Saturday, December 20, 2014

From fighting tigers and leaping wildebeest to incredible urban snapshots: National Geographic readers' best photographs

From fighting tigers and leaping wildebeest to incredible urban snapshots: National Geographic readers' best photographs

·        The winners and honourable mentions from National Geographic Reader's Photos of the year competition
·        More than 9,200 entries came from over 150 countries for the contest covering people, places and nature
·        Grand prize went to Hong Kong's Brian Yen for his shot of a woman on a crowded train 

On a crowded Hong Kong train yet seemingly so alone, a young woman's face is illuminated by the glow of her smartphone - this is the image judged the year's best and grand prize winner in National Geographic Readers' Photos of the Year competition.
The image entitled A Node Glows in the Dark, shot by Brian Yen of Hong Kong, beat more than 9,200 other entries which include stunning images of wildlife, natural phenomena and snapshots of unique cultures to the US$10,000 (£6,400) top prize.
Submissions were made from over 150 countries with their subject matter just as diverse, capturing a vast array of the earth's rich tapestry across three categories - people, places and nature. 
Scroll down for video 
The National Geographic Readers' Photos of the year
Grand Prize winning photograph from Brian Yen is a single image statement on technology, modern life and how advances have impacted our lives. Yen said of his successful entry: 'She's a node flickering on the social web, roaming the Earth, free as a butterfly. Our existence is no longer stuck to the physical here; we're free to run away, and run we will'
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The National Geographic Readers' Photos of the year Grand Prize winning photograph from Brian Yen is a single image statement on technology, modern life and how advances have impacted our lives. Yen said of his successful entry: 'She's a node flickering on the social web, roaming the Earth, free as a butterfly. Our existence is no longer stuck to the physical here; we're free to run away, and run we will'
A wildebeest jumps off a steep ledge at the Mara River in Tanzania's North Serengeti Nicole Cambre's shot, which won the Nature category
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A wildebeest jumps off a steep ledge at the Mara River in Tanzania's North Serengeti Nicole Cambre's shot, which won the Nature category


A shot of mist rising from Budapest's thermal spas at night by Tristan Yeo claimed the places honour while the premier nature image, by Nicole Cambre, features a wildebeest jumping off a steep ledge at the Mara River in Tanzania's North Serengeti.
Yet the winner came from a distinctly urban setting. 
'I feel a certain contradiction when I look at the picture,' said Yen. “On the one hand, I feel the liberating gift of technology. On the other hand, I feel people don’t even try to be neighborly anymore, because they don’t have to.' 
Scroll down for more incredible images, including the winners and those given honourable mentions by judges including National Geographic photographers John Stanmeyer and Erika Larsen, and the company's general manager of digital, Keith Jenkins.


more videos



A stirring image from Sergey Ponomarev as bird fly over the destroyed houses in Khalidiya district in Homs, Syria
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A stirring image from Sergey Ponomarev as bird fly over the destroyed houses in Khalidiya district in Homs, Syria
This apparently 'playful fight', says its photographer Archna Singh, lasted between four and five seconds in Bandhavgarh National Park, India
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This apparently 'playful fight', says its photographer Archna Singh, lasted between four and five seconds in Bandhavgarh National Park, India
Nick Riley immortalised these 'seekers of eternal youth' as they smear themselves with mud from the Dead Sea in Israel
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Nick Riley immortalised these 'seekers of eternal youth' as they smear themselves with mud from the Dead Sea in Israel
In the world's largest inactive volcanic caldera, Tanzania's Ngorongoro Crater, Zik Teo captures four peaceful zebras for the nature category
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In the world's largest inactive volcanic caldera, Tanzania's Ngorongoro Crater, Zik Teo captures four peaceful zebras for the nature category
An honourable mention winner in the people category is this moving shot of an elderly man deep in thought while his wife prepares bread to be blessed for the orthodox Eucharist, while their cat lay on the bed, by Roberto Fiore. It was taken in the village of Sarbi in Romania
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An honourable mention winner in the people category is this moving shot of an elderly man deep in thought while his wife prepares bread to be blessed for the orthodox Eucharist, while their cat lay on the bed, by Roberto Fiore. It was taken in the village of Sarbi in Romania
A spectacular still of a wild short eared owl in full flight by Henrik Nilsson, who says the bird was keeping an eye out for Northern harriers which can often attempt to steal a kill from owls in Boundary Bay in British Columbia, Canada
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A spectacular still of a wild short eared owl in full flight by Henrik Nilsson, who says the bird was keeping an eye out for Northern harriers which can often attempt to steal a kill from owls in Boundary Bay in British Columbia, Canada
A stag deer belows amidst the autumnal colours of London's Richmond Park in this painting-like shot from Prashant Meswani 
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A stag deer belows amidst the autumnal colours of London's Richmond Park in this painting-like shot from Prashant Meswani 
 Ice art on a window in the small northern Estonian borough of Tabasalu by Maie Kirnmann was an honourable mention in the nature category
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 Ice art on a window in the small northern Estonian borough of Tabasalu by Maie Kirnmann was an honourable mention in the nature category
A boardwalk amphitheatre it his by waves and a storm while Aytul Akbas took this photo of his nephew in Kocaeli, Turkey
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A boardwalk amphitheatre it his by waves and a storm while Aytul Akbas took this photo of his nephew in Kocaeli, Turkey
An incredible 'living frame' forms for Christian Miller in the Great Barrier Reef as a Napoleon Wrasse swims through a school of glass fish
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An incredible 'living frame' forms for Christian Miller in the Great Barrier Reef as a Napoleon Wrasse swims through a school of glass fish
Tyler G says he his friends 'argued consistently' on a road trip to Miami but you wouldn't know it from this taken on the Blue Ridge Parkway
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Tyler G says he his friends 'argued consistently' on a road trip to Miami but you wouldn't know it from this taken on the Blue Ridge Parkway
The chief of Ramnami people in Chhattisgarh, India, displays extensive tattoos of the name of their god in this photo from Mattia Passarini
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The chief of Ramnami people in Chhattisgarh, India, displays extensive tattoos of the name of their god in this photo from Mattia Passarini
A poignant image of diabled children in war-torn Syria by Abdullah Alghajar got an honourable mention in Nat Geo's people category
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A poignant image of diabled children in war-torn Syria by Abdullah Alghajar got an honourable mention in Nat Geo's people category
Peter Franc got off at the wrong station early in the morning in Tokyo and took refuge in a coffee shop looking over this river of people
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Peter Franc got off at the wrong station early in the morning in Tokyo and took refuge in a coffee shop looking over this river of people
K

Little photographed this little girl in discussion with a doll in a plastic box in Paris, France. She admits the image is 'not inherently beautiful' until it's accented by a 'slice of light'. Little says: 'It looks like a bubble invented to dream in an imaginative world.'
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K Little photographed this little girl in discussion with a doll in a plastic box in Paris, France. She admits the image is 'not inherently beautiful' until it's accented by a 'slice of light'. Little says: 'It looks like a bubble invented to dream in an imaginative world.'
An all-mighty temper tantrum in a Bangkok shopping mall by Adam Birkan was another honourable mention in the people category
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An all-mighty temper tantrum in a Bangkok shopping mall by Adam Birkan was another honourable mention in the people category
The places winner by Triston Yeo is a 'surreal and mystical' image of the thermal spas in Budapest, a popular activity for Hungarians in winter
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The places winner by Triston Yeo is a 'surreal and mystical' image of the thermal spas in Budapest, a popular activity for Hungarians in winter




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