The winning images have been selected from this year’s edition of the National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year
competition, with the grand prize being awarded to Reiko Takahashi for
her image of a humpback whale calf swimming near Japan’s Kumejima
Island. National Geographic was kind enough to share some of the winning
entries with us here, gathered from three categories: Nature, Cities,
and People. Be sure to click the link above to see all the winners and
the People’s Choice winners as well. The captions were written by the
photographers, and lightly edited for style.
Mermaid. Grand prize winner, and first
place, Nature. "I was fortunate to have encountered a humpback whale
with her calf on my first day snorkeling near Japan’s Kumejima Island.
Most of the time, the calf stayed close to her mom. At one point, the
calf began jumping and tapping its tail on the water near us—it was
very friendly and curious. Finally, the mother, who was watching nearby,
came to pick up the calf and swim away. I fell in love completely with
the calf and it’s very energetic, large, and beautiful tail.
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Alone in the Crowds. Honorable mention,
Cities. "In this photo, I tried to bring the intense and stacked
living conditions that Hong Kong is famous for into perspective for the
viewer. With so many people living in small spaces, it's strange to see
all these amenities empty. As a solo traveler, I’m often alone in crowds
and this photo resonates with me. I barely scratched the surface of
this incredible urban environment, but this image really summarizes my
experience here."
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Leida and Laelle - I Will Lift You Up.
Second place, People. "Since 2016, I've been involved with Haitian
immigrants and refugees living in my city, Estrela. I have become
friends with some families, and especially with twin
sisters, Leïda and Laëlle. They say living in Brazil is like living in
paradise—very different from the reality of their country of origin.
They dream of becoming models and teachers, as a way to earn money to
bring their other relatives from Haiti to Brazil, to live all near one
another. On this day, they were playing in front of their home,
improvising exercises to develop their imagination and creativity, as if
they were actresses, and playing an imitation game with poses.
Laëlle reached for Leida's face and lifted her head up, showing her
where she should look. At this brief moment, I took the photo."
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Mars. Third place, Nature. "These natural
sand towers, capped with large stones, are known as the Earth Pyramids
of Platten. They are situated in northern Italy’s South Tyrol region.
Formed centuries ago after several storms and landslides, these land
formations look like a landscape from outer space and continuously
change over the years and, more accurately, over seasons. This natural
phenomenon is the result of a continuous alternation between periods of
torrential rain and drought, which have caused the erosion of the
terrain and the formation of these pinnacles. As the seasons change, the
temperatures move between extremes and storms affect the area, pyramids
disappear over time, while new pinnacles form as well."
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Another Rainy day in Nagasaki, Kyushu.
First place, Cities. "This is a view of the main street from a tram in
Nagasaki on a rainy day. The tram is vintage, but retrofitted with
modern ticketing equipment. A conductor is no longer on board—only the
lone driver. The quiet streetscape seen through the front windshield of
the tram somehow caught my attention. This view presents quite a
contrast to busy urban centers in Japan, such as Tokyo and Osaka. The
ride on a vintage tram through the relatively quiet main street was a
memorable experience during our week-long visit to the historic city of
Nagasaki."
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