10 Inspiring Winning Photos Of National Geographic Traveler (UK) Competition 2019

 

Grand Prize Winner: Mountain gorilla in Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo.Some of the world’s last mountain gorillas live on the slopes of Mount Mikeno. This is a female from the Humba family, a  group that lives near Virunga’s Bukima station.   Photo: Daniel Burton 

Showcasing some of the best travel photography from around the world featuring people, landscapes, animals, food and cities, the annual National Geographic Traveller (UK)‘s Photography Competition has announced the winners of this year’s contest, chosen from thousands of entries.

Launched in 2011, the competition invites professional and amateur photographers to submit unique, never-before-seen photographs that inspire others to travel the world.  

Winner of Cities category:  A taxi driver in Calcutta, India, leans against his yellow Ambassador cab — one of the icons of the city — reading a newspaper before the day begins.   Photo:  Annapurna Mellor

Winner of People category: Dyeing wool in the souk, Marrakech, Morocco. “One of the owners of a fabric boutique in Marrakech showed us this almost apocalyptic scene of a worker dyeing wool — it was dirty, hot and a pungent smell filled the air.”    Photo: Justin Cliffe

Winner Food category: Kandy central market, Sri Lanka. “Everything in a busy market feels magnified — all your senses are pushed to the limit — presenting an abundance of photographic opportunities”    Photo: Pablo Borrego.  

“At a time when we’re surrounded by travel photography, this year’s shortlist reminds us there’s so much more to using a camera than ‘point and shoot’,” explains Pat Riddell, editor of National Geographic Traveler. “From documenting local customs and traditions to awe-inspiring landscapes and incredible wildlife, this year’s entrants prove once again how powerful a medium travel photography can be.”

Shortlisted for People category: Geisha in training, Kyoto, Japan.  Photo: Sharon Kynaston,

Shortlisted for Portfolio category: The Medina in Marrakech, Morocco. A side street leading from Djemaa el-Fna to the Kasbah district.   Photo: Mick Ryan

Shortlisted for Portfolio category: Rangers of Wrangel Island, Russia. A puffin on a rock formation on the shores of Wrangel Island.  Photo: Claire Waring

This year’s Grand Prize Winner was a striking image of a mountain gorilla in a national park in the Congo.

“A compelling image in which the animal stares directly down the lens,” said judge Nori Jemil. “This extreme close-up combines a quality of light with bold, central positioning. The subject’s eyes are prominent while its face dissolves into darkness at the edges of the frame.”

The photographer Daniel Burton wins a wildlife photography adventure prize with Tatra Photography in the Tatra Mountains of Slovakia for a masterclass in landscape techniques.

The Photography Competition 2020 will launch in September, 2019. 

Shortlisted for Cities category: Infinity pool over Singapore.   Photo: Robert Huberman

Finalist for People category: A boy in Kampala, Uganda.   Photo: Mikael Molander

Winner of Portfolio category: Pengzhen in Chengdu, China. “Deep in the western suburbs of Chengdu, the capital of the province of Sichuan, lies Pengzhen, a town barely touched by the hands of time. Here, the shadow of Chairman Mao and his Cultural Revolution still loom large.”     Photos: Simon Urwin