman, each on their side. The laying dog reminds me of that of a respectable statue. Blue walls, red sari woman framed by the doorway, square, hindi letters, figures on the wall caught my eye. This is the opposite of the dog and the woman who encouraged me me to shoot this blue spot. Luckily I had my camera in hand when I saw this scene ..

Through The Net by Pyiet Oo Aung
Through The Net by Pyiet Oo Aung
The photo was taken at Ngwe Saung Beach, Myanmar. Using waterproof bag to get the low angle and protect from engaging with salted water

Respect by Sebastião Correia de Campos
Respect by Sebastião Correia de Campos

Jumping the Fire by Sergio Murria
Jumping the Fire by Sergio Murria
Shot taken at a regional festival in honor of a saint Antonio

Fire Eater, Shakrain Festival  by Junan Chakma
Fire Eater, Shakrain Festival by Junan Chakma
Shakrain Festival is celebrated in Dhaka, Bangladesh at the end of the Bangla month Poush (January 14 or 15 in Gregorian calendar). This day is known as Poush Sangkranti. (End of Poush). It is celebrated mostly around the southern part of Dhaka city. As part of the celebration, kites are flown high from the rooftops around the area in the afternoon. When night falls, fireworks lit up the sky of old Dhaka. Flame-eaters also gather up on the roofs to entertain everyone with their skills .

And the Winner of this contest:

Explosions at Acatenango by Diego Fabriccio Diaz Palomo
Explosions at Acatenango by Diego Fabriccio Diaz Palomo
Every year I love to climb the beautiful Acatenango Volcano in Guatemala, my country. I was speechless when I saw for the first time lava spit out from the violent Fuego Volcano. I decide to set my camera in Bulb mode and took a long exposure (89 sec) picture. 2 seconds before the exposure ended two thunders appeared in a far cloud on the horizon. That was just awesome, it’s INDESCRIPTIBLE