2015 National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest – May 19 Selects

Photo and caption by Slawek Kozdras / National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest
Boys in Clifton Beach in Cape Town jumping into the Atlantic Ocean.

Photo and caption by Anders Andersson / National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest
A bird´s view of tulip fields near Voorhout in the Netherlands, photographed with a drone in April 2015

Photo and caption by Massimo Rumi / National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest
Swimming is an early morning ritual for many people in Australia.

Photo and caption by Felipe Arias Gutiérrez / National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest
This photo was taken during an afternoon safari in Amboseli National Park, Kenya. This huge male elephant was roaming around some bushes while we approached. However, he passed by as if he did not perceive us and continued feeding from leaves and grass. Such a close encounter was surely breathtaking.

Photo and caption by Aashit Desai / National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest
Angalamman Festival is celebrated every year in a small town called Kaveripattinam in Tamil Nadu. Devotees, numbering in tens of thousands, converge in this town the day after Maha Shivratri to worship the deity Angalamman, meaning ‘The Guardian God’. During the festival some of the worshippers paint their faces that personifies Goddess Kali. Other indulge in the ritual of piercing iron rods throughout their cheeks.

Photo and caption by Allan Gichigi / National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest
Kit Mikayi is a rock formation about 40m high situated west of kisumu, western Kenya. She climbs up the rocks rocks daily to meditate.

Photo and caption by Sean Ensch / National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest
The mountain road, Trollstigen, in western Norway. I was lucky enough to live here for two months during summer and one evening I saw the valley filling with fog, so I drove up the road to watch the late summer midnight sun set as the fog swayed through the valley below.

Photo and caption by Motoki Uemura / National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest
I’m looking forward to seeing “Sakura light-up” at megurogawa river every spring.

Photo and caption by Jassen T. / National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest
Incredibly beautiful and extremely remote. Koehn Lake, Mojave Desert, California. Aerial Image.

Photo and caption by Chris Ludlow / National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest
On a weekend trip to buffalo from Toronto we made a pit stop at Niagara Falls. I took this shot with my Nexus 5 smartphone. I was randomly shooting the falls themselves from different viewpoints when I happened to get a pretty lucky and interesting shot of this lone seagull on patrol over the falls. The sun rise in the background, the steam from the falls and the silhouette of the seagull come together for pretty neat composition in the photo.

Photo and caption by Howard Singleton / National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest
Lucky timing! The oxpecker was originally sitting on hippo’s head. I could see the hippo was going into a huge yawn (threat display?) and the oxpecker had to vacate it’s perch. When I snapped the pic, the oxpecker appeared on the verge of being inhaled and was perfectly positioned between the massive gaping jaws of the hippo. The oxpecker also appears to be screeching in terror and back-pedaling to avoid being a snack!

Photo and caption by Abrar Mohsin / National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest
The Yetis of Nepal – The Aghoris as they are called are marked by colorful body paint and clothes.

Photo and caption by Madeline Crowley / National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest
Taken from a zodiac raft on a painfully cold, rainy day.

Photo and caption by Martyna Blaszczyk / National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest
Pond de l’Archeveche – hundreds thousands of padlocks locked to a bridge by random couples, as a symbol of their eternal love. After another iconic Pont des Arts bridge was cleared of the padlocks in 2010 (as a safety measure), people started to place their love symbols on this one. Today both of the bridges are full of love locks again.

Photo and caption by Ian Bird / National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest
This wave is situated right near the CBD of Sydney. Some describe it as the most dangerous wave in Australia, due to it breaking on barnacle covered rocks only a few feet deep and only ten metres from the cliff face. If you fall off you could find yourself in a life and death situation. This photo was taken 300 feet directly above the wave from a helicopter, just as the surfer is pulling under the lip of the barrel.

Photo and caption by Daria Berkowska / National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest
Toddler helping her mother with laundry by hanging clothes on their ger in Mongolia.

Photo and caption by Neeve Terman / National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest
A view of Lion’s Head from Kloof’s Corner in Cape Town, South Africa.