Recently in Contest Category

National Geographic Magazine's International Photo Contest has just ended, and the judges have some tough decisions to make. But you can be a judge, too, and vote for your favorite image in the People, Places, and Nature categories. Here's last year's People winner, taken by Ilvy Njiokiktjien in Mozambique:

The verdict: "This is one of those wonderful moments when everything comes together visually," says freelance photojournalist Maggie Steber. "There is a musical rhythm to the image." National Geographic design editor Darren Smith agrees: "The composition is intriguing with the mirroring of the women's bodies. I find it to be very harmonious and soothing. There is something reassuring in the play between the colors, shadows, and light. It appears simple at first but gets more complicated the more you look at it."

For more images, visit the weekly galleries on National Geographic Magazine's site and vote for your favorite images. Viewer's Choice winners will be announced in early December. Check out the gallery of last year's Viewer's Choice favorites. Voting closes November 8.

National Geographic Magazine's International Photo Contest has just ended, and there are some great submissions, like this one taken in Shanghai.

We like how photographer Gail von Bergen Ryan was able to capture the bright colors in this tunnel. She says, "I was in the front car of the short subway between Pudong and the Bund, and was treated to the wonderful spectacle of an oncoming train in the tunnel's changing light show. I put my camera up to the window and shot as fast as possible to get this image."

For more images, visit the weekly galleries on National Geographic Magazine's site and vote for your favorite images. Viewer's Choice winners will be announced in early December. Check out the gallery of last year's Viewer's Choice favorites. Voting closes November 8.

National Geographic Magazine's International Photo Contest has just ended, and there are some great submissions, like this one taken in Bangkok.

This picture really does say a thousand words. Says photographer Ashutosh Karkhanis, "This picture was shot in Safari World in Bangkok last year. As we were waiting for the orangutan show to begin, this orangutan caught my eye. He looked so bored of doing the same act day in and day out. His body language seemed to say, 'When is this all going to end?'"

For more images, visit the weekly galleries on National Geographic Magazine's site and vote for your favorite images. Viewer's Choice winners will be announced in early December. Check out the gallery of last year's Viewer's Choice favorites. Voting closes November 8.

National Geographic Magazine's International Photo Contest has just ended, and there are some great submissions, like this one taken in India's Ganges River.

Says photographer Jenay Martin, "The Ganges is the holiest river in India. Every morning and every evening Hindus bathe in the holy river. However, it is very polluted, and in this very location there is no living oxygen and is pure sewage. Even in the filth of Varanasi, life goes on. People still bathe, and animals still manage to find things to eat. This goat is eating a holy garland that was offered to the river during a funeral procession."

For more images, visit the weekly galleries on National Geographic Magazine's site and vote for your favorite images. Viewer's Choice winners will be announced in early December. Check out the gallery of last year's Viewer's Choice favorites. Voting closes November 8.

Only a few days remain in National Geographic Magazine's International Photo Contest. Here's a standout from this week's batch of entries, taken by Nancy Dinh.

This photo reflects the communal sense of Vietnamese culture, where mother, father, and child sleep together on a mattress close to the ground, enveloped in a single large mosquito net in a room dedicated to nocturnal sleep and daytime playing. During the daytime, the child is gatekeeper.

For more images, visit the weekly galleries on National Geographic Magazine's site. The International Photo Contest ends October 31st, so submit your favorite images in the People, Places, and Nature categories now.

Only a few weeks remain in National Geographic Magazine's International Photo Contest. Here's a standout from this week's batch of entries, taken by Cesare Naldi.

Nazroo, a mahout (elephant driver), poses for a portrait while taking his elephant, Rajan, out for a swim in front of Radha Nagar Beach in Havelock, Andaman Islands. Rajan is one of the few elephants in Havelock that can swim, so when he is not dragging timber in the forest he is used as a tourist attraction. The relationship between the mahout and his elephant usually lasts for their entire lives, creating an extremely strong tie between the animal and the human being.

For more images, visit the weekly galleries on National Geographic Magazine's site. The International Photo Contest ends October 31st, so submit your favorite images in the People, Places, and Nature categories now.

