Here's Why Camera Trap Photography Is the Absolute Best

You can always rely on National Geographic to feature the best animal photography out there. That's no small feat with camera traps, but the tech has advanced, and so has the image quality and color. A few years ago, Nat Geo released a photo gallery with some awesome, and sometimes grisly, wildlife trail cam shots. The standouts were a gray wolf feeding on a drowned bison, a grizzly bear stealing apples from a backyard, and vultures getting their fill of a carcass.

Camera traps have been a game-changer for learning about wildlife. They've been around for over a century and have gotten better and better over the years. With the help of infrared sensors and motion detectors, camera traps are built to perceive heat radiation and movement, and animals are undisturbed by them, which means they get up close and personal. Wildlife behavior remains uninhibited in the presence of a camera, and therein lies part of the magic. By having powerful batteries and being "always on," the best cameras provide an untiring perspective on the natural world. This is priceless and has resulted in rare footage and a fuller picture of the animals living in a particular area at specific times of the day, month, or year.

One of the most appealing aspects of candid wildlife cameras is their ability to capture the shyest animals, the most dangerous ones that humans can't naturally get close to, and the ones that come out at night when most folks would rather be in bed. The special lenses used in regular wildlife photography often don't provide an intimate perspective either. Camera traps have snapped land animals like the timid aardvark, the mighty tiger, the nocturnal owl, and the wary rhino, to name a few.

True wildlife photobombs involve more than one animal, and Animal A has no clue that Animal B is in the vicinity. These are rare but possible. So what generally makes for an outstanding picture? A sense that you're right there in the middle of the action, or a touch of humor and anthropomorphization, as you'll see below. Now, let's move on to the good stuff.

Well, if it isn't Queen Charlotte of the Bridgerton universe herself. We can confirm that her royal highness's cross-dressing updo is the greatest and loftiest in all the lands—there's no need for her to burden herself any further, or she may risk chronic neck pain. And that deer caught in the headlights pose? On point, darling, on point. She could have looked like a gasping Phillipa Soo at the end of Hamilton, but there she is, cool as a cucumber, with a cheekily regal grin. Bravo!

Now, what do we have here? The Fantastic Four are hard at work and have been caught in the act. These ring-tailed bandits know that teamwork makes the dream work and have formed the raccoon equivalent of a Spanish castell to complete a mission no doubt worthy of Danny Ocean. The only question is, what was deemed so valuable that this Olympic level of acrobatics was necessary? Your guess is as good as ours.

Hold onto your hats, ladies! Jacob Black's distant relatives are out here a-wooing the night away, so there's no telling what supernatural phenomena (read: wooing hotties) may be headed your way. The moon is out of the picture, but we're 99% certain it's a full one or at least waxing and waning en route. Howling werewolves aside, do you see the pair of hovering lights that may or may not be glowing photobombing eyes in the background? That creature's clearly thinking: "I'll audition for The Voice next year. This trio has it in the bag."

Conventional wisdom might suggest that a picture like this be accompanied by Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On." But with many years of romcom theory under our belts, we can confirm that this romantic, unsuspecting moment deserves nothing less than KC and the Sunshine Band's "Get Down Tonight." Thanks to trail cameras, we've been treated to a peak behind the curtains, and there's a good chance this particular breed won't go extinct anytime soon.

Sure, you might call this normal predatory behavior. But this owl looks like it has been possessed by the devil. It's either that a vendetta or some kind of mischief is afoot. That menacing soul-piercing gaze Fedexed from Hades says a lot. "See this? This is nothing. If you come for me again, I'll sink my talons far deeper into you and crush you like a bad can of iced tea. Try me."

This is an Irish deer mid-Riverdance. You can't convince us otherwise. Bucks without antlers often get up on their hind legs and face combat with their sharp hooves, but this is not that. For starters, where's the other guy? Nope. This is a Michael Flatley-inspired solo performance with perfect posture and poise. And it's far away from the rest of the herd—the folks who do karaoke when no one else is home know what we're talking about.

Calm down. You're not Baby Ben Geller in Friends. Nor are you the only naked one in the room. Instead, you're simply a mechanical impostor at the annual Association of Deer Convention. On your right, you should notice the Grand Deer coming to have a quick chat about your accreditation status.

The classic "does my bum look big in this?" pose had to show up at some point. And this one comes to us courtesy of a big and bootylicious bear. There's probably another bear with the same POV as us thinking, "Sad to see you go. Happy to see you leave."

"Hey, piggy, piggy. I've got a proposition for you. Wanna be the Pumbaa to my Timon? I know you're not a warthog, and I'm not a meerkat, but I'm in dire need of an ambulatory bestie, and I think you'll do the trick. That's my annoying lil bro over there, by the way."

This is a horror movie in one picture. Can we have a moment of silence for this poor deer? Let's use an analogy for a minute. Imagine it's payday. You just bought a bunch of fancy groceries from Walmart, and you're about to sit down and binge-watch Real Housewives when something lands on your head. You shriek. It squeaks. It realizes you don't have calcium-enriched antlers and seeks out your male family members. You're filled with terror instead of treats. The end.

This nifty raccoon has mastered the fine art of making it rain. His buddies are enjoying the fruits of his efforts, heads bent, mouths open. Floyd "Money" Mayweather would be proud. Raccoons move around in groups of four to ten, and there are five individuals in this photo—pretty much the sweet spot, dontcha think?

"Don't mind me. I'll just be over here, staring into a reflective surface to make sure I look fine and dandy. No, it's not the first day of work. Dapperness is a lifestyle—remember that."

"Maybe if I squeeze my eyes hard enough, I'll enter a part of the multiverse where I'm not a walking milk bottle with multiple teats and multiple feeders." Across species, the maternal struggle is real.

Noooo. Little bunnyyyy. Watch out! You've got t minus two seconds to get your butt out of there. We know the big cat is hungry, but long live the underdog! So, come on, what are you waiting for???

Threesomes in the wild? We'll admit, we did not see this one coming (wink, wink).

HBO's "Euphoria" knows all too well that the best criminals are made young.