It's not an easy task to narrow down 17,000 images taken by intrepid world travelers — but that's what National Geographic has just finished doing for its 2015 Traveler Photo Contest.
The contest, in its 27th year, is divided into four categories: Travel Portraits; Outdoor Scenes; Sense of Place; and Spontaneous Moments.
Images were evaluated through two rounds where both creativity and photographic quality were taken into consideration.
Grand-prize winner Anuar Patjane Floriuk, who won with a dynamic whale image, said the photo wasn't even planned. “I was taking photos near the head of the whale, and all of a sudden she began to swim toward the rest of the diving team," he told National Geographic. "The divers gave the whale and her calf space, and I just clicked at the moment when the flow and composition seemed right."
Captions below were written by the photographers.
Whale Whisperers: "Diving with a humpback whale and her newborn calf while they cruise around Roca Partida in the Revillagigedo [Islands], Mexico. This is an outstanding and unique place full of pelagic life, so we need to accelerate the incorporation of the islands into UNESCO as a natural heritage site in order to increase the protection of the islands against the prevailing illegal fishing corporations and big-game fishing."
Anuar Patjane Floriuk (grand prize winner)/National Geographic 2015 Traveler Photo Contest
Gravel Workmen "This gravel-crush working place remains full of dust and sand. Three gravel workmen are looking through the window glass at their working place. Chittagong, Bangladesh."
Photo by Faisal Azim (second prize winner)/National Geographic 2015 Traveler Photo Contest
Camel Ardah: "Camel Ardah, as it called in Oman, is one of the traditional styles of camel racing between two camels controlled by expert men. The faster camel is the loser so they must be running at the same speed level in the same track. The main purpose of Ardah is to show the beauty and strength of the Arabian camels and the riders' skills. Ardah is considered one of the most risky situations, since always the camels reactions are unpredictable and it may get wild and jump toward the audience."
Photo by Ahmed Al Toqi (third prize winner)/National Geographic 2015 Traveler Photo Contest
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