Winning National Geographic nature images shot by kids (pictures)

Budding photographers are getting national recognition thanks to a collaboration between National Geographic Kids and Jill Biden, second lady of the US. Biden poses here with an image of a sea lion taken by a 17-year-old photographer.

The Vice President's Residence in Washington DC is hosting top images from the National Geographic Kids My Shot site. The initial 10 winners are on display in a digital photo frame. New winners will be announced and displayed every month.

A jellyfish is gracefully suspended against a dark background as its brethren swim behind it in this stunning photo taken by 13-year-old Caroline Herzog. Herzog submitted the photo to National Geographic Kids My Shot, a site where young photographers can share their work with parental permission and assistance. The jellyfish shot was one of 10 winning images chosen for display in Washington, D.C.

A brightly painted swing ride opens up into the sky like an overgrown flower in this photo taken by 15-year-old Jordana Collins. It's one of 10 winning images chosen by the National Geographic Kids My Shot site to go on rotating display in Washington, D.C. The project highlights the work of up-and-coming young photographers.

Hannah Schroter, a 16-year-old photographer, captured this whimsical image of colorful flowers in an arc around tennis-shoe-clad feet. It's one of 10 winning images submitted to the National Geographic Kids My Shot site that are now on display at the Vice President's Residence in Washington, D.C.

Kristin Jenkins, a 13-year-old photographer, describes this image as a "big light bulb with shadows on the wall." The shadow patterns add an abstract artfulness to the photo, which is displayed at the National Geographic Kids My Shot site. It was one of 10 winning images chosen to appear in a digital frame at the Vice President's Residence in Washington, D.C.

This remarkable image of a soulful sea lion was taken by 17-year-old Ann Basu. She captioned the photo with this message: "Can you sea it? It's there, I'm not lion." The artful picture is on display at the Vice President's Residence in Washington, D.C. along with nine other winning photographs chosen from the National Geographic Kids My Shot site.

This image catches the moment when a ball is about to be engulfed by a well-placed glove. The whimsical moment was captured by 11-year-old Elias Harris. Harris submitted the image to the National Geographic Kids My Shot photo-sharing site. It was chosen as a top image to go on display in Washington, D.C.

This first-person view from a kayak to the deep reflections on a placid lake was taken by Elanor Jorgenson, a 17-year-old up-and-coming photographer who shared the image on the National Geographic Kids My Shot site. My Shot gives young people the opportunity to display their best photographs. Jorgenson's was one of 10 chosen to appear at the Vice President's Residence in Washington, D.C.

Anna DePaulis, a 15-year-old aspiring photographer, looked up at just the right moment to catch this image of a heart in the sky drawn by an aircraft. It was taken in California during a wedding and chosen as a winning image from the National Geographic Kids My Shot site for display at the Vice President's Residence in Washington, D.C.

This contemplative image of a girl sitting with her 8-month-old West Highland Terrier puppy is one of 10 winning photos on display at the Vice President's Residence in Washington, D.C. It was captured by Lauren Davies, a 15-year-old photographer who submitted the image to National Geographic Kids My Shot, a photo-sharing site for youth. The pup's name is Riley.

The youngest photographer to have a picture chosen for display at the Vice President's Residence in Washington, D.C. is 9-year-old Ben Alperovitz. His photo of a barn in the Tetons displays evocative layers of landscape with jagged mountains filling in the background behind a rustic structure. The image is also on display through the National Geographic Kids My Shot photo-sharing site.