Travel Award August 2022

1st Prize Robi Chakraborty

1st Prize Robi Chakraborty
“Safina” - Haji Pir, India
Portrait of a young girl called Safina, along with her aunt, in her hut in Haji Pir. © Robi Chakraborty
2nd Prize David Keith Brown

2nd Prize David Keith Brown
“Eyelash Blasters” - Bangkok, Thailand, 2020
Three women using hair dryers to help cement in place their newly acquired eyelashes in Bangkok, Thailand. © David Keith Brown
3rd Prize Nicolas Castermans

3rd Prize Nicolas Castermans
“The Last Andean Cowboys” - Colombia
Few people know that there are mountains and volcanoes culminating at more than 5000 meters above the sea level in several mountain ranges in Colombia. For centuries, the Colombian people of these lands have lived isolated, relatively far from civilization. But with the development of big cities lower in the valleys, and the promise of a “better” and more comfortable life, the lifestyle of these” Vaqueros” - cowboys - is slowly disappearing. © Nicolas Castermans
Finalist Chiara Felmini

Finalist Chiara Felmini
“Sacha” - Yamal Peninsula, Russia
Inside the tents of the Nenets (Chum) the man ceases to be the undisputed leader, because this task falls to the woman. But Sacha’s gaze seems to want to underline that he knows all the questions and all the answers, inside and outside the Chum. © Chiara Felmini
Finalist Drew Hopper

Finalist Drew Hopper
“Untitled” - Bangladesh
© Drew Hopper
Finalist Joanna Steidle

Finalist Joanna Steidle
“Corralling”
Drone photo taken just off the coast of Southampton NY. This is a school of menhaden fish and most likely spinner sharks. © Joanna Steidle
Finalist Felicia Simion

Finalist Felicia Simion
“Titicaca” - Peru
Women playing volleyball on the Titicaca Lake in Peru. © Felicia Simion
Finalist Giulio Montini

Finalist Giulio Montini
“Untitled” - Java, Indonesia
In Indonesia, on the island of Java, there is the Kawah Ijen volcano. In the crater of the volcano these men extract sulfur. A hard and dangerous job. I spent a few hours with them to make a report. © Giulio Montini
Finalist F. Dilek Yurdakul

Finalist F. Dilek Yurdakul
“Sheep Herds” - Bitlis, Turkey
The dusty and arduous journey of sheep herds in Bitlis, Turkey. Sheep herds do this dusty path to reach the highlands where they graze until the middle of July after milking. The number of sheep herds in Bitlis, Turkey, is decreasing day by day. Animal owners who cannot receive state aid turn to other sources of income by selling their animals. It could be that in 5 years we can’t take these kinds of photos anymore. © F. Dilek Yurdakul
Finalist Margo Ryan

Finalist Margo Ryan
“Return” - Madagascar
Women come to help the fishermen with their pirogues as a storm imminently approaches. Picture taken in Madagascar. © Margo Ryan

Theme: Travel Photography – Competition Judge: Steve McCurry

This summer we wanted to see images that communicate the life of a place in all its splendor and trigger our memories. Whatever the subject may have been: Street, Portrait, Landscape, Documentary: We wanted to share your journey, visually and intellectually!

Make sure to sign up for the newsletter and join us over on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter where we’ll be sharing all our favorite images from the competition. Congratulations to all the talented photographers who made it to the final!

Finalists

Jury's Feedback

1ST PRIZE: Robi Chakraborty

“This image has most of the elements that I look for in a successful photograph. To me, a successful portrait is one that captures what life looks like for someone else and says something about the human condition. I am always drawn to a portrait that shows a natural situation and doesn’t feel too posed. The color palette is interesting and the light is indirect and soft.” — Steve McCurry

2ND PRIZE: David Keith Brown

“For me, a good photograph is about telling stories whether it’s portraiture, human behavior, or how we live on this planet. This image is a great example of an interesting study of human behavior. It has a bit of humor, mixed with a slice of real life. Unguarded moments like these always make for a fascinating story.” — Steve McCurry

3RD PRIZE: Nicolas Castermans

“Nicolas Castermans’ depiction of a Colombian ‘Vaquero’ is a wonderful image that conveys the isolation and dignity of his rapidly fading culture. Beautifully framed, our subject is pictured before his grazing steed as though offering protection, whilst behind them, the verdant cloud-glazed peaks – which the pair navigate daily as one – fade into the horizon. “ – The Independent Photographer Editors

© Steve McCurry

Judge: Steve McCurry

Steve McCurry has been one of the most iconic voices in contemporary photography for over three decades and has created a unique collection of work featuring some of the most famous images of our time. McCurry’s work spans conflicts, vanishing cultures, ancient traditions, and contemporary culture alike – yet always retains the human element that made his celebrated image of the Afghan Girl so powerful.

With countless exhibitions around the world to his name, he has been recognized with some of the most prestigious awards in the industry, including the Robert Capa Gold Medal, National Press Photographers Award, and an unprecedented four first prize awards from the World Press Photo.

McCurry has published over a dozen books including The Iconic Photographs (2011), Untold: The Stories Behind the Photographs (2013), Afghanistan (2017), and A Life in Pictures (2018).