ICONIC AND INFLUENTIAL, National Geographic magazine cover photos represent the pinnacle of many photographer’s careers.
And, now, the company is offering the chance for a reader to provide the leading image for its final issue of National Geographic Traveller for 2015.
There have been 34,000 submissions so far as part of an assignment on Your Shot, National Geographic’s photo community.
For this particular task, participants were asked by Editor-in-Chief Maggie Zackowitz to submit photos of their “best place” — the favourite destination to which they’ve travelled — to correspond with the Best of the World magazine feature.
The winning photo will be chosen by the magazine’s editors and announced online on 19 November.
Here are 10 of their current 15 favourites (with captions by the photographers in their own words):
“A solo traveller enjoying the nature and I too got lost in the nature but could not resist myself to capture this image.”
“Traveling through the Dolomites feels like quintessential alpine Europe. While taking a road trip around this incredible landscape, every turn presents you with infinite creative opportunity. Lago di Braies is especially beautiful with the stairs leading into the water from the boathouse, the turquoise alpine water, and the dramatic elevation change in the background makes for the perfect shot. When you get lucky enough to have an empty boat float by, it serves as the cherry on top.”
“Terrace rice paddies in Tu Le Valley, Yen Bai province, north Vietnam at the beginning of new season. The Hmong people are crossing the fields on their way home at the end of the working day.”
“This magnificent dream, built of white marble and precious stones, is the most beautiful and impressive monument of imperishable love. I tried here to capture one of the most photographed buildings in the world from a new perspective. At this busy Sunday in November chains of colourful humans decorate the pearl of India. Captured from the West side of the Taj Mahal in the afternoon of Sunday the 9 November 2014. This was my third visit to the Taj Mahal, and I guess not the last.”
“Even though there were a lot of people in Ben Youssef, still here was more quiet and relaxing compare to the outside of street in Marrakesh. I was waiting [for] the perfect timing to photograph for [a] long time.”
“Tianmen Mountain National Park, Zhangjiajie, northwestern Hunan Province, China. An 11 kilometre road with 99 bends also reaches the top of the mountain.”
“St Arnaud is a small Alpine Village, surrounded by mountains and located beside Lake Rotoiti. This photo was taken on a chilly winter’s morning , just as the sun was starting to rise. My husband was having his morning coffee and strolled out to the edge of the jetty, to take in the serene views. There is plenty to do here from mountain climbing, hiking, kayaking, skiing, fishing for brown trout and exploring the stunning Honey Dew Beech Forest. If you are lucky you can see Kiwi birds!”
“This waterfall is located in the State of Goias, Brazil. Most impressive is that we can get very close to it and swim in the pool that is formed.”
“Expedition into the Arctic wild of Svalbard yielded extraordinary ice cliffs and formations.”
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