2019 National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year winners | CNN (2024)

Grand prize, and 1st prize Cities category -- "Greenlandic Winter": The main prize in the 2019 National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest went to Chu Weimin."Upernavik is a fishing village on a tiny island in west Greenland.," he says. "This photo was taken during my three-month, personal photo project to present life in Greenland."

2nd place Cities category -- "In the age of aviation". Jassen Todorov was the second prize winner in the 2019 National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest Cities category. "There are four runways at San Francisco's International Airport (SFO)," says the photographer. "This is a rare look at the approach end of runways 28 left and right. I had dreams of documenting the motion at SFO and [arranged] permission to fly directly overhead."

3rd place Cities category -- "Streets of Dhaka": Sandipani Chattopadhyay was the third place of this category of the 2019 National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest. "People pray on the street in Dhaka, Bangladesh during Ijtema. Bishwa Ijtema is one of the major Islamic religious gatherings which is [observed] annually in Dhaka and millions of Muslims visit [during this time]," explains the photographer.

1st place Nature category -- "Tender Eyes": The first prize winner in the Cities category of the 2019 National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest is Tamara Blazquez Haik. "A gorgeous griffon vulture is seen soaring the skies in Monfragüe National Park in Spain," she explains. "How can anyone say vultures bring bad omens when looking at such tenderness in this griffon vulture's eyes?"

2nd prize Nature category -- "Dreamcatcher": The second prize winner in this category of the 2019 National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest is Danny Sepkowski. "What happens before a wave breaks? That question has been my assignment this past year," he says. "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."

3rd prize Nature category -- "Dusky": The third prize winner in this category of the 2019 National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest is Scott Portelli. "Dusky dolphins often travel together in great numbers in the deep canyons of the Kaikoura, New Zealand in search of food," he says of his photograph. "They glide through the ocean effortlessly, coming up only to breathe."

Nature honorable mention -- "King of the Alps": The honorable mention in this category of the 2019 National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest goes to Jonas Schäfer. "A herd of ibexes in Switzerland's Bernese Oberland cross a ridge above Lake Brienz," says the photographer. "Their powerful and impressive horns show who the king of the Alps are."

1st prize People category -- "Showtime": Huaifeng Li's depiction of actors preparing for an evening opera performance in Licheng County, China was the winner of this category of the 2019 National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest. "I spent the whole day with these actors from make-up to [stage]," says the photographer.

2nd prize People category -- "Daily Routine": The second prize winner in this category of the 2019 National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest went to Yoshiki Fujiwara. "This photo was taken at a public park at Choi Hung House in Hong Kong," explains the photographer. "When I visited during the afternoon, it was very crowded with many young people taking pictures and playing basketball. But when I visited at sunrise, it was quiet and a different place."

3rd prize People category -- "Horses": The third prize winner in this category of the 2019 National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest is José Antonio Zamora. "Every year on the feast of Saint Anthony the ceremony of the purification of animals, called Las Luminarias, is celebrated in Spain. In the province of Avila, horses and horsem*n jump over bonfires in the ritual that has been maintained since the 18th century," he says of his image.

People honorable mention -- "Mood": The honorable mention in this category of the 2019 National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest was Navin Vatsa. "I captured this layered moment during sunrise along the banks of the Yamuna River in Delhi, India," says the photographer. "This boy was thinking silently, and visitors were enjoying the loud musical chirping of thousands of seagulls."