Only a couple weeks remain in National Geographic magazine's International Photo Contest, and below Ian Kelsall describes how he took this photo (and one of the standout entries this week) in Brazil.

"On my second day visiting the astounding Iguazu falls on the Brazilian side I was forced to change to my telephoto lens as my wide angle had been damaged by the water vapour," he says. "In had rained solid for 10 days prior to my arrival and so the falls were at their most spectacular. Standing on the elevated viewing platform I was able to shoot this school group who stood transfixed, emphasizing the incredible size of the falls."

For more images, visit the weekly galleries on National Geographic Magazine's site. The International Photo Contest ends October 31st, so submit your favorite images in the People, Places, and Nature categories now.

Only a few weeks remain in National Geographic Magazine's International Photo Contest. Here's a standout from this week's batch of entries, taken by Michael Hansen.

Hansen snapped this photo of David Hanson as he crossed a fallen log beneath trees and fog in Washington's Olympic National Park. For more images, visit the weekly galleries on National Geographic Magazine's site. The International Photo Contest ends October 31st, so submit your favorite images in the People, Places, and Nature categories now.

Only a few weeks remain in National Geographic magazine's International Photo Contest, so we asked our friends across the courtyard to share some of the favorite images that they've received so far. One of the standouts was this surly lemur, taken by Sandrine Vuillermoz in Madagascar. After attempting several pictures, Vuillermoz says the lemur began posing like a model, then turned and stuck out his tongue. "He tried to send me the message, it's ok, now you can go, you've had your scoop!" Vuillermoz writes in his caption.

For more images, visit the weekly galleries on National Geographic Magazine's site. The International Photo Contest ends October 31st, so submit your favorite images in the People, Places, and Nature categories now.

Photo: Sandrine Vuillermoz

Congratulations to the winners of this year's Geotourism Challenge! The second annual competition to name outstanding efforts in sustainable tourism, sponsored by National Geographic's Center for Sustainable Destinations and Ashoka's Changemakers, unearthed a wealth of innovative efforts taking place around the globe. After an intense voting process, the panel of judges today named the three winners out of 611 original entries from 81 countries. Each of these organizations wins $5,000, which goes toward the further development of their program. And the winners are:

Nature Air, the 100 percent carbon-neutral airline in Costa Rica, offsets 100 percent of its greenhouse gas emissions to encourage reforestation of tropical forests in Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula. To date, Nature Air has compensated for nearly 20,000 tons of carbon dioxide through the protection of more than 500 acres. In addition, Nature Air recently helped develop Costa Rica's first alternative fueling station through its wholly owned fueling company, Aerotica. Nature Air fuels all ground equipment and vehicles with bio-diesel (a mix of recycled vegetable and cooking oils) collected from employees and restaurants.

PEPY ("Protect the Earth, Protect Yourself"), Cambodia's Educational Volunteer Tourism Program, providing adventure bike tours and on-site volunteer projects, like building rainwater collection units. All participants make donations to enhance education in impoverished rural Cambodia, where PEPY is based. It supports education for more than 1,700 families in 12 villages and six schools in rural Siem Reap Province, about 40 miles from the city of Siem Reap, site of the Angkor temples.
 
Wikiloc Community Maps in Girona, Spain, created by a software engineer with a passion for travel, is built on information -- including maps, photos and video -- submitted to offer honest impressions about destinations. Wikiloc is a great source of outdoor activities, from mountain biking to ballooning. The site also promotes thematic activities like gastronomic routes, sightseeing urban trails and walks in archaeological areas. Created in 2006, the site is already translated in 14 languages, and more than 65,000 trails are included.

Thanks to all those of you who submitted entries and voted in this year's contest. Visit the Geotourism Challenge website for more information on each of the winners, and to learn more about all of the finalists.

Photo: A cyclist from PEPY, Cambodia's Educational Volunteer Tourism program

The deadline for Traveler's World in Focus Photo Contest has passed, and we've received some fantastic entries and are eager to see the results.

