national geographic travel photo contest

National Geographic Photo Contests

Visual storytelling is the heart of National Geographic. Our photography contests feature images created by photographers from around the world, sharing visions that inspire, inform, and awe. Explore past contest winners and check back soon to join the next competition.

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2019 National Geographic Travel Photo Contest Winners

Find out which pictures won top prizes in the photo competition.

2018 National Geographic Photo Contest Winners

See the stunning images that captured the judges votes in the competition.

Travel Photo Contest

Stories behind the photos.

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Winning our photo contest changed these photographers' lives

How winning a photo contest changed this photographer's life, this whale tail took grand prize in the photo contest, this dreamy arctic scene won national geographic’s travel photo contest, pilot’s stunning aerial desert picture wins national geographic’s 2018 photo contest, behind the picture: the 2016 national geographic travel photographer of the year, this striking orangutan photo highlights a grim reality, 4 quick tips: how to win the travel photo contest, behind the stunning photo of a puffin gorging on fish, nat geo photo contest.

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National Geographic Traveller Photography Awards 2023 – the winners

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The best mages from the magazine’s annual competition , with categories for travel, wildlife, urban settings, people, food, landscape and portfolio

Thu 2 Mar 2023 11.00 GMT Last modified on Thu 2 Mar 2023 13.27 GMT

Ed Hasler, winner: Wildlife

Sam Davies, winner: Landscape

Richard Quirke, winner: Urban

Simon Urwin, winner: Food

Serge Melesan, winner: Portfolio

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See the stunning photos: National Geographic's travel photo contest winners revealed

National Geographic has revealed the winners of its annual Travel Photo Contest — and the photos are stunning.

The grand prize, which was chosen out of thousands of entries, went to Weimin Chu for his photo "Winter in Greenland." It shows a snowy, scenic view of the fishing village of Upernavik in western Greenland. He won $7,500 as well as an Instagram post on the National Geographic Travel account , which has 31 million followers.

"It felt so harmonious. The whole land was covered by white, cold snow, and the blue tint at dusk made it even cooler. But the light from the windows, street lights and the family of three made the world warm again," Chu said in a statement . "I love the contrast and mood of this scene. I was busy taking continuous pictures at that time, trying to capture the best moment."

People submitted photos across the categories of nature, cities and people and were judged by both National Geographic staff as well as an expert photographer panel. Chu won first prize in "cities" and also the overall grand prize. National Geographic awarded first, second and third place winners in each category and also gave out honorable mentions.

In the "people" category, Huaifeng Li  won for a photo of actors getting ready before an opera performance in Licheng County, China. In "nature," Tamara Blazquez Haik won for a photo of a mid-flight griffon vulture in Monfragüe National Park in Spain. "How can anyone say vultures bring bad omens when looking at such tenderness in this griffon vulture's eyes?" the caption reads.

Learn more: Best travel insurance

A complete look at the contest winners is available here .

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC LAUNCHES PICTURES OF THE YEAR PHOTO CONTEST, INVITING ASPIRING PHOTOGRAPHERS TO SHOW THE WORLD AROUND THEM

Contest Coincides With National Geographic’s Annual PICTURES OF THE YEAR Franchise, Now Live at natgeo.com/photos

Grand Prize Winner Will Be Featured Among the World’s Leading Photographers in An Upcoming Issue of National Geographic Magazine

WHAT: For nearly 135 years, National Geographic has been synonymous with visual storytelling, showing an interconnected world through the work of thousands of renowned photographers. Now, the editors at National Geographic are offering the same spotlight to aspiring photographers everywhere, launching a PICTURES OF THE YEAR photo contest timed to their PICTURES OF THE YEAR 2022, the annual franchise and the magazine’s December issue – available online now at natgeo.com/photos and in print newsstands. Starting Friday, Dec. 2, contestants can submit a photo under one of four categories – Nature, People, Places and Animals.

One grand-prize winner will have their photo featured in an upcoming issue of National Geographic magazine and receive a six-month digital subscription to the magazine. Additionally, up to 10 honorable mention winners will have their photos featured on National Geographic’s Your Sh ot Instagram page, which has 6.5 million followers, in addition to receiving a six-month digital subscription to the magazine.

