The world is ripe with parties and festivals, each with its own unique flavor of the local culture, cuisine, love and dance. This month’s photo contest, chosen from our Flickr group, was a celebration of travel through partying.

Our winning shot comes from the Inti Raymi Festival in Cusco, Peru. This festival of the sun has deep roots celebrating the Incan god Inti. The festival also celebrates local police and their longing looks at beautiful paraders as they pass by. Well, that may not be completely true, but this shot captures just that.

Let’s imagine for a second: You are heading to the next bar, propping up your overly-inebriated friend who will not take off their new Luke Armstrong mask. You are enveloped by the atmosphere, the dress, and the revelry. You look up, meet a pair of eyes, and the world comes to a screeching halt. Oh, you know what I mean . . .

Party on Jessie Reeder, and congratulations, your shot is our November travel photo winner. Be sure to check out her incredible gallery of shots from all over the world at her Flickr page.

And if you’ve got, say, a week to kill, visit her blog: Little Bark Photography. Seriously, you’ll thank me.

Our next contest theme is “Winter.”  Whether you hibernate or embrace, sleep or ski, this season is a jackpot of fantastic shots. We can’t wait to see our group’s submissions.  Be sure to head over to TheExpeditioner.com Flickr Group, in between rounds of egg nog, to see the growing bank of photographs posted by our readers and fellow travelers.

By Jon Wick

About the Author

Jon lives in Butte, Montana, spending most of his time on skis or bikes; sometimes both. He began travel writing while teaching in Korea and is currently pursuing his Master’s Degree in Technical Communication at Montana Tech. Jon has begun writing his first book, The Story of Will, whose movie rights are still (very) available. Catch more of Jon at TheJonWickproject.wordpress.com. (@ExpedJon)

The post November Photo Contest Winner: Cusco’s Inti Raymi Festival appeared first on The Expeditioner Travel Site.

What makes a place? Is it the food, the drink, the clothing? The winning shot from this past month’s Flickr photo contest suggests a definitive answer: people.

Though culture can be defined by so many things, it is passed on and embodied by those within. Congratulations to Filippo Tafi and his wonderful shot of a Peruvian family relaxing outside their home. I am sad to admit I have not been to the South American continent yet, but with shots like this that illustrate the warmth of people from that part of the world, I can’t wait to go.

The smiles, waves and vibrant colors juxtaposed with earthen hues is that one shot, one out of the 3,000 shots you (or maybe it’s just me) take on trips, that make the hundreds of blurry throwaways worth the effort. A great moment in time, even if it was only a moment. You know, I already feel welcomed to Peru because of this shot alone.

For those of you who wish to check out more of Filippo’s shots from all over the world — he’s quite traveled — click here to access his photostream. Thanks for the great shot!

*

The time has now come for some good, old-fashioned debauchery. Yup, I’ve circumnavigated The Expeditioner’s ethics department to announce our November Photo Contest: Party!

Each culture, each trip, each locale has its unique way of letting loose. Whether it’s having two too many on a plastic stool on a street corner of Hanoi or raging the streets of Antigua (ahem, Luke), this month’s contest is for all you that seek the world through partying. Just head over to our Flicker group and join us, then head to the November contest thread and submit your partying shot for a chance at having your photograph featured here, if front of our nearly 8 million hourly readers!

*This is the point where I add a disclaimer to keep from getting this contest yanked: No tasteless shots — you know what I mean.*

By Jon Wick

About the Author

Jon lives in Butte, Montana, spending most of his time on skis or bikes; sometimes both. He began travel writing while teaching in Korea and is currently pursuing his Master’s Degree in Technical Communication at Montana Tech. Jon has begun writing his first book, The Story of Will, whose movie rights are still (very) available. Catch more of Jon at TheJonWickproject.wordpress.com. (@ExpedJon)

The post The Expeditioner’s October Travel Photography Contest Winner: South American Warmth appeared first on The Expeditioner Travel Site.

For the August photography contest over at our Flickr group, we sought out shots of what you defined as rural life. The submissions we receive every month never fail to amaze. More impressive than their locale is the spot on rural-ness of each shot. This month’s entrants were from all over the globe: Namibia, Vietnam, Colombia, and the winning shot from India.

Monica Forss’s dynamic photograph from Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, India, has the essence of rural running through each pixel. A man, downtrodden after 18 hours in the field, now turns his attention to the herd. He looks at the camera, proudly, after telling Monica an oral history of his ranchland. The ruins behind him were that of his great grandfather’s home built by the sweat of his brow in the year 689. Okay, so I made that entire story up, but that’s the beauty of the shot — it creates a story, a place, a life.

Congratulations, Monica, and thank you for your wonderful submission. More of her amazing travel photos from all over the world can be found here.

September Contest: South America

From Cape Horn in the south to the Galapagos Islands, Andes, beaches, jungles, Carnival . . . we mean everything! Submit your shots of South America here.

We are going to try to tweak the photo contest procedures a bit this month, giving our Facebook family a voice in the voting process. On Sept 26, submissions will close and the top finalists will be posted on our Facebook page. We’ll then ask readers to “Like” their favorite photo and the shot with the most votes will win.

By Jon Wick

About the Author

Jon lives in Butte, Montana, spending most of his time on skis or bikes; sometimes both. He began travel writing while teaching in Korea and is currently pursuing his Master’s Degree in Technical Communication at Montana Tech. Jon has begun writing his first book, The Story of Will, whose movie rights are still (very) available. Catch more of Jon at TheJonWickproject.wordpress.com. (@ExpedJon)

The post The Expeditioner’s August Travel Photo Contest Winner: Rural India appeared first on The Expeditioner Travel Site.

“Inspiring Vistas” really couldn’t be a more loaded theme for our summer photography contest, and the submissions were truly everything you would imagine. More than an Indonesian volcano, a view of  Hawaii from the air, or the longing of young cowboys at a rodeo, it is the colors of Canada’s Kananaskis country that inspire us the most. Congratulations to David Richeson and his shot, “FancyColor – Interlakes Kananaskis”, the winner of our “Inspiring Vistas” contest.

The photo’s caption echoes our sentiments when reviewing the entries: Crazy colors with a few drops of rain and a nice reflection = breathtaking. Does a picture ever really give you the same feeling as really living it?  I still get a warm feeling from this one.  I’ve been lucky enough to spend some time in, what Matt called, “Classic western North America,” and I have to say, it gives me the warm fuzzies too.

Well done, David. Please check out David’s photostream for more incredible shots, but to move that warm feeling into more of a mindblowing state, visit his visual design website showcasing his work in photography, animation and drawing. Mindblowing, I tell you.

For next month’s contest, we’re leaving the cities of the world and going country. Post your pictures of “Rural Life” in our Flickr group thread for your chance at a feature post on the greatest travel website in the history of the universe.

By Jon Wick

About the Author

Jon lives in Butte, Montana, spending most of his time on skis or bikes; sometimes both. He began travel writing while teaching in Korea and is currently pursuing his Master’s Degree in Technical Communication at Montana Tech. Jon has begun writing his first book, The Story of Will, whose movie rights are still (very) available. Catch more of Jon at TheJonWickproject.wordpress.com. (@ExpedJon)

The post “Inspiring Vistas” Photo Contest Winner: Classic Western North America appeared first on The Expeditioner Travel Site.

Dear Hanoi, you can have your cacophony of unrelenting horns. Me? I’ll revel in the bliss that is your cuisine. This month’s photo contest winner, Jonathan Hall, did just that. In his own words:

Hanoi’s dining scene can be daunting at first as there are rarely any menus. You just walk along until you see something that looks good, sit down and communicate how many portions you want. At 67 Hang Dieu Street, Hanoi, Bun Bo Nam Bo is typical of Hanoi’s street eateries in that they only do one dish, and they do it well.

The restaurant itself is always busy and will test your ability to sit comfortably on Hanoi’s ubiquitous tiny plastic stools. It is a deep, narrow cave of a restaurant that somehow also manages to fit in a second, mezzanine level. As an accompaniment to what you see in the photo, they also serve Nem Chua, which is a pressed, cured pork sausage rolled up in a banana leaf, which explains the excess of green detritus on the restaurant floor. The clientele is young and hip and located right in the middle of Old Hanoi.

This shot is a quality recipe of lighting, action, still, and delicious. However, for Luke, it was awful. Terrible. And never again should Team Expeditioner vote on a contest winner, as delicious as this shot, on a day that Luke skips breakfast. Sorry man, we’ll plan a little better in the future.

Congratulations to American Jon and his shot of Bun Bo Nam Bo from Hanoi. Take a phenomenal photo tour through his shots and experiences from London to Laos by clicking through to his Flickr page.

Our June Contest is ready to roll! There are those moments when you stand at the foot of the precipice, or on top of a mountain, and before you is a sight never to be forgotten. Those moments when our eyes make us stop and take it all in. So many places remind us of these moments. Our next photo contest, lasting throughout the month of June, TheExpeditioner.com asks, “Where’s your inspiration?” Is it a view to the horizon or a view into history? Whatever it may be, submit your shots of “Inspring Vistas” for a chance to win June’s travel photography contest at The Expeditioner’s Flickr group.
By Jon Wick

About the Author

Jon lives in Butte, Montana, spending most of his time on skis or bikes; sometimes both. He began travel writing while teaching in Korea and is currently pursuing his Master’s Degree in Technical Communication at Montana Tech. Jon has begun writing his first book, The Story of Will, whose movie rights are still (very) available. Catch more of Jon at TheJonWickproject.wordpress.com. (@ExpedJon)

The post The Expeditioner’s May Travel Photo Contest Winner: Hanoi Eatery appeared first on The Expeditioner Travel Site.

