Every year the National Geographic Traveller photography competition winners amaze readers with their outstanding quality of images, and this year is no exception.
The competition receives submissions covering the globe, documenting everywhere from the Antarctic to the deep depths of Africa.
To enter the competition, UK photographers had to submit their images into one of six categories.
These were action, nature, people, urban, portfolio, and video, and were up to the photographer’s interpretation.
The winner of such a prestigious award won a six-night wildlife photographer tour in eastern Europe and of course the title.
This year’s winner was Italian-born photographer Renato Granieri who lives in London.
When looking at his prize photo of two king penguins touching beaks in South Georgia, it’s not hard to see why he won.
Describing the winning photo, Head Judge Chris Hudson said: This entry stood out from the first moment we saw it, probably because of the stark white background that forms the environment in which these penguins live. There is, however, an element of tenderness about it all to contrast this, and in the composition, Renato has managed to capture a touching moment with the highest technical and compositional standards.”
Taking about his own work, Renato explained: “I was walking through a vast colony of king penguins in South Georgia, looking for inspiration. I decided to focus on intimate behaviour, so I sat on the snow and waited patiently.
“Two of the penguins came within a few feet of me, and I soon realised I had the opportunity I was looking for.
I took a few shots before the pair started chasing each other and disappeared into the throng.”
Daniel Burton took first place in his category, Portfolio, with his series titled elements. He based his project on the four classical elements of nature, earth, wind, fire, and water.
John White’s snapshot image of a dog leaping into a cafe in Lower Manhattan, New York won the best image in the Urban category and Simon Morris won the People category award with his image of a Kazakh man sat on a sofa next to a golden eagle.
Stuart Dunn won best Action shot with his image taken in Svalbard, Norway.
The stunning image was captured in minus 20 degree conditions and shows a pack of sledding dog chasing after him.
Finally, Timur Tugalev was awarded the title of best video submitted. His submission titled Lost in Cuba, captures the ‘contagious temperaments” of the local he met on his trip across the country.
