The 24th annual National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest is in full swing. The entry
deadline has been extended until July 11. The four categories include:
Travel Portraits; Outdoor Scenes; Sense of Place and Spontaneous
Moments. Last year's contest drew nearly 13,000 images from all over
the world. The pictures are as diverse as their authors, capturing an
assortment of people, places and wildlife - everything that makes
traveling so memorable, evoking a sense of delight and discovery. The
following post includes a small sampling of the entrant's work, taken
from the editor's picks in each of the categories. (The captions are
written by the entrants, some slightly corrected for readability.) And
for fun, take a look back at the winners from 2011 at National
Geographic Traveler. --
SPONTANEOUS MOMENTS -
Marrakech Traveler:
It was mid-morning and he must have wanted to ride into the light. I
was shooting for the ABC TV show Born to Explore when I snapped this
photo. (John Barnhardt/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)
SPONTANEOUS MOMENTS -
Curious:
As a kid I was always curious to know where we were going. Always
impatient to know the current location, and how much time it would take
to get to the destination. Somehow knowing that would make me feel
better. On a recent trip on a train early morning I was taking some
photos and there was this kid. He was peeping back every now and then
and every time the train stopped he was looking at the boards. Once he
saw the camera in my hand, he got curious but was not waiting for me to
click. It was worth the wait and tries. I love how it just reminds me of
my childhood travels. (Gopal Patil/National Geographic Traveler Photo
Contest)
SPONTANEOUS MOMENTS –
The Running Boy: A young boy is "flying" home. (Pietro Sferrino/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)
SPONTANEOUS MOMENTS -
Women’s Prayer: This
was my first time seeing many women from the youngest to the oldest
praying seriously with all of their heart and mind. (Lydia
Isnanto/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)
SPONTANEOUS MOMENTS -
Innocence and Icon:
The classic American car has become a symbol and staple throughout
Cuba. In the back streets of Havana, one who has yet to learn of the
country’s history, shows her innocence at play. (Eric
Kruszewski/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)
SPONTANEOUS MOMENTS –
Deer Under Falling Cherry Blossom Petals:
I sat down on a stump for rest after stroll in Nara Park, and watching
deer. They were eating fallen cherry blossom petals, peacefully.
Suddenly strong wind blew out and cherry blossom petals were started to
fall on the deer. It is like a shower of falling cherry blossom petals.
It is called "Hana Fubuki" in Japanese, literally means flower
snowstorm. (Hisao Mogi/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)
SPONTANEOUS MOMENTS -
Chick Dropped in Soup:
No, not chicken soup...It's a literal translation of a Chinese
expression for being drenched. Caught this well-dressed lady trying to
cross the street in a torrential downpour. (Brian Yen/National
Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)
SPONTANEOUS MOMENTS -
Window Washers:
All of the sudden I looked up and there were four window washers way
high up on the adjacent skyscraper. I grabbed my camera and started
shooting. To get an interesting angle, I went under the glass awning and
shot upward. (Amy Sacka/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)
SPONTANEOUS MOMENTS -
Swirl:
This was taken on 95th floor of John Hancock Building. I was fortunate
to watch as fast moving low hanging clouds swept through the city
buildings during late afternoon. A cloud swirled around the Trump Tower
for a very brief moment for me to capture two frames. This is one of
the two. (Jian Lou/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)
SENSE OF PLACE –
4800 Above Sea Level:
This shot was taken in Bolivia, close to Sucre city. On 4800 meters
above sea level the mountain releases gas everyday from 5am till 7am.