All photos will be individually judged by the National Geographic Photo team.

WHO: U.S. residents ages 18 years or older

WHEN: Contest begins Dec. 2, 2022, at 12:01 a.m. EST U.S. and ends Dec. 31, 2022, at 11:59 p.m. EST.

WHERE: http://natgeopicturesoftheyearcontest.com/

CONTACTS:   Caitlin Holbrook,  [email protected] , (716) 225-0502 Janean Ruttner,  [email protected] , (909) 677-8989 Natalia Colon,  [email protected] , (407) 484-1026

Winners of the 2024 World Press Photo Contest

• Alan Taylor
• April 18, 2024

The winning entries of the annual World Press Photo Contest ​have just been announced. This year, according to organizers, 61,062 images were submitted for judging, made by 3,851 photographers from 130 different countries. World Press Photo was once again kind enough to share some of this year’s global and regional winners, gathered below.

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Europe, Winner, Singles— A Father’s Pain : Mesut Hançer holds the hand of his 15-year-old daughter, Irmak, who died in the earthquake in Kahramanmaraş, Turkey, the day after the 7.8-magnitude quake struck the country's southeast, on February 7, 2023. Rescuers in Turkey and Syria braved frigid weather, aftershocks, and collapsing buildings as they dug for survivors buried by an earthquake that killed more than 50,000 people. #

North and Central America, Winner, Stories— Saving the Monarchs : Butterflies stream through protected indigenous fir forests in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve. The mountain hillsides of Oyamel forest provide an ideal overwintering microclimate. Michoacán, Mexico, February 24, 2023. #

Winner, World Press Photo Open Format Award— War Is Personal (1 of 2) : Amid tens of thousands of civilian and military casualties and an effective stalemate that has lasted for months, there are no signs of peace on the horizon for Russia’s war in Ukraine. While news media update their audiences with statistics and maps, and international attention drifts elsewhere, the photographer Julia Kochetova has created a personal website that brings together photojournalism with the personal documentary style of a diary to show the world what it is like to live with war as an everyday reality. #

Winner, World Press Photo Open Format Award— War Is Personal (2 of 2) : Amid tens of thousands of civilian and military casualties and an effective stalemate that has lasted for months, there are no signs of peace on the horizon for Russia’s war in Ukraine. While news media update their audiences with statistics and maps, and international attention drifts elsewhere, the photographer Julia Kochetova has created a personal website that brings together photojournalism with the personal documentary style of a diary to show the world what it is like to live with war as an everyday reality. #

South America, Winner, Long-Term Projects— Mapuche: The Return of the Ancient Voices (1 of 2) : Mapuche communities are the Indigenous inhabitants of territories that are now part of Argentina and Chile. Much of their ancestral land is being commercially exploited—for mining, forestry, and hydroelectric projects in Chile, and fracking in Argentina. Discrimination and punishment of Mapuche activists persist, despite new laws apparently supporting Mapuche rights. For many Mapuche, this presents not solely a territorial dispute: The land is part of their cultural and spiritual identity. Commercial degradation of the environment violates a balance among nature, ancestors, and human health. Here, cousins and friends of Rafael Nahuel swim in the Ñirihuau River. Nahuel (22) was killed during a raid by government forces on Indigenous activists in November 2017. Bariloche, Rio Negro, Argentina, January 29, 2019. #

South America, Winner, Long-Term Projects— Mapuche: The Return of the Ancient Voices (2 of 2) : Children wear traditional Ngillatun masks in a Mapuche cemetery. The local community successfully opposed the building of a hydroelectric dam that would have flooded an adjacent ceremonial site. Maihue, Los Ríos, Chile, July 28, 2019. #

South America, Winner, Stories— Red Skies, Green Waters : Around the turn of this century, oil-rich Venezuela was prosperous, but its fortunes declined following plummeting oil prices, economic mismanagement, sanctions, and political instability. Oil spills from obsolete infrastructure and methane produced by the refining process ravage the environment. In the meantime, nearly 82 percent of Venezuelans live in poverty, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Here, neighbors play Animal Lotto under a sky lit by one of the world’s largest gas flares. Punta de Mata, Venezuela, November 5, 2022. #

