2018 National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year – Those who didn’t win . . .

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On 5 August 2018 I posted images, details and captions for the 2018 National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year competition.  Here are some for the non-winners . . .

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Photographer:	Hidetoshi Ogata
Photograph Title:	The Highly Tolerant Society
Category:	Nature
Location:	Awaji Island, Japan
Caption: On a cold winter day, I captured the moment when mother monkeys formed a huddle after social grooming in Awaji Island. Japanese monkeys are generally considered to be despotic and aggressive, but they are building a social relationships with mutual benefits.

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Photographer:	Jeffry Arguedas
Photograph Title:	The Doors of Mordor are Open
Category:	Nature
Location:	Acatenago, Chimaltenango, Gutemala
Caption: Never before had I seen such a majestic eruption of a volcano and at the same time feel secure. Camping one night in the Acatenango Volcano and having a volcano as active as the Fire a few kilometres away, it was an incomparable experience, I felt trapped in the book "The Lord of the Rings" walking through Mordor. Walking for more than 5 hours with cold clothes near 3900 meters, food, 5 litres of water and a tripod, was exhausting, but each step made it worthwhile.

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Photographer:	E Erencibia
Photograph Title:	Wild Iceland
Category:	Nature
Location:	Eyvindarholar, South, Iceland
Caption: If already one of the most beautiful landscape ever seen, imagine to get there and find this wild and majestic Icelandic horse posing for me. That morning I was wondering if it would be worth it to go...bad weather, cold, not good light conditions...but you never know what you are going to find.

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Photographer:	Ray Tom
Photograph Title:	Future of 2022 Reveal in Fog
Category:	Cities
Location:	Muraykh, Ar Rayyan, Qatar
Caption: The first 2022 World Cup stadium to be built ahead of the tournament in Qatar.

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Photographer:	M.Raccichni
Photograph Title:
Category:	Cities
Location:	Rio De Janiero, Brazil
Caption: Maresia or sea spray are generic names used to refer to aerosol deriving from the wind that causes a nebulized cloud that forms on the crest of the waves. On some days a thick blanket accumulates on the beach and there is a strong smell of the sea. For several days i was fascinated and so i went back to this beach to take this picture.

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Photographer:	Paul Tsui
Photograph Title:	The Invasion
Category:	Cities
Location:	Macau, Macao
Caption: A quiet street in Macau. Modernization around is quickly changing the city.

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Photographer:	Rob Weisman
Photograph Title:	The Balloon Wrestler
Category:	People
Location:	Africa
Caption: A worker tugs at the edge of an inflating balloon as it is readied for a sunrise trip over the Serengeti.

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Photographer:	Chelsea Nix
Photograph Title:	Haircut
Category:	People
Location:	Mexico
Caption: Visiting a old barbershop in a small town in Mexico. The owner has been cutting hair and collecting unique objects for over 40 years.

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Photographer:	Barolomiej Jurecki
Photograph Title:	Nacreous Clouds
Category:	Nature
Location:	Norway
Caption: Nacreous clouds or polar stratospheric clouds. On the last day of the year those clouds could be seen on the Lofoten islands in northern Norway. These clouds are characterized by a strong iridescence. Clouds are formed with a small amount of water vapor that leaked to the upper parts of the atmosphere. They scatter the light differently, that is why the color of the clouds reminds rainbow. Those clouds occur very rarely.

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Photographer:	Yatwai So
Photograph Title:	Ribbon
Category:	Nature
Location:	Anilao, Mimaropa, Philiippines
Caption: Glass eel is one of the biggest target for fishermen because of its high value and make glass eel trafficking become a multimillion dollar business. Owning to overconsumption, some eel species like Anguilla japonica (Japanese eel) is highly endangered species and the situation is even getting worst now.

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Photographer:	Clara Davies
Photograph Title:	Skirtberg
Category:	Nature
Location:	Snow Hill, Antartica
Caption: Found in the Errera Channel on the Antarctic Peninsula this immense iceberg showed obvious signs of being sculptured and worn by the icy Antarctic waters.