The gas is hot but not dangerous. It’s a beautiful view in the middle of
a desert. There is always a lot of travelers stopping and checking out
because the place is included on the Salar de Uyuni tour. (Stylianos
Papardelas/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)
SENSE OF PLACE -
Split:
The ancient Old Town of Split (Croatia) in February 2012 during the
heaviest snowfall in its recorded history. (Nenad Saljic/National
Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)
SENSE OF PLACE -
Alone: I felt the beautiful landscape of the Earth. (Takaki Watanabe/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)
SENSE OF PLACE -
Cruising in Cuba:
The National Highway in Cuba has many stretches where you will not see
another car for miles. Then when you do see one, it is an old classic
like this 1950s Buick, which looks at home on the open road with the
Cuban landscape of fields and mountains in the distance. (James
Kao/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)
SENSE OF PLACE -
Lost in Time – An Ancient Forest:
Near the city of Morondava, on the West coast of Madagascar lies an
ancient forest of Baobab trees. Unique to Madagascar, the endemic
species is sacred to the Malagasy people, and rightly so. Walking
amongst these giants is like nothing else on this planet. Some of the
trees here are over a thousand years old. It is a spiritual place,
almost magical. (Ken Thorne/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)
SENSE OF PLACE -
Snowflakes:
Frozen snowflakes on the side window of the car while driving towards
the slopes for a great day of snowboarding. (Mark Timmermans/National
Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)
SENSE OF PLACE -
Waterfall at the WTC Memorial:
The World Trade Center Memorial in New York City seemed vast and
somewhat sterile until I focused on just a part of the waterfall and was
overwhelmed with the feeling of all those fleeting souls coursing down
into the abyss. (Joan Stiehl/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)
SENSE OF PLACE -
Swimming in the Rain:
My sister in the south of Chile. We are sitting at home next to the
fireplace in our southern lake house when it suddenly began to pour
uncontrollably. Had to rush into the lake to take this snapshot! (Camila
Massu/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)
SENSE OF PLACE -
The Ice Cave Experience:
Deep, blue and cold. The frightening experience of climbing inside an
ice cave on the north face of alpine summit at 3800 meters above sea
level is very difficult to describe in words; especially in summer, when
all the glacial ice melts making place for completely new formations.
You need to stay focused, pay attention to every single move and commit
yourself entirely to this climb. The reward: an amazing experience of
climbing something pure and truly unique. (Kamil Tamiola/National
Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)
SENSE OF PLACE -
Divine:
When light pours over the Taj Mahal everything else clears your mind.
The tour guides, the crowds, the construction statistics...all become
moot. (Colin Roohan/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)
SENSE OF PLACE -
Divine:
When light pours over the Taj Mahal everything else clears your mind.
The tour guides, the crowds, the construction statistics...all become
moot. (Colin Roohan/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)
OUTDOOR SCENES -
Lenticular Over Mt. Rainer: The wonder of the weather. (Rolland Hartstrom/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)
OUTDOOR SCENES –
The Village of Gasadalur:
The village of Gasadalur and the island of Mykines in the background.
Until a tunnel was built in 2004, the 16 residents living in Gasadalur
had to take a strenuous hike or horseback over the steep 400 meters
mountain in order to make it to the other villages. It was a rare sunny
day in the Faroe Islands and I had to wait until the clouds rolled in to
provide some softer light. I decided to go with a long exposure (1
minute 10 seconds) to illustrate the force of the wind and a serene sea
among the isolated islands. (Ken Bower/National Geographic Traveler
Photo Contest)
OUTDOOR SCENES –
Table Mountain’s Cloudy Tablecloth:
This gorgeous phenomena of clouds pouring over the top of Table
Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa, is what gave the mountain it's
name. I was mesmerized by this stunning, slow motion, waterfall effect
and had to capture it with my camera...which I think is impossible to
ever truly capture. (Laura Grier/National Geographic Traveler Photo
Contest)
OUTDOOR SCENES –
Giant Marbles:
Like ancient giant marbles, the Moeraki Boulders are strewn across
Koekohe Beach on New Zealand's South Island. The light of sunrise casts
an other worldly hue on these rock formations. (Marcus Haid/National
Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)
OUTDOOR SCENES –
Another World:
This is the great Japanese maple tree in the Portland Japanese
Gardens. I tried to bring a different perspective of this frequently
photographed tree. (Fred An/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)
OUTDOOR SCENES –
New Years:
Flying from Bozeman, MT to celebrate New Year's with my sister in
Minnesota, I awoke from a nap to this incredible view of the sunrise.
(Naomi Zatorowski/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)
OUTDOOR SCENES –
Frosted Vignette:
An early morning drive along the Pullman Highway coupled with a pale
grey sky revealed this beautiful scene. (Patrick Lipsker/National
Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)
OUTDOOR SCENES –
Middle Americana: Common life for the fifty percent. (Jim Seiler/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)
OUTDOOR SCENES –
Beach Life Moments: Beach life moments in Sicily. (Angelo Cirrincione/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)
OUTDOOR SCENES –
My Balloon:
H'Mong minority children were playing with their balloons on the foggy
day in Moc Chau - Ha Giang province Viet Nam. (Vo Anh Kiet/National
Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)
TRAVEL PORTRAITS -
Pipedreams:
As the call from mosques sound throughout the city, men make their way
to begin prayer at this time of Eid. They walk in clothes freshly
dressed, through busy streets and building sites. These pipes are some
of the obstacles, though also used as shade from the intense sun and as a
place of social gathering once prayer has been completed. As for now,
men and boys will soon repeatedly bow their heads, all the while
strengthening their faith. And I wonder at times, do they ever ask Allah
for particular blessings, or do their most intimate hopes remain
nothing more than pipe dreams. (Maria de la Guardia/National Geographic
Traveler Photo Contest)
TRAVEL PORTRAITS -
Amazon Boatman:
This indigenous Kichwa boatman was our taxi on a recent trip to the
Amazon region of Ecuador. It was amazing the control he had over his
dugout canoe, which was probably 30 feet long. At one point we had all
given up hope when we were caught in the jungle during a flash flood,
but he got us out. All without changing facial expressions. (Howard
Stanton/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)
TRAVEL PORTRAITS -
All Smiles:
Our surgical team spent 2 weeks in the Western Highlands of Ethiopia
performing obstetric fistula and uterine prolapse surgeries last
November. I've never seen so many smiling ladies in a hospital before.
The love and gratitude was overwhelming. This little girl was an orphan
living on the hospital grounds and would come hang out with us on our
breaks. Her smile and infectious laugh were an unbelievable gift. I look
at this picture often and can't wait to go back next year. (Kathryn
Quenneville/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)
TRAVEL PORTRAITS -
Eyes:
At the hospital of Dadaab's Refugee Camp a weak little girl is hold by
her mother. (Lucas Mello/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)
TRAVEL PORTRAITS -
Motherhood:
Calm Silence shared between a mother and daughter amongst the frenzied
traffic along the road to Agra. (Darrell Lew/National Geographic
Traveler Photo Contest)
TRAVEL PORTRAITS -
Wet:
A swollen creek bed in the desert near Broken Hill in Australia, a
local cools off. (Miles Rowland, National Geographic Traveler Photo
Contest)
TRAVEL PORTRAITS -
Miss Confidence:
Ruth stands in her newly won sash and tiara in her one room apartment
that she shares with two other people. Ruth is three feet tall. She
entered an able-bodied beauty pageant “Miss Fabulous Kenya” competing
against hundreds of women. After three intense rounds she walked away
with one of the top three prizes “Miss Confidence”. The pageant awarded
her 5,000 Kenya Shillings, which paid for one months rent. (Mia
Collis/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)
TRAVEL PORTRAITS -
Looking Back in Time:
While walking down the street in Old Havana, I was invited into this
elderly woman's home. She was lying in bed and told me she wasn't
feeling well. She asked if I had any Aspirin, which I did have in my
purse. As I bent over to give it to her, I noticed this photograph on
the nightstand beside her bed. It was taken of her many years before
lying in the very same bed. I thought this was very cool. (Terri
Gross/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)
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