[imagesource: Tony Zhang/ National Geographic UK]

The image above is a detail from Tony Zhang’s entry in the National Geographic Traveller Photography Competition, 2020.

He made it to the final round, but didn’t take home an award, which gives you an idea of how the stiff the competition was this year.

Entrants competed for a top spot in four categories: Cities, Nature, People, and Landscapes.

The overall winner was Hadriel Torres, who also took the People category.

He captured the incredible photograph below at the Matavaa O Te Henua Enana arts festival on the Marquesas Islands.

National Geographic‘s judges had the following to say about his piece:

“The energy captured here is electric, and the details — from the faraway rock towers to the tensed, raised limbs and ceremonial accessories of the performers — show masterful composition and technical ability. The sense of place is powerfully conveyed. A worthy overall winner of our grand prize.”

I concur, with my limited knowledge of photography.

In the Cities category,  Jordan Banks came out on top with his picture of the Soho building on the Odaiba artificial island in Tokyo, Japan:

The judges said:

“A mature, dynamic and striking image with excellent use of colour. The solitary person adds an artful detail to the overall image.”

On to the Landscape category, which was dominated by Annapurna Mellor’s shot of Thiksey Monastery in Ladakh, India:

Over to the judges:

“The depth of this image is terrific: you can keep looking into it and finding new levels. I want to be there, experiencing that view, and that’s what landscape photography is all about.”

Finally, capturing the perfect shot to take home the prize in the Nature category was Francesca Page, with this stunning photo of a spotted eagle ray, near Cocos Island in Costa Rica:

Tell us why you like it, judges:

“The deep blues of this photograph create a sophisticated, calming image. It’s a wonderfully spare composition, and the simplicity of the lines of the ray are sublime.”

For kicks, let’s look at some of the finalists that the folks above were up against in the competition:

All of the photographs that made it to the finals are superb, but the happy old gentleman in the image above really improved my Monday.

I hope it did the same for yours, especially in Cape Town where the weather doesn’t seem to have received the memo that spring is nearly upon us.

[source:natgeo]