This month’s inspiration comes from Jason Rodman and his incredible photo sense. Some people just “get it.”

Here’s what I mean: You walk into your 400th Korean temple and take the quintessential photograph of the gate so grandma can scrapbook it once you return home. But, for some reason, that’s just not good enough . . . not you enough. Believe me, your computer’s hard drive doesn’t want more of the same either.

When you find yourself in a similar position, just remember this story from Mr. Rodman:

I knew I wanted to get an iconic shot of the Tower Bridge, but had no idea what it would look like. I’ve seen this landmark a hundred different ways, so I wanted to challenge myself to see something new, to see this

I walked back and forth over the bridge at least 3 times before seeing this shot in my head. But the challenge was apparent: no tripod! I was traveling light for that trip to London and didn’t have it with me. The railings were round, and the light was dim; there was no option to get the angle handheld, and if I wanted some motion, forget about it.

Dejected, I started crossing the bridge to head home. But, out of the corner of my eye, across the street . . . what was that? A wooden tent-stand, in the walkway, with a flat-ish top? Immediately, I knew this would work. I wedged in my iphone, wallet, and a couple lens caps to level the camera into position and balance it for the shot. I set the remote shutter, waited for a bus to drive by, and snagged this beauty on the first attempt. Still one of my all-time favorite shots.

You’re all-time favorite shots? Come on, I would buy this photograph a beer and take it dancing. It’s that good. Congratulations Jason, your perseverance definitely paid off! Check out other date-worthy shots at Jason’s Flickr page.

Next month’s contest will be delicious. Those of you who enjoyed our popular Food Porn Week last year will love May’s contest: Food From Around The World. Photograph your grub before it goes down the hatch, then post your shot here!

May’s winner will receive a feature post on June 1!
By Jon Wick

About the Author

Jon lives in Butte, Montana, spending most of his time on skis or bikes; sometimes both. He began travel writing while teaching in Korea and is currently pursuing his Master’s Degree in Technical Communication at Montana Tech. Jon has begun writing his first book, The Story of Will, whose movie rights are still (very) available. Catch more of Jon at TheJonWickproject.wordpress.com. (@ExpedJon)

The post April’s Photography Contest Winner: Finding Uniqueness On London’s Tower Bridge appeared first on The Expeditioner Travel Site.

In a last-ditch effort to hold onto yet another fading winter season, March’s themed celebration was simply put: Winter. Though most of us prefer sand over snow, the snowy submissions helped build anticipation of impending spring (and the related travel season!).

Much to my surprise, the monthly staff emails discussing a winner eventually tallied up to a shot titled “Helena Streets,” by Jon Wick!

The shot was more or less an accident — being at the right place at the right time — and seizing an opportunity. We were heading to a bed and breakfast after a long day of skiing and took a wrong turn. Squinting through the windows in an attempt to read street signs, I looked straight ahead at this image. The composition all worked so eerie and wonderfully with the van, fresh snow, building, and lighting, that I literally parked my car in the middle of the road and grabbed my camera for the shot.

Happy accidents are sometimes the greatest kind. Maria was “feelin’ it” while Brit’s reaction was: “First place is Helena, Montana for me. The colours are so dreary, yet warm. If that makes any sense.” Coming from you, Brit, it totally does.

With winter now officially behind us — as a theme anyway — we move April’s focus toward Europe! Photographers have already begun posting (click here to see the April contest thread). As Matt readies the trusty flamenco outfit in anticipation of his trip to Barcelona, we too will be getting our Euro on through April (minus the tight black pants, of course).

By Jon Wick

About the Author

Jon lives in Butte, Montana, spending most of his time on skis or bikes; sometimes both. He began travel writing while teaching in Korea and is currently pursuing his Master’s Degree in Technical Communication at Montana Tech. Jon has begun writing his first book, The Story of Will, whose movie rights are still (very) available. Catch more of Jon at TheJonWickproject.wordpress.com. (@ExpedJon)

The post March Travel Photo Winner: Montana’s Winter Streets appeared first on The Expeditioner Travel Site.

This past month’s contest theme was “Love on the Road.” However, in looking through the submissions to find a winner, we noticed an overwhelmingly phenomenal collection of black and white photos — apparently the gods of B&W were smiling on us.  We decided to forgo the shots of hand-holding backpackers and Asian love motels to acknowledge these great black and whites from around the world. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

March’s contest is “Winter Around The World.” Shovel off those crazy-good pictures to pay homage to the season we’re (hopefully) winding down . . . or just kill a few hours armchair-traveling the Flickr group. Don’t say we didn’t warn you!

[Atlas *meh*d by jrodmanjr]

[Banyon by Tannachy]

[Nakuru Giraffe by emranemran]

[This Seems To Be A Good Place To Contemplate The Universe by jrodmanjr]

[What? by Tannachy]

[from summer adventures by brit.weaver]

[Olympia Stadion, Berlin by Tannachy]

[Cold Spring MetroNorth Station- Upstate, NY by ChrisGoldNY]

By Jon Wick

About the Author

Jon lives in Butte, Montana, spending most of his time on skis or bikes; sometimes both. He began travel writing while teaching in Korea and is currently pursuing his Master’s Degree in Technical Communication at Montana Tech. Jon has begun writing his first book, The Story of Will, whose movie rights are still (very) available. Catch more of Jon at TheJonWickproject.wordpress.com. (@ExpedJon)

The post February Travel Photography: The World In Black And White appeared first on The Expeditioner Travel Site.

What is going down as the closest vote in the long and epic history of our monthly photo contests, this pier makes all of the below-zero temperatures most of us are expereincing disappear. This month’s winner comes from Srdjan Stepanovic. Here’s what he had to say about the shot:

I shot this while on a short vacation on the island of Koh Samet, Thailand with my girlfriend. We stayed in a bungalow off the secluded beach where this hand-made pier stood prominently and presented itself as a good photographic opportunity. Actually it houses a beautiful cafe/restaurant just behind my back but I found this perspective to be just the right composition.

Secluded beach . . . bungalow . . . café . . . girlfriend . . . we’re definitely feeling the shot! In fact, Brit’s got so much love, she said it “makes me want to run and jump off the end.” On behalf of the entire universe, thanks for the escape!

Congratulations! More of Srdjan’s photos can be found here, where you’ll find hundreds of reasons to throw a dart at a map and start packing.

The month of love is ahead of us — and we love love! That means February’s contest is “Love On The Road.” We’re hoping to make Luke cringe for the entire month.
By Jon Wick

About the Author

Jon lives in Butte, Montana, spending most of his time on skis or bikes; sometimes both. He began travel writing while teaching in Korea and is currently pursuing his Master’s Degree in Technical Communication at Montana Tech. Jon has begun writing his first book, The Story of Will, whose movie rights are still (very) available. Catch more of Jon at TheJonWickproject.wordpress.com. (@ExpedJon)

The post January’s “Island Vibes” Photo Contest Winner: A Thai Pier Perspective appeared first on The Expeditioner Travel Site.

Great things are happening over at TheExpeditioner.com’s travel photography group at Flickr and we invite you to get in on the action. Just over a year ago, we created the group as a platform to help our readers share their memorable pictures from all over the world. In that time, we’ve begun a few forum discussions regarding travel and photography, helped a few photographers get published, and seen some absolutely stunning shots! Just another day at the office, right?

For those of you new to Flickr, the site allows people to upload digital photos, videos, and graphics. It is a great way to share these with friends; you can find contacts, join themed groups you are interested in, or lose a few hours in the wonderland of  photos found throughout the site. There is a trial account, free of charge, in which you can upload a maximum of 200 photos — but that wouldn’t cover the last road trip you took, would it? Otherwise, for $25 you can become a “pro” with unlimited storage. And it doesn’t matter if you have a disposable or a professional style camera — come one, come all.

The Expeditioner.com group is aimed at travelers from every walk of life. With a similar mission as our website, we aim to inspire people to travel; to get them to want to book a flight right away and head off to somewhere in the world. Once you have an account, all you need to do is join our group and begin submitting your shots. It’s as easy as that. You may even see one of your shots on our site!

Improvements

We’ve recently made a few improvements to the group we’d like to share. First, everyone digs cool comments on their own photos, so we created a small graphic (above) that can easily be copy and pasted in the comment section of photos you think are particularly “sweet” — the code to paste is found on the group’s homepage. There are loads of sweet shots, so don’t feel bad slapping that graphic all over the place. Secondly, we added a small chart mapping our daily growth that we think is pretty neat-o. Lastly, don’t forget to check back often for our monthly theme contests in the forums. Each contest winner receives a featured post on the site with insight straight from the photographer’s mouth . . . and lens.

So, for our one year anniversary of the group, we thought a walk down memory lane is in order. The following photographs are each of the twelve monthly winners revisited. Which is your favorite? An overdose of escapism courtesy of The Expeditioner:

January winner: “Sunset at the Drum Tower” taken in Beijing, China by Jonny Gilbert. Read the feature post here.

February winner: “Puddle Jumper” taken in San Francisco by Jason Rodman. Read the feature post here.

March winner: “Man Vs. Robot” taken in Venezuela by Diego Cupolo. Read the feature post here.

April winner: “Love Bug” taken in Vancouver by Jules Andre Brown. Read the feature post here.

May winner (Landscape): “Camels In Erg Chebbi” taken in Morocco by Kimondo. Read the feature post here.

June winner (Faces In Places): “Wise Man” taken in Varanasi, India by Monica Forss. Read the feature post here.

July winner (Urban Jungle): “Flash Flood” taken in Helsinki, Finland by Aaron S. Read the feature post here.

August winner (Animals of the World): “Thirsty Elephants” taken in Botswana by Kimondo. Read the feature post here.

September winner (World Icon): “The Incredible Colours Of India” taken at the Taj Mahal by Craig Kassover. Read the feature post here.

October winner (Adventure Travel): Vietnam motorcycle taken in Hoi An by Phong Cao. Read the feature post here.

November winner (World Festivals): “Carnival” taken in San Francisco by Gabriela Bhaskar. Read the feature post here.

December winner (Christmas Around the World): “Balloon Gazing” taken in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam by AMASC. Read the feature post here.

By Jon Wick

About the Author

Jon lives in Butte, Montana, spending most of his time on skis or bikes; sometimes both. He began travel writing while teaching in Korea and is currently pursuing his Master’s Degree in Technical Communication at Montana Tech. Jon has begun writing his first book, The Story of Will, whose movie rights are still (very) available. Catch more of Jon at TheJonWickproject.wordpress.com. (@ExpedJon)

The post 12 Months Of The Expeditioner’s Photo Contest Winning Shots appeared first on The Expeditioner Travel Site.

It never ceases to amaze us when two people are on the same page, let alone 8 million. We learned from our December photo contest at our Flickr group, that this is exactly the case every December in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City. Our Christmas-themed contest winner comes from AMASC and is titled “Balloon Gazing.” She is the one that schooled us on the city’s Christmas custom:

During December, Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon (call it what you will), is home to the largest collection of people wearing Santa hats in the world.  Everyone does it, taxi drivers, waiters, random adults, school kids but especially children. From the beginning of December the Christmas decorations go up and the main occupation of this city of 8 million is to dress your child like Santa and grab a few hundred images of them in front of the decorations, the hawkers and the other little Santas.

We really gravitated to this photo because, to us, it really grabs the essence of traveling during the holidays. Matt agrees: “I think nothing is cooler when traveling than seeing those incongruous images, like Christmas decorations in a hot climate in Southeast Asia.”

For more images from SE Asia, holiday oriented or not, head over to her photostream or blog full of spectacular shots. It may just plant a seed in your mind to spend next year’s holiday void of snow. I know I’m considering it. Chúc M?ng Giáng Sinh everyone — Merry Christmas.

With all this winter stuff going on, we thought we’d take a little break from it all and dream of those island getaways, bungalows, drinks served with umbrellas and inside some kind of fruit you’ve never seen before. January’s theme is “Island Vibes.”So relive those beachside massages all over again while you upload your island getaway shots to our contest thread.

The post December’s “Christmas Around The World” Photo Contest Winner: A Ho Chi Minh City Santa Hat appeared first on The Expeditioner Travel Site.

What is not to love about Carnival? Let’s be real, if Carnival lasted 365 days a year, we would all live in a better place. Fortunately, for Gabriela Bhaskar, she had her camera in hand for the San Francisco version of Rio’s greatest gift to the world: the Carnival parade. Honestly, Gabriela, you had us at “thonged bottoms.” In her own words:

I brought my camera along hoping to get a few shots here and there. The crowd was so insane that all I kept getting were backs and thonged bottoms. Then, I came to see this lady having the time of her life. It was the moment I was waiting to catch: the smile on her face, the motion of her arms, and the little glimpse of skin and gaudy costume that makes Carnival so epic.

Congratulations, Gabriela, your epicness is our World Festival photo contest winner! To check out all her other fantastic shots, head to her Flickr photostream. We recommend spending a few hours among her photo collections—they may inspire a few plane tickets.

Calling all photographers! We’re already accepting submissions for our Christmas-themed December photo contest. The snow is falling, the tinsel is already hung around TheExpeditioner.com’s world headquarters, and we can’t wait for the jolly ol’ fat man to arrive. That being said, gather up your holiday photos and head over to our Flickr page— join us if you haven’t yet—and submit your shots in of “Christmas Around the World.” A word of advice: no thonged Santas.

The post “World Festivals” November Photo Contest Winner: A Carnival Starlet appeared first on The Expeditioner Travel Site.

This month’s contest winner comes from the incredible colors of the iconic Taj Mahal. Congratulations to Craig Kassover and his incredible shot that went far beyond the cliche Taj shot to capture September’s contest crown. Here’s the shot in Craig’s own words:

I had planned to wait until late afternoon to visit the Taj, however, upon seeing the domes peeking above the trees and buildings in town, I dumped my belongings at the nearest guesthouse grabbed my camera and headed for the Taj. Walking around the grounds of the Taj Mahal among the friendly and colorful throngs of Indian tourists was an amazing way to cap off my “India experience.” I wanted to capture an image beyond the cliché of the famous reflecting pools. I eventually spotted this group of colorfully dressed Indian women accompanied by men in traditional clothing. In an instant I had the shot that, for me, summed up my afternoon at the Taj Mahal.

It’s not often that shots (outside of these contests of course) stretch our adjective vocabulary in a way that makes us, well, sound redundant. Case and point: Luke chose “incredible,” Maria went with “vivid,” Matt mentioned “simply spectacular,” but I would side with Brit’s description as “freakin’ beautiful.” It’s as simple as that.

We invite you over to Craig’s Flickr Photostream to view more of his “freakin’ beautiful” work. No, really, it’s that good. For more vocabulary stretching photography, check out The Expeditioner’s group, join up, and submit your shots! We are looking for your hard-core shots in October’s contest “Adventure Travel.” You can find the contest thread here. Cheers!

The post The Expeditioner’s “World Icon” Photo Contest Winner appeared first on The Expeditioner Travel Site.

This month’s contest theme stood out as soon as we ironed out our schedule. The world is full of wonder, and certainly the animal kingdom is one source of endless awe. That being said, we would like to congratulate Kimondo as this month’s winner, for the dramatic shot titled: “Thirsty Elephants.” Here’s what she had to share about the shot:

We were traveling in our jeep with rooftent to experience the real, wild Africa. It took us 5 weeks and about 7,700 kilometers. After the first two-and-a-half weeks we ended up on this little, wobbly boat on the Chobe River. The sun was casting her last rays for the day and everywhere we looked were giraffes, baboons and elephants. This big herd on the photo came down to the river to have drink and rinse of the dust of the day. A real African moment and one to never forget!

Matt described the photo as “simply spectacular,” and Maria as “exquisite.” Brit, on the other hand, took a deeper approach, “their reputation of having an incredible memory makes me wonder about wonderful things.” Regardless, I think we all agree that a photo and moment such as this, as Kimondo explains, is “one to never forget.”

You can see more of Kimondo’s excellent work at her Flickr page. Our next theme, throughout September, will be another visual spectacular. Join our Flickr group and upload your shots of “The World’s Icons.” We look forward to seeing more incredible talent!

The post The Expeditioner’s “Animals Of The World” August Photography Contest Winner appeared first on The Expeditioner Travel Site.

This past month’s photo contest theme was “Urban Jungle,” and what’s more urban than pigeons and mystery?

A city is not just its interesting architecture, cultural idiosyncrasies and masses of people, but someplace where unique characters live in the shadows of tall buildings and a place where the wild things have adapted. A country’s rural landscape offers a geographical context and a glimpse into the past whereas cities, to me, provide a snapshot of society in motion. August’s finalists have proven this point of view with their chosen pictures.

The first finalist we would like to honorably mention is Monica Forss’s picture, titled “Pigeon Square.” Taken in Kathmandu, Nepal, Monica recounts the photo’s backstory:

After visiting India I continued to Nepal, and one of the places where I stayed longer was Kathmandu. I found the temples and architecture around Durbar Square amazing. This boy turned up in his bright yellow jumper (great contrast) running around among the pigeons.

The contrasting yellow jumper in a sea of gray birds compliments the dynamic of urban living. For some reason, pigeons migrate to places that people settle, proving their ability to exist in a, somewhat, symbiotic way.

To me, pigeons provide a natural element that embellishes the unnatural tendencies of cities. They conjure images of Parisian cafes, park benches in New York and, as Maria from our site said, “someone who always wished she could feed the birds on the steps of Saint Paul’s Cathedral with Mary Poppins.”

You can find more uplifting shots on Monica Forss’s flickr.

When walking the streets of a city, lost in billboards and shop window displays, we forget to look up. Sometimes, we fail to notice how impressive the architecture is and sometimes, one needs to look down and see it from a bird’s-eye view. This is what Artistree2010, our other finalist, wrote about the view in his photo, “Hong Kong View”:

This shot was taken on the Peak in Hong Kong during Chinese New Year of 2010. The clouds that surrounded Hong Kong that evening trapped the light from all the buildings thus creating a warm glow. It certainly gives the city a softer look.

With one of the most impressive skylines in the world — bright lights against big mountains — the ability to catch Hong Kong in a different light is nothing short of talent. As Matt describes it, “really makes Hong Kong look like something out of a Graham Greene novel, complete with mystery and intrigue.”

To see more of Hong Kong’s center and other adventures, check out Artistree2010’s flickr account.

Thank you to all who submitted pictures onto The Expeditioner’s flickr group. With September fast approaching — it’s not just me, right? — don’t forget to join the group and upload your photos for next month’s contest (as well as the site’s upcoming book cover competition).

By Brit Weaver

About the Author

Toronto born and based, Brit is an avid leisure cyclist, coffee drinker and under-a-tree park-ist. She often finds herself meandering foreign cities looking for street eats to nibble, trees to climb, a patch of grass to sit on, or a small bookstore to sift through. You can find her musing life on her personal blog, TheBubblesAreDead.wordpress.com.

The post August Photo Contest Finalists: Pigeons And Intrigue appeared first on The Expeditioner Travel Site.

This month’s gem comes from Europe’s second northernmost capital city, Helsinki, Finland. Receiving the most first place votes, “Flash Flood” makes me feel like I’m in a movie. The kind of movie I’m standing next to a phone booth in a long trench coat, under an umbrella with a rain soaked damsel on my arm.

As Brit said, “nothing speaks to me more than watching people running in the hazy rain.” The photographer, Aaron surely knows what we mean:

Took this shot downtown Helsinki about a half hour after a massive one-hour rain storm. We were on the island of Suomenlinna and we saw it get really dark over the city. We tried to get the ferry back before it poured but no luck. Some of the streets had close to one meter of water on them. People were walking around up to their knees in water.

Congratulations, Aaron, you’ve won July’s Urban Jungle Photo Contest. To see more of his great work, head over to his Flickr page.

Aaron and the rest of us will be duking it out throughout August to win our next competition, “Animals of the World.” Stop over to TheExpeditioner.com’s Flickr Group, join up, and get uploading. We’ve all been looking forward to this theme for months.

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Last month’s photo theme, “Faces in Places,” has left an impression. There is something fascinating about a picture of a face. It makes the viewer curious about the story behind the character. If we don’t know the story, we are compelled to make one up.

Once we had the finalists, trying to determine a winner was difficult. Each submission had an insightful back story, proving there is always a story behind a face.

Although we came to a consensus about the “Wise Man,” we hummed and hawed over the following pictures as well:

The first mention, titled “Femme peul,” goes out to DorisBA who took this stunning photograph while visiting a Fula village in Senegal. This is a face of the oldest woman in the village who is considered “a Healer, a Teacher, a Guide.” DorisBA had this to say about the experience:

When she saw me taking pictures of the kids and showing them what it looks like, she grabbed my hand and gestured for me to follow her. She entered her hut and sat straight on her bed. I did not need more details to understand that she wanted her picture taken.

After I took her photo, she then leaned forward to have a look of the picture on my camera. At the look of herself, she broadly smiled and laughed and probably thought it was a very funny picture.

Taken with a Panasonic DMC-FH3, DorisBA not only captured the woman’s mischievous essence — Jon’s first instinct was, “[i]t just looks like she’s up to something . . . ” — but an image with impact. As Matt described, “[t]he smile on this woman’s face is unforgettable” and Luke felt that “she will surely be haunting upcoming dreams.” It is a picture with punch.

For more pictures of Senegal and other journeys, check out DorisBA’s Flickr page.

The other finalist was Lachlan Towart’s photograph titled “Waiting for the bus,” snapped with a Canon EOS 50D. As Matt pointed out, “[f]or anyone that has ridden a bus in Central/Latin America, this picture will immediately conjure up fond memories.” Towart has this back story to describe his photo:

I was taking a “chicken bus” to Masaya, it’s about an hour’s bus ride away from Granada (Nicaragua). The bus was starting to fill up but the driver wasn’t in a hurry to go anywhere and the two kids at the front were getting bored. As the boy was swinging about on the handrails I managed to snap a few frames unnoticed — the kids weren’t playing to the camera or anything, just trying to entertain themselves.

Personally, what speaks to me about this snapshot is the proof that everywhere, kids will be kids. It’s nice to be reminded that our cultures may differ, but that playful essence is in us all.

You can find more incredible pictures of Nicaragua and other faces in other places on Lachlan Towart’s Flickr.

Congratulations to all. The Flickr group has an outstanding bunch  of excellent photographers. Everyone is making our job at determining finalists a lot harder.

As a reminder, this month’s theme is “Urban Jungles,” so head over to The Expeditioner’s Flickr group and post your picture today to be in the running.

By Brit Weaver

About the Author

Toronto born and based, Brit is an avid leisure cyclist, coffee drinker and under-a-tree park-ist. She often finds herself meandering foreign cities looking for street eats to nibble, trees to climb, a patch of grass to sit on, or a small bookstore to sift through. You can find her musing life on her personal blog, TheBubblesAreDead.wordpress.com.

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There’s just something about the people that inhabit this world we call home, isn’t there?  This month’s “Faces in Places” intriguing winner, “Wise Man,” comes from a trip through Varanasi, India. The photographer, Monica, says this about the shot:

Varanasi, being a very chaotic place, I was amazed by this man who was just sitting there against the great blue background reading. Don’ think he cared about me taking some pictures, more surprised why I was so interested.

One look at this shot and all of us travelers are immediately drawn to wonder about him. Matt was filled with questions: “Is he a writer, a poet, a philosopher? What is he writing/thinking about? Why does he look so much like Allen Ginsberg?” Luke contemplated his future: “My goal is to live to be 111. I have big plans for what I already refer to as my ‘eccentric years.’ At 98, I was planning on sitting on a mountain as a ‘wise old man’ and having youngsters come to ask for advice.” Perhaps Maria had the most accurate critique: “you talkin’ to me?”

Congratulations, Monica, your shot is TheExpeditioner’s “Faces in Places” June Travel Photography Contest Winner. To see more of Monica’s outstanding work, head over to her flickr photostream or check out her submissions to TheExpeditioner’s Flickr Photo Group.

Check back soon for our post featuring the contest runners up. July’s contest theme . . . Urban Jungles! Reach deep into the bowels of those hardrives, get out your very best cityscapes from around the world, and upload away!

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Our first themed photo contest of “Landscapes,” has absolutely blown us away. Now that all the final votes are in, we’d like to congratulate Kimondo for the shot, “Camels in Erg Chebbi.” I’m learning with these contests each month, that sometimes magic just simply happens. This photo is no exception. After being punished throughout a trek in Northern Africa by rain, hail, and the high winds attacking the Atlas Mountains, they nearly ran out of hope and stopped for the night. In the morning . . . well, that’s when the magic happened:

We were woken by the first rays of the sun . . . This is more like we imagined it! We go out into the big, empty desert. Big, soft dunes of red sand stare at us and we stare back. It’s beautiful and captivating. Like a kid playing in a giant sandpit, we climb the dunes, run down again, take lots of pictures and enjoy the views when all of a sudden we see a long line of camels slowly making their way through the still moist sand. This is how we imagined it and it’s just perfect!

The Free Dictionary defines landscape as, “The aspect of the land characteristic of a particular region.” I’ve never been to this part of the world, but I believe with all my soul this shot embodies that definition. Let’s face it, there’s also something romantic about never ending sand dunes and camel trains — admit it.

Congratulations! For those interested in seeing more of Kimondo’s outstanding work, head over to her flickr photostream. Trust me, it’s worth your time.

Since our theme was so successful last month, we are going to continue through the month of June with our new photo contest called “Faces in Places.” Head over to TheExpeditioner.com’s flickr group, upload your best portraits from around the world, and see how your shots stack up. We look forward to another great month of travel photography!

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It’s a car, it’s a bug, it’s an Olympic celebration on four wheels. Underneath all that, we’ve discovered it’s even more than any of those things. We are psyched to announce Jules Andre Brown as the winner of our April Travel Photo Contest with his photo titled, “Love Bug.”  As Jules explains:

This was shot at the Vancouver Olympics, just after Canada won the gold medal for hockey. It brought great joy around Vancouver; an exciting moment for locals and tourists alike. It belongs to a great fellow named Marc, with whom I currently work with. Marc donates his time, his car, and even his movie collections to people experiencing autism.  This car actually changes from time to time. In fact, sometimes the car has a working water fountain with mermaids and different sculptures. However, I think this time it was a special Olympic model. I’ve been privileged to be with him in meetings about life and this car.

Mermaids? That’s quite a ride. As Matt puts it, “if you’re serious about doing a road trip, then this is the car you want: one that has the worst possible aerodynamics and is the most likely to get you pulled over. Oh wait a second, what I meant was . . .” Personally, I’d have no qualms about rocking the Love Bug on the open road, no matter how many cops I’d have to explain it to. “Officer, this is a love bug, and I’ve . . . Well, I’ve got a lotta love!”

The picture was shot with a Minolta SRT 201 and 400-speed Kodak Film. To see more of Jules’ awesome work, head to his Flickr page or his website www.julesandrebrown.com. For those interested, digital prints of his work are available for purchase, drop him a line at julesandrebrown@gmail.com. Congratulations Jules, we look forward to more of your work.

We are excited about TheExpeditioner’s Flickr group and all the amazing  submissions we are receiving daily. If you have a Flickr membership, we invite you to check out the shots, join us, and get uploading! Here’s a list of our past winners.

For next month’s contest, we are looking for the very best landscape shot from your travels! So scour those hard drives and get them posted for your chance of winning a feature the first friday of June! Happy travels, everyone!

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