Winner, World Press Photo Long-Term Project Award— The Two Walls (1 of 2) : Migrants and asylum seekers lacking the financial resources to pay a smuggler often resort to using cargo trains to reach the United States border. This mode of transportation is very dangerous; over the years, hundreds have fallen onto the tracks and have been killed or mutilated. Thousands more have fallen victim to extortion, rape, kidnapping, or robbery orchestrated by drug cartels or corrupt authorities in various stops along the train’s northward route. Here, a migrant walks over a freight train known as the Beast as he arrives at Piedras Negras, Mexico, on October 8, 2023. #

Winner, World Press Photo Long-Term Project Award— The Two Walls (2 of 2) : Ever Sosa carries his daughter on his shoulders as they cross the Suchiate River from Guatemala to Mexico, joining a caravan of three thousand migrants and asylum seekers in their attempt to follow the path to the United States in Ciudad Hidalgo, on January 20, 2020. #

Europe, Winner, Long-Term Projects— No Man’s Land (1 of 2) : Germany positions itself as a leader in the transition toward renewable energy by 2030, yet remains heavily dependent on coal for energy production. In the Rhineland, forests have been cleared and villages demolished since the 1970s to make way for the Hambach and Garzweiler open-pit coal mines. In 2012, activists began occupying parts of Hambach Forest and later the village of Lützerath to resist these measures, managing by 2023 to save a remainder of the forest and five of six such villages scheduled for destruction. Here, police and security officers from the energy company RWE block activists belonging to the Ende Gelände action alliance, who have entered the Hambach open-pit mine. Kerpen, Germany, November 5, 2017. #

Europe, Winner, Long-Term Projects— No Man’s Land (2 of 2) : Demonstrators walk along the advancing edge of the Garzweiler II open-pit mine near Lützerath on the last weekend they could legally enter the village. Lützerath, Germany, January 8, 2023. #

Jury Special Mention— The Aftermath of the Supernova Festival Attack : This year, the WPP jury made the decision to include two special mentions in the contest selection, reflecting "the gravity of the Israel-Hamas war in 2023, the extreme suffering of civilians, and its global political impact." Here, an Israeli security-forces officer searches the site of the Supernova music festival for personal effects of victims of the October 7 Hamas attack, which resulted in about 1,200 deaths, more than 2,500 reported injuries, and some 250 people held hostage from the festival and communities near the Gaza border. Re’im, Israel, October 12, 2023. #

Jury Special Mention— Israeli Airstrikes in Gaza : A resident of al-Zahra walks through the rubble of homes destroyed in Israeli air strikes. The strikes hit about 25 apartment blocks in the university and residential neighborhood. At the time of writing (March 4, 2024), Israel’s attacks on the occupied Palestinian territories during the Israel-Hamas war had killed some 30,000 people and injured more than 70,000. Gaza City, Gaza, October 19, 2023 #

Asia, Honorable Mention— The Edge : When Bangladesh declared independence in 1971, many Bengali Hindus and Muslims migrated to the predominantly Hindu state of Assam in northeastern India, fueling tensions at the border. In 2019, India’s government presented an updated National Register of Citizens that put into question the citizenship of more than 1.9 million people ostensibly from Bangladesh, whose status remains in limbo today. This project documents the Miya community that depends on land near the transnational Brahmaputra River for their livelihood and their identity in the eyes of the state. As their land erodes because of worsening floods, they face a fight against both nature and nation. Here, Bengali-speaking Hindus and Muslims help one another shift shops from the edge of the Brahmaputra river at the Tarabari ferry point. The shifting is done in anticipation of the erosion of land that occurs with each monsoon season, which is often devastating for residents as they are forced to constantly adapt to a changing landmass each year. Tarabari, Bahari constituency, Barpeta district, Lower Assam, India, June 15, 2023 #

Winner, World Press Photo Story of the Year— Valim-babena (1 of 2) : In Madagascar, lack of public awareness surrounding dementia means that people displaying symptoms of memory loss are often stigmatized. For years, Paul Rakotozandriny, “Dada Paul” (age 91), who lives with dementia, has been cared for by his daughter Fara Rafaraniriana (age 41). Their story illustrates the Malagasy principle of valim-babena —the duty of grown children to help their parents. Here, Dada Paul and his granddaughter Odliatemix get ready for church. He has lived with dementia for 11 years. For much of that time, his family assumed he had “gone mad” or attributed the symptoms to alcohol consumption. Only his daughter Fara noticed something different and continued caring for him. Antananarivo, Madagascar, March 12, 2023 #

Winner, World Press Photo Story of the Year— Valim-babena (2 of 2) : Fara and her daughter Odliatemix lie together on the bed they share with Dada Paul. Fara is the sole provider for the family of three. Only one organization in Madagascar, Masoandro Mody, provides support and training to family members of people living with dementia. Antananarivo, Madagascar, March 12, 2023. #

North and Central America, Winner, Singles— A Day in the Life of a Quebec Fire Crew : Fueled by high temperatures and dry conditions, gigantic summer forest fires swept across Canada in 2023, affecting all 13 provinces and territories, especially northern parts of Quebec. Here, Theo Dagnaud scans the horizon to ensure that firefighter patrols have left, and he can mark the area as “controlled.” July 13, 2023. #

South America, Winner, Singles— Drought in the Amazon : In 2023, the Amazon experienced its most intense drought since recordkeeping began. The drought disproportionately impacted Indigenous, rural, and river communities. Because Porto Praia has no road access and is normally reachable only by river, the drought meant that residents had to walk for kilometers along the dry riverbed to reach their homes. Here, a fisherman walks across the bed of a branch of the Amazon River, near the Porto Praia Indigenous community. Tefé, Amazonas, Brazil, October 13, 2023. #

North and Central America, Winner, Open Format— The Gay Space Agency : This project combines fiction with fact in order to confront the U.S. space program’s historical exclusion of openly LGBTQ astronauts. In a review of the NASA and United States National Archives, the photographer found no documentation of the contributions of the queer community to the space program. The absence inspired her to imagine "the Gay Space Agency," a diverse and inclusionary institution that commemorates and celebrates the history of queer astronauts. Here, the Gay Space Agency astronaut Brian Murphy is seen during flight simulations. #

Asia, Winner, Long-Term Projects— I Am Still With You : This project is a private visual record that aims to explore the concept of family photos. In close collaboration with the family, the photographer tells the story of Jiuer, a young mother of three in northern China who gains more understanding and appreciation for life in her final years after being diagnosed with cancer. Before her surgery, Jiuer invited the photographer to take family photos, and later, when her condition deteriorated, asked her to record the time she spent with her children. In this image, after surgery and radiotherapy treatment, Jiuer recovers well and the family feels optimistic about the future. Jiuer says, “Life is not long. Do what you want to do, and choose what you love.” Liaoning, China, November 28, 2020. #

Winner, World Press Photo of the Year— A Palestinian Woman Embraces the Body of Her Niece : Inas Abu Maamar (age 36) cradles the body of her niece Saly (age 5) who was killed, along with her mother and sister, when an Israeli missile struck their home, in Khan Younis, Gaza, on October 17, 2023. The photographer, Mohammed Salem, described the image, taken just days after his own wife gave birth, as a “powerful and sad moment that sums up the broader sense of what was happening in the Gaza Strip.” He found Inas squatting on the ground, embracing the child, at the Nasser Hospital morgue, where residents were going to search for missing relatives. Inas had raced to the family home when she heard that it had been hit, and then on to the morgue. #

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2023 Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge Photo Contest

The Friends of Trempealeau will be hosting a photo contest to recognize nature photographers and showcase the beauty of the refuge. The contest runs the length of the calendar year, multiple categories available, entry deadline: December 1, 2023. For more information about the contest access the following link: https://www.friendsoftrempealeaurefuge.org/

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