Anthony Lau’s picture of a horseman in Inner Mongolia has earned National Geographic’s grand prize in its “2016 Travel Photographer of the Year” awards. The photo, titled “Winter Horseman” and selected from thousands of entries, was taken after an early morning hike. Lau and his travel companions were driving back to their hotel for breakfast when they came across a team of riders showing off their skills.
“The snow was getting heavier, the wind was getting stronger, the morning snow was getting thinner and the light was moving away from its optimal position. I only had a couple of shots to get the best out of this encounter.”
– Anthony Lau
GRAND PRIZE WINNER
“The winter in Inner Mongolia is very unforgiving. At a freezing temperature of minus twenty and lower, with a constant breeze of snow from all direction, it was pretty hard to convince myself to get out of the car and take photos. When I saw Inner Mongolia horsemen showing off their skills and commanding the steed from a distance. I quickly grabbed my telephoto lens and captured the moment when one of the horseman charged out from morning mist.”
© Anthony Lau
The National Geographic Travel photography contest captures the awe-inspiring diversity of the world’s people, places, and cultures. It recognizes the most compelling travel photography taken in the past two years, with entries in three categories: Nature, People, and Cities.
First, second and third-place prizes were awarded in each category. Lau’s photo placed first in the People category, while Takashi Nakagawa of Tokyo took top honors in the Cities category for his photo “Ben Youssef,” and “Wherever you go, I will follow you!!” shot by Hiroki Inoue of Hokkaido, Japan, led the field in Nature.
FIRST PLACE WINNER, NATURE
“It was when I drove back home feeling disappointed with the fact that I had finished the day in vain without any anticipated subject that I heard the joyful voice from the car window like “quack, quack!” There they were: red foxes. Around the end of the winter, they meet the season of love; they care for and love each other enough to make us jealous.”
© Hiroki Inoue
FIRST PLACE WINNER, CITIES
“Marrakesh is an exciting city for any traveler, but I was tired of walking on the crowded street and being asked for money from local people, so I was looking for a place to settle down. Even though there were a lot of people in Madrasa, it was still a more quiet and relaxing place than outside. Suddenly a beautiful reflection appeared on the shallow pool when I was taking a rest. It was a cloudy day so I could only see it when the wind stopped blowing and sunlight hit this Islamic architecture.”
© Takashi Nakagawa
First-place winners received a Sony A6300 camera, second-place winners received National Geographic’s The Art of Travel Photography course on DVD and third-place winners received a National Geographic book. Lau also wins a seven-day Polar Bear Photo Safari for two.
SECOND PLACE WINNER, CITIES
“This photo was taken on my last trip to Guangzhou, China. This place is the school dormitories of South China Normal University. When I was hanging around, most of them were taking a break. After lunchtime, they needed to go back to study.”
© Wing Ka H.
SECOND PLACE WINNER, NATURE
“I was in the Brazilian Pantanal along the Rio Negrinho. I realized that the river, at certain points of the loops, created places where there were many yacare caimans. I saw a yacare sink suddenly, and I immediately looked for the best location to photograph when it resurfaced. The whole thing lasted only a fraction of a moment.”
© Massimiliano Bencivenni
Click here to see the second place winner of the “People” category.
“We were blown away by the entries we received from around the world, and it’s clear our passion for visual storytelling is shared by our readers. We are thrilled to name Anthony Lau as our first-ever National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year”
– George Stone, editor in chief of National Geographic Travel
THIRD PLACE WINNER, PEOPLE
“An old woman in a remote village in Himachal Pradesh, India, carries a big log back home to warm up her house.”
© mattia passarini
THIRD PLACE WINNER, NATURE
“I made this photo during my recent photographic expedition in Atacama Desert, in April 2016. I embarked alone on this adventure to find images not yet published of the most arid desert in the world and its contrasts. Despite the Atacama Desert being one of the best places on the planet to do night photography. Therefore, I sought one of the places recently discovered in the Atacama Desert and one that shows all the contrast of this desert to make night shots: the Baltinache Ponds.”
© Victor Lima
THIRD PLACE WINNER, CITIES
“Lightning seemingly strikes Komtar Tower, the most iconic landmark of George Town, capital of Penang state in Malaysia, during a thunderstorm. It is symbolic of the rejuvenation that the city, famous for a unique blend of centuries-old buildings and modern structures, has enjoyed in recent years. While many of its old neighborhoods fell into neglect in the 1990s and early 2000s, a UNESCO World Heritage listing in 2008 sparked a transformation.”
© Jeremy Tan
National Geographic also awarded an “Honorable Mention” to three photographers:
- In the “People” category, this muscular picture won the mention.
- For “Nature,” two bears on a berg got the spotlight.
- And the city of all cities was awarded in the “Cities” category.