2016 National Geographic Travel Photographer winners
The 2016 National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest winners were revealed Friday on "CBS This Morning." The contest recognizes the most compelling travel photography taken in the past two years, with entries in the Nature, People and Cities categories.
First, second and third places prizes were also awarded in each category.
The grand prize was awarded to Anthony Lau of Hong Kong. His photo, "Winter Horseman," placed first in the People category:
"The Winter in Inner Mongolia is very unforgiving. At a freezing temperature of minus 20 and lower with constant breeze of snow from all direction, it was pretty hard to convince myself to get out of the car and take photos. Not until I saw Inner Mongolia horsemen showing off their skills in commanding the steed from a distance, I quickly grab my telephoto lens and capture the moment when one of the horseman charged out from morning mist."
The grand prize is a seven-day Polar Bear Safari for two at Churchill Wild-Seal River Heritage Lodge, a National Geographic Unique Lodge of the World. eight-day National Geographic Photo Expedition to Costa Rica.
Read more about the 2016 National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest.
Winner in Nature category
"Wherever you go, I will follow you!!" - Hiroki Inoue
"Romance is in the air. It was the time of day immediately following sunset. I heard a voice. 'Wherever you go, I will follow you' the voice says."
Read more about the 2016 National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest.
Winner in Cities category
"Ben Youssef" - Takashi Nakagawa
Nakagawa wrote that even though there were a lot of people in Ben Youssef, it was still more quiet and relaxing compared to the streets outside in Marrakesh. The photographer waited for the perfect timing to photograph for long time.
Read more about the 2016 National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest.
Second place in Nature category
"Double trapping" - Massimiliano Bencivenni
Bencivenni took this photo in the Brazilian Pantanal. The photographer couldn't believe the image captured, writing nature always gives magnificent events but sometimes extraordinary ones as well.
Read more about the 2016 National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest.
Second place in People category
"Rooftop Dreams, Varanasi" - Yasmin Mund
Mund: "I arrived at my guest house in Varanasi at 5:30am, I instinctively climbed the 7 sets of stairs to the rooftop (which happened to be the highest in the vicinity) to see the sunrise over the famous Ganges River. As the sun was rising I looked over the right hand side of the balcony and my jaw dropped with disbelief. Below were families - mothers, fathers, children, brothers, sister and dogs all sleeping on the top of their houses. It was mid summer in Varanasi and sleeping sans AC was difficult."
Read more about the 2016 National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest.
Second place in Cities category
"Silenced" - Wing Ka H.
"At Mainland China university, students work like slaves or more like prisoners. Serious academic corruption, dry and irrelevant to society curriculum, and rote memorization teaching methods" were leading students to develop "rigid ways of thinking," making them lose interest, "ultimately emerging from university as 'soulless zombies,'" explained the photographer.
Read more about the 2016 National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest.
Third place in Nature category
"Lagunas Baltinache (Atacama Desert)" - Victor Lima
Lima wrote, the Baltinache Ponds, also called Hidden Ponds, are a set of seven salt ponds located in the area of the Salt Cordillera, near San Pedro de Atacama, in the second region of northern Chile, in the Atacama desert. Lima believes he may be the first to photograph the location at night.
Read more about the 2016 National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest.
Third place in People category
"Remote life at -21 degree" - Mattia Passarini
A Kinnaura tribal woman in the remote village of Himachal Pradesh carries a big log back home to warm up her house.
Read more about the 2016 National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest.
Third place in Cities category
"Celestial Reverie" - Jeremy Tan
Lightning appears to strike Komtar Tower, the most iconic landmark of George Town, capital of Penang state in Malaysia. The image is symbolic of the rejuvenation the city, famous for a unique blend of centuries-old buildings and modern structures, has enjoyed in recent years. While many of its old neighborhoods fell into neglect in the 1990s and early 2000s, a UNESCO World Heritage listing in 2008 sparked a transformation, and today, they are all part of a vibrant tourist destination.
Read more about the 2016 National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest.
Honorable Mention in People category
"Muscle Beach Gym" - Dotan Saguy
A weightlifter lifts a barbell loaded with heavy plates while a bodybuilder performs an aerial handstand at the Muscle Beach Gym in Venice Beach, CA.
Read more about the 2016 National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest.
Honorable Mention in Cities category
"Divide" - Kathleen Dolmatch
In a helicopter looking south on Central Park West - dividing the architecture and Central park in New York City on November 5th 2014. The photographer took the flight as a celebration of her 27th birthday.
Read more about the 2016 National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest.
Honorable Mention in Nature category
"Bears on a Berg" - John Rollins
This photo was taken far out on the sea ice in the Davis Straight off the coast of Baffin Island. This mother and her yearling are perched atop a huge snow covered iceberg that got "socked in" when the ocean froze over for the winter.
To Rollins, the relative "smallness" of these large creatures when compared to the immensity of the iceberg in the photo represents the precariousness of the polar bear's reliance on the sea and sea ice for its existence.
Read more about the 2016 National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest.