Asia Travel Photography Contest

Asia travel photography contest judged by National Geographic Traveler photographer Bob Krist

Our travelers crossed time zones, date lines, and oceans to experience an Asia tour or South Pacific Asia vacation— where they may have found a fabulous photo opportunity around every corner. We asked previous travelers with Asia Transpacific Journeys to submit photos of their travels with us. We started with 109 beautiful entries, our staff narrowed it down to 20 semi-finalists, and then we asked National Geographic Traveler photographer Bob Krist to select the winners.

He noted that “Great color, story telling, and strong compositions made it very hard for me to pick only three. Obviously, your travelers are exploring their destinations with an appreciative eye and a knack for going beyond the postcard views.”

Here are the winning entries and Bob’s commentary on the photos. Congratulations to our winners and thank you to all who participated. These photos truly define a journey beyond the ordinary™.

1st place, boy riding camel at sunset in Pushkar, India (© Annie Katz )

“This is a wonderful moment, and very carefully composed. Notice that the low angle the photographer chose fully silhouettes the camel and rider against the sky. The moment is captured perfectly, and the position of the camel and rider is just right. The setting sun behind this great silhouette just adds that extra sense of ‘moment’ to an already strong photograph.”

2nd place, women on a wall in India (© Susan I. Cohen)

“Another great job of ‘seeing.’ The repeating patterns of the women sitting in a row, plus the great light and color, makes this a very strong graphic and story-telling picture. It’s carefully composed—there are no distracting backgrounds. The photographer has done an excellent job of eliminating all extraneous elements, and distilling the composition to a powerful, simple graphic.”

3rd place, two boys watch a ceremony in Bhutan (© Scott Carroll)

“A wonderful ‘storytelling’ shot. The photographer looked beyond the obvious shot (that of the ceremony, whatever it was) and looked around the “edges” of the event to see how it was affecting the onlookers. Beautiful light, two very different expressions, and subjects who are totally into the moment. A great moment and a careful composition.”