Rough Guides, a leading UK based publisher of travel and reference information, has declared the result of its first ever travel photography competition to out the best amateur travel photographers. Amateur shutterbugs from India, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and beyond submitted their entries in stunning landscapes, serendipitous wildlife shots and beautiful portraits categories.
Selected from more than 2000 images, submitted during the six week contest, an image of a young girl having green make up applied to her face for a festival by Somenath Mukhopadhyay has been crowned the winner.
Capturing the beauty of Earth in every recess, candid shots of children in the mountains,ghostly shipwrecks under sea, women doing religious activities in the pond have been appreciated alongside captures of worshippers lined up in an Indian mosque and wild moose running free in the Canadian hinterland.
We’ve rounded up some of the shortlisted favourites.
1. The Winner: Somenath Mukhopadhyay
Rough Guides’ judges said ‘This image skilfully captures the stillness of the moment and the concentration on the child’s face. The colours are vibrant and they loved the way your eye is drawn into the face with the shift of focus.
2. Runner Up: Swarna Susan Anil
An adorable young girl adorned in a vibrant head scarf stands before women in local costume in the mountains.
3. Runner up: Debkumar Dutta
A fisherman looks as though he is walking on water in this surreal image of the salt flats.
4. Golden hour: Debdatta Chakraborty
The haze of dust on a sultry evening in the desert gives this shot a camel herder and his animals a warm fairy-tale glow.
5. Mirror, Mirror: Sirsendu Gayen
Worshippers form orderly lines in this striking aerial taken in a mosque in Varanasi, Uttarpradesh, India. This is a general view of Eid ul Fitr prayer and shows the Hindu–Muslim brotherhood in the region.
6. Ghostly Shipwreck: Matt Jacobs
A lone scuba diver swims closer to the rotting relic of a vessel deep on the sea bed.
7. Another Earth: Gary Milne
The epic beauty of Scotland looks like something out a Tolkien fantasy in this shortlisted shot taken during an expedition in the Eastern Mamores.
8. Alberta In Canada: Kirsten Quist
A moose and her two calves wade through a pond near Nordegg, Alberta in Canada.
9. The Waterways At Sunset: Santanu Kumar Das
The waterways at sunset: A child on a boat gives a cautious glance back at the person taking this photograph.
10. Flight Of Fancy: Puru Sharma
Flight of fancy: The silhouette of dozens of birds are reflected in this lively display.
11. Tribal Boys : Priyanka Shah
An older boy throws his arms around two younger boys in tribal wear as they pose in the long shrubbery of Ethiopia in this shot.
Some Other Notable Entries:
