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Winning Photos Of Nat Geo’s Travel Photographer 2017 Are Out, And Each Frame Is Priceless!

byRachna Srivastava
4th August 2017
2 minute read
Nat-Geo-Winners

There’s an array of inexplicable emotions one who loves a picture perfect frame feels upon chancing one. And, we had the same feeling when we set eyes upon the entries to 2017 National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year contest. Now double the excitement and the influx of emotions, when the winning shots have been announced. Each frame is beautiful.

The winners in each category were announced and there are honorable mentions too. The grand prize was a 10-day trip for two to the Galápagos Islands with National Geographic Expeditions. And in each category, there are three winners — the first place $2,500, second place $750 and third place $500.

Nuff’ said! Feast your eyes, now.

Grand Prize, and 1st Prize Nature Category:

The Power of Nature by Sergio Tapiro Velasco.


Powerful eruption of Colima Volcano in Mexico on December 13th, 2015. That night, the weather was dry and cold, friction of ash particles generated a big lightning of about 600 meters that connected ash and volcano, and illuminated most of the dark scene. On last part of 2015, this volcano showed a lot of eruptive activity with ash explosions that raised 2-3 km above the crater. Most of night explosions produced incandescent rock falls and lightning not bigger than 100 meters in average.

Velasco’s incredible photo was selected from over 15,000 entries from participants in more than 30 countries.

 

Nature:

2nd Prize: To live by Hiromi Kano

Swans who live vigorous even in mud.

 

3rd: Crocodiles at Rio Tarcoles by Tarun Sinha

This image was captured in Costa Rica when I was travelling from Monteverde to Playa Hermosa. As you cross over this river, you can stop and peer over the edge of the bridge. Below, reside over 35 gigantic crocodiles, relaxing on the muddy banks of the river. I wanted to capture the stark difference between the crocodiles on land and in the water. In the murky waters, the body contours of these beasts remain hidden, and one can only truly see their girth as they emerge from the river.

 

Honorable Mention: Marble Caves by Clane Gessel

The marble caves of Patagoina

 

Honorable Mention: Forest of the Fairy by Yutaka Takafuji

Shooting in the forest This photograph was taken in the evening hours of a humid early summer day in the forest of a small remote village in the Tamba area of Japan. It beautifully captures the magical atmosphere of Princess fireflies carpeting a stairway leading to a small shrine revered by the local people.

 

Honorable Mention: Mt. Bromo by Reynold Riksa Dewantara

Mount Bromo volcano is a small, but active volcanic cinder cone on Java, Indonesia. Early 2016, I happened to be in Mt. Bromo during the increase of seismic activity and triggered the alert status to the second highest.

 

Honorable Mention: In Your Face by Shane Gross

Caribbean reef sharks are usually shy so I placed my camera on a rock where I know they frequent and used a remote trigger to click away as they came in and bumped my camera around.

 

Cities 

1st: Levels of reading by Norbet Fritz

The modern interior of the city library in Stuttgart. With its wide-open space in the central, where natural light comes from through the windows on the top, it has a very unique atmosphere, where you can broaden your knowledge.

 

2nd: Walled City #08 by Andy Yeung

The Kowloon Walled City was the densest place on Earth. Hundreds of houses stacked on top of each other enclosed in the center of the structure. Many didn’t have access to open space.This notorious city was finally demolished in 1990s. However, if you look hard enough, you will notice that the city is not dead. Part of it still exists in many of current high density housing apartments. I hope this series can get people to think about claustrophobic living in Hong Kong from a new perspective.

 

3rd: Henningsvær Football Field by Misha De-Stroyev

This football field in Henningsvær in the Lofoten Islands is considered one of the most amazing fields in Europe, and maybe even in the world. The photo was taken during a 10-day sailing trip in Norway in June 2017. We arrived to Henningsvær after a week of sailing through the cold and rainy weather. Upon our arrival, the weather cleared up. I was really lucky that the conditions were suitable for flying my drone, and I managed to capture this shot from a height of 120 meters.

 

Honorable Mention: Colorful apartment by Tetsuya Hashimoto

This building is apartment complex in Gifu Prefecture of Japan. It is very colorful, but it is an ordinary collective housing where ordinary people can live.

 

Honorable Mention: Al Ain by Andrzej Bochenski

New city on the desert

 

People:

1st: Worship by F. Dilek Uyar

This photo was taken in Konya. Willing Dervish in an historical place of Sille KonyaTurkey.
The ‘dance’ of the Whirling Dervishes is called Sema and is a symbol of the Mevlevi culture. According to Mevlana’s teachings, human beings are born twice, once of their mothers and the second time of their own bodies.

 

2nd: Interesting moment by Julius Y.

Museum visitors curiously watching Rembrandt’s painting ” Syndics of the Drapers’ Guild” where it gave the illusion that the people on the paintings too are curiously watching the visitors.

 

3rd: Under The Wave by Rodney Bursiel

I recently traveled to Tavarua, Fiji to do some surf photography with pro surfer Donavon Frankenreiter at Cloudbreak. I’m always looking for new angles and perspectives. The usual surf shots have all been done so we decided to get a little creative. Makes you look twice.

 

Honorable Mention: Bridging Generation by Jobit George

A beautiful photo of a father and son sitting in white traditional attire with beautiful blue sky on the day of Eid al-Fitr in a mosque in New Delhi, India. The photo shows the beautiful bond which these two generation have been building up in a very simple and lovable manner.

 

Honorable Mention: The Man’s Stare by Moin Ahmed

The photo was taken on 23rd of July 2016 at Tongi Railway Station, Gazipur, Bangladesh. I was there for taking photos and waiting for a moment. A train from Dhaka toward another district has reached and stopped at the platform for 5 min for lifting passengers. It was huge raining. Suddenly I found a pair of curious eye was looking at me through the window and on his left an umbrella has been put for protect the rain. I got the moment.

 

Honorable Mention: Blessings at Besakih by Michael Dean Morgan

Besakih Temple has been known as Bali’s ‘Mother Temple’ for over 1000 years and is perched 1000 metres high on the southwestern slopes of Mount Agung. Here Balinese often come to offer up prayer and take blessing from the temple priests or “Pemangku” who reside there.

Each shot has a story to tell and we are floored by each one.

All images have been taken after due permission from National Geographic.

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