But if you're still feeling like you're up for a photo challenge, let us point you in the direction of our friends over at Glimpse, which are hosting one of their own. Their "Cultural Explorers" contest is seeking images of people working or volunteering abroad, interacting with locals, and/or participating in a cultural practice. Winners will receive a $250 travel voucher, and all entries must be received by September 15.

[Cultural Explorers Photo Contest]

Photo: David Kelbe, Glimpse Spring 2008 Correspondent

Traveler and Photo District News are currently hosting our annual World in Focus Photo Contest, and this year we're letting readers preview the submissions and vote for their favorites. Each week, we're putting a new batch of images up on our website. Here's today's pic:

This photo, "She Dreams of Riding Horses," was submitted by Elizabeth Griffin. The caption reads that the little girl is "riding her grandmother's pony at Ruidoso Downs, New Mexico." That's one massive pony, and we can't help but think it calls for a caption contest. Ready? Go!

Traveler and Photo District News are currently hosting our annual World in Focus Photo Contest, and this year we're letting readers preview the submissions and vote for their favorites. Each week, we're putting a new batch of images up on our website. Here's today's pic:

This photo, "The Dancer of Light," was taken by Stephanie Jantzen, in Maharashtra, India.

Think your own photo brings the world into focus? Submit your entries now for a chance to win a trip to Tanzania, camera gear, and other prizes. But hurry! The extended deadline is September 8.

Traveler and Photo District News are currently hosting our annual World in Focus Photo Contest, and this year we're letting readers preview the submissions and vote for their favorites. Each week, we're putting a new batch of images up on our website. Here's today's pic:

This photo, "Before The Dance," was taken by Gina Carnazzo. She writes, "These young dancers were preparing to perform 'Sophisticated Hula' and were using the window as a mirror. I happened to walk past and saw this shot. Sheer serendipity."

Think your own photo brings the world into focus? Submit your entries now for a chance to win a trip to Tanzania, camera gear, and other prizes. But hurry! The extended deadline is September 8.

Traveler and Photo District News are currently hosting our annual World in Focus Photo Contest, and this year we're letting readers preview the submissions and vote for their favorites. Each week, we're putting a new batch of images up on our website. Here's today's pic:

I love the beautiful colors of this image, taken by Ryoko Sano Bulungula, South Africa. Think your own photo brings the world into focus? Submit your entries now for a chance to win a trip to Tanzania, camera gear, and other prizes. But hurry! The extended deadline is September 8.

Traveler and Photo District News are currently hosting our annual World in Focus Photo Contest, and this year we're letting readers preview the submissions and vote for their favorites. Each week, we're putting a new batch of images up on our website. Here's today's pic:

I like this scary photo, taken by Dennis Vandermeerschi. He says of the image, "This sea lion bull decided I was getting too close to his females." Think your own photo brings the world into focus? Submit your entries now for a chance to win a trip to Tanzania, camera gear, and other prizes.  But hurry! The extended deadline ends September 8.

Traveler and Photo District News are currently hosting our annual World in Focus Photo Contest, and this year we're letting readers preview the submissions and vote for their favorites. Each week, we're putting a new batch of images up on our website. Here's today's pic:

I like the calming qualities of this photo, taken by Antoine Tardy in India. Think your own photo brings the world into focus? Submit your entries now for a chance to win a trip to Tanzania, camera gear, and other prizes.  But hurry! The extended deadline ends September 8.

Traveler and Photo District News are currently hosting our annual World in Focus Photo Contest, and this year we're letting readers preview the submissions and vote for their favorites. Each week, we're putting a new batch of images up on our website. Here's the photo with the most votes last week, taken by Nikhil Shahi in Death Valley, California.

Think your own photo brings the world into focus? Submit your entries now for a chance to win a trip to Tanzania, camera gear, and other prizes.  But hurry! The extended deadline ends September 8.

Traveler and Photo District News are currently hosting our annual World in Focus Photo Contest, and this year we're letting readers preview the submissions and vote for their favorites. Each week, we're putting a new batch of images up on our website. Here's the photo with the most votes last week, taken by Cliff W. Estes at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park in Big Sur, California:

Think your own photo brings the world into focus? Submit your entries now for a chance to win a trip to Tanzania, camera gear, and other prizes.  The deadline is August 24.