It takes a very special photo to be crowned as Grand Prize winner in Nat Geo’s annual photo contest, but Jassen Todorov’s image showcasing thousands of recalled cars juxtaposed against an airplane in the Mojave Desert is exactly that.
Entitled ‘Unreal’, Jassen’s image (which also took top spot in the Places category) was chosen as the overall winner from nearly 10,000 entries and has netted the photographer $5,000, along with his photo being featured on the @NatGeo Instagram account. Jassen commented on the photo; “Thousands of Volkswagen and Audi cars sit idle in the middle of California’s Mojave Desert. Models manufactured from 2009 to 2015 were designed to cheat emissions tests mandated by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency. Following the scandal, Volkswagen recalled millions of cars. By capturing scenes like this one, I hope we will all become more conscious of and more caring toward our beautiful planet. ”
Image by Jassen Todorov / 2018 National Geographic Photo Contest
Taking first place in the People category was an image by Mia Collis. Mia spoke of the image; “I was looking to do a series of portraits showing people wearing their Sunday best when I made this photo of David Muyochokera. It was taken on his last Sunday working as a photographer at Weekend Studio, in Kibera—a large shantytown in Nairobi, Kenya.
My friend Peter, a local resident, had pointed me to the photo studio just as I was about to leave the area. It was a stunning space, with whimsical backdrops and natural light coming through the doorway. David had worked there for 37 years, but Weekend Studio was about to close permanently. Phone cameras were so common now, he said, and fewer people wanted studio portraits. David planned to retire and return home to the countryside. I was troubled by the studio’s imminent closure, so I eventually took over the rent. A portrait of David now hangs at Weekend Studio in his memory. ”
Image by Mia Collis / 2018 National Geographic Photo Contest
Second place in the People category was this quirky frame by Todd Kennedy, who explained of the image; “On a family holiday driving from Sydney to Uluru, we stopped at a roadside motel in the small rural township of Nyngan, on the edge of Australia’s outback. The area is in the wheat belt, and it was unusually hot for that time of year—over a hundred degrees Fahrenheit and very dusty. Our daughter, Genie, is seen here enjoying a refreshing bath in a rubber ducky perched on the sink. ”
Image by Todd Kennedy / 2018 National Geographic Photo Contest
Taking second place in the Places category was another desert-based image, this time taken by Nicholas Moir, who commented on his photo; “A rusting Ford Thunderbird is blanketed by red dust from a supercell thunderstorm in Ralls, Texas. The dry, plowed fields of the Texas Panhandle made easy prey for the storm, which had winds over 90 miles an hour ripping up the topsoil and depositing it farther south. I was forecasting and positioning a team of videographers and photographers on a storm chase in Tornado Alley—this was our last day of a very successful chase, having witnessed 16 tornadoes over 10 days. The target area for a storm initiation was just south of Amarillo, Texas. Once the storm became a supercell, it moved southbound with outflow winds that were easily strong enough to tear up the topsoil and send it into the air. "
Image by Nicholas Moir / 2018 National Geographic Photo Contest
Third places in the Places category was awarded Christian Werner for a stunning frame. Christian said of the shot; “While on assignment for Der Spiegel, we made a road trip through Syria to document the current situation in major cities. When I first entered the Khalidiya district in Homs, I was shocked. I hadn’t seen such large-scale destruction before, and I had been to many destroyed cities. The area around the Khalidiya district was extremely quiet. No city sounds, cars—nothing. Only the chirping of swallows and the wind.
We walked down the streets of Khalidiya, but the destruction was so large scale that you couldn’t have the big picture from the point of view on the street—you could only manage it with a view from above. To make this image, I asked a Syrian soldier in charge of the area if I could climb onto a ruin. The soldier agreed, allowing me to climb at my own risk. I climbed up the ruins of a former house—which was full of improvised explosive devices—and took the picture. I was very lucky to take the picture when I was on the rooftop. Without any sign of life, it would have been a dead picture. I can recall the memory vividly. ”
Image by Christian Werner / 2018 National Geographic Photo Contest
Pim Volkers claimed first place in the Wildlife category for a truly epic capture of wildebeests in spectacular light. Pim explains; “It was early morning when I saw the wildebeests crossing Tanzania’s Mara River. The layering of dust, shade, and sun over the chaos of wildebeests kicking up water gives this picture a sense of mystique and allure. It’s almost like an old painting—I’m still compelled to search the detail of the image to absorb the unreal scene. ”
Image by Pim Volkers / 2018 National Geographic Photo Contest
Second place in the Wildlife category went to Jonas Beyer for an image that gives you chills every time you look at it. Jonas says; “A few miles from Qaanaaq (Thule), Greenland, I was on a hike in search of musk oxen when I came upon a group of them. This ox was running on a hillside in deep snow, which exploded underneath it—an amazing sight. The photo came together in a few seconds. I was lucky enough to be at the right spot to observe them frolicking, and then I had the incredible experience of watching them closely for about an hour. I love photographing musk oxen against the wintry landscape: They’re extremely tough Arctic survivors. This photo shows their beauty and their power—and the snow they deal with for about eight months of the year. ”
Image by Jonas Beyer / 2018 National Geographic Photo Contest
. digitalrev.com2018-12-7 03:00