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Photographer:	Ajith Mathew
Photograph Title:	Castle of Nature
Category:	Nature
Location:	Sigiriya, Sri Lanka
Caption: An ancient rock fortress listed under UNESCO world heritage site. Located at Sigiriya, Sri Lanka, lion rock is an amazing destination, with ruins of old gardens and fountains. A breathtaking climb of almost 2000 stairs to the top of the rock, surrounded by forest will be truly a lifetime achievement. The view from the top will literally make you feel the art of nature sleeping under your feet.

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Photographer:	Jordan Robins
Photograph Title:	Mountains Meets the Sea
Category:	Nature
Location:	Lord Howe Island, New South Wales, Australia
Caption: An 'over under' image of the healty coral and marine life in the lagoon below Mount Gower and Mount Lidgbird on Lord Howe Island.

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Photographer:	Rishi Gunasinghe
Photograph Title:	The Back Flip of Death
Category:	Nature
Location:	Palatupana, Sri Lanka
Caption: A very rare and epic encounter between a mugger crocodile and a gigantic Rusell’s Viper in Yala National Park, Sri Lanka,  The crocodile  “ stands up" with the sheer strength of its tail, and in what seems to be a death roll in the air, flips the Viper and thrashes it onto the bank, in a breathtaking and captivating display of power.

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Photographer:	Kaan Yuan Chiam
Photograph Title:	Ijtima Praying
Category:	People
Location:	Dhaka, Bangladesh
Caption: On the annual pilgrimage festival in Bangladesh, the collective worship of believers can be described as grand and spectacular. At the time of worship, everyone on the street will stop their actions and pray in the direction of the Holy Land, Saudi Arabia's Mecca. The entire world was quiet, people line up, sit together on the ground, pray in the most pious form, and people are seen and infected with such solemn atmosphere.

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Photographer:	Jalan Sabha
Photograph Title:	Under Mama’s Arm
Category:	Ethiopia, Africa
Location:
Caption: Tribal disputes are a perpetual menace in the region and women and children are the most affected. This stark reality is accentuated by the fragile reality of innocence

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Photographer:	Mauro Di Bettio
Photograph Title:	Sweet Gold
Category:	People
Location:	Nepal
Caption: There are rare tribes in Nepal that have been haunting honey from Himalayan cliffs for centuries. A tradition that's carried on for generations. Wrapped in a tornado of angry giant bees, hanging with bare hands to a bamboo rope hundreds of meters high, these people risk their lives to collect the precious spring ‘red honey’, famous for its medicinal, aphrodisiac and hallucinogenic properties.

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Photographer:	Kajan Madrasmal
Photograph Title:	Sewing - Fishnet
Category:	People
Location:	Vietnam
Caption: I have recently visited the fishing village of Nha Trang, Vietnam and documented their daily life in two-morning sessions. It was the highlight to witness the women sewing the fishnets. I have tried many compositions to extract the scene by excluding the distracting elements to show the colors, patterns and the main subjects within a frame. This picture was captured for a candid moment of the scene, not staged as arranged by some photography tours nowadays.

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Photographer:	Lucy Mohr
Photograph Title:	The Sacrifice
Category:	People
Location:	West Mongolia
Caption: A nomadic Kazakh family in West Mongolia sacrifice one of their goats as a gift to their foreign guests (us!). The whole family gathered to pray and give thanks for its life, then left and went about their chores. Only the children stayed with their father and looked on... Their father- who happens to also be so kind and compassionate to his children-turns and gives his youngest son a tender kiss,

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Photographer:	Togo Takamura
Photograph Title:	Moving Living Space
Category:	Cities
Location:	Delhi, India
Caption: They live on the street as a living space.

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Photographer:	Susan Portnoy
Photograph Title:	Nap Time
Category:	Nature
Location:	Manitoba, Canada
Caption: I was on a polar bear walking safari in northern Manitoba with Churchill Wild. Each day we'd walk for miles searching for wildlife. We came across this young lady a few moments before this photo was taken when she had just laid down. Her head was up and she was looking around, but when she curled up in this foetal position, my heart just melted. She looked so sweet, more slumbering housecat than meat-eating predator.