TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2017

Winner – Travel Photographer of the Year 2017. Credit: Alain Schroeder, Belgium

The winners of the 2017 international Travel Photographer of the Year awards have been announced.

Covering everything from wrestling matches in India to mass noodle eating in China, the winners demonstrate the diversity of the 20,000 photographs from 129 countries entered in the competition.

The overall award was given to Belgian photojournalist Alain Schroeder for his portraits of Kushti wrestling in India and rituals associated with death in Indonesia.

He wins £4,000 cash, £750 to spend on Páramo clothing, and a Plastic Sandwich personalised leather portfolio case

The Young Travel Photographer of the Year award went to 12-year-old Morgan Wolfers from Colorado, USA, for her photographs of aspen trees.

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British photographer Paul Sansome won the Celebration of Humanity award with his photography collection of people amidst fascinating architecture in India.

The winning images will be exhibited in the UK next year, with further details to be announced on the website in January, 2018. They will also be published in the next Travel Photographer of the Year book, Journey Ten, which will be produced in 2018.

See a selection of the winning images below, with the rest available on the website.


Credit: Alain Schroeder, Belgium. Fujifilm X-Pro 2, 14mm lens, f13, 1/1000s, ISO 800

Alain Schroeder, Belgium

Winner, Travel Photographer of the Year 2017

Tandung village near Pangala, Toraja, Sulawesi Island, Indonesia.  In the region of Pangala, the Ma’nene, or cleaning of the corpses, ceremony takes place in August after the rice harvest. Coffins are removed from their burial sites and opened. The mummies are cleaned, dried in the sun and given a change of clothes. 


Credit: Morgan Wolfers, USA. Sony a6000, 30mm F3.5 Macro lens, f9, 1/800s, ISO 100

Morgan Wolfers, USA

Winner, Young Travel Photographer of the Year 2017

Kenosha Pass, Colorado, USA. Melted snow on aspen leaves on a beaver pond.


Credit: Maddie Nolan, USA. Canon EOS 7D Mk II, 150-600mm lens, f6.3, 1/2000s, ISO 1000

Maddie Nolan, USA

Winner, Young Travel Photographer of the Year 2017 – 14 and Under

Creede, Colorado USA. The rufous was hovering near a feeder and I got the perfect shot of him in his majestic beauty. 


Credit: Paul Sansome, UK. Canon 5D Mk II, EF70-200mm lens, f4.5, 1/200s, ISO 400

Paul Sansome, UK

Winner, Celebration of Humanity Portfolio

Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India.  A young girl plays in Thirumalai Nayak Palace in Madurai.


Credit: Jianhui Liao, China. Sony ILCE-7RM2, 54mