The National Geographic’s Travel Photo Contest Is Over And Here Are The Winners (26 Pics)

Instead of taking the bus tour to Rainbow Mountain, I camped the night before, about an hour and a half away, to be the first up at sunrise. That morning was full of fog, and when I arrived, I could barely see the seven-color mountain. I waited an hour for the fog to clear, but it didn't. On my way down, I passed this lovely alpaca couple wearing the Aymara culture colors—which made the wait worth it.

This was my very first trip visit to Africa. A group of rhinoceros drank water from a watering hole while lightning [thundered] at night. I captured over 10,000 photos to get this shot and show the relationship between nature and wildlife. Wildlife is a part of the environment and we should not treat them as a tool—we should protect them.

Upernavik is a fishing village on a tiny island in west Greenland. Historically, Greenlandic buildings were painted different colors to indicate different functions, from red storefronts to blue fishermen’s homes—a useful distinction when the landscape is blanketed in snow. This photo was taken during my three-month, personal photo project to present life in Greenland.

With everything, practice makes perfect. That couldn't be more evident than when fishing for salmon atop Brooks Falls in Alaska. This brown bear was attempting to snag one mid-air, but his timing was a bit early causing the salmon to land like a slap across his face.

What happens before a wave breaks? That question has been my assignment this past year. On this particular day, I decided to shoot the sunset on the east side of Oahu, Hawaii. About 100 photographers were out in the morning, but I had the evening to myself. The textures from the trade winds [created] subtle colors from the west and blended well using my 100mm lens. I had to look into my viewfinder while this wave was breaking. Not an easy task when a wave is about to crush you.

When are you traveling around the city, humans are not the only living species. When we look up at the sky, there are sometimes surprises.

A gorgeous griffon vulture is seen soaring the skies in Monfragüe National Park in Spain. How can anyone say vultures bring bad omens when looking at such tenderness in this griffon vulture's eyes? Vultures are important members of the environment, as they take care of recycling dead matter. Vultures are noble and majestic animals—kings of the skies. When looking at them flying, we should feel humbled and admire them.

Walking around all day in Antigua, Guatemala, there was a persistent cloud layer that obscured the mountainous terrain surrounding the town. Late in the evening, while walking through Antigua just for a few moments, one of the volcanoes became clear and offered a spectacular view with the Santa Catalina Arch. The volcano complex known as La Horqueta, surrounds the town of Antigua in Guatemala with numerous volcanic peaks in the area including Fuego, Agua, Acatenango, and Pico Mayor.

It was not an easy task to capture the little lamas—as the older monks call them. They spend their free-time hanging out with each other, checking their social media, or playing football.

Showered by molten, firework-like sparks, people in Meizhou, China performs fire dragon dance to celebrate the Lantern Festival. This celebration has been performed since the Qing Dynasty and was listed as Intangible Cultural Heritage in China in 2008. [The festival] marks the first full moon night in the Chinese lunar year.

A crabeater seal is seen trying to get a spot on the same ice floe as his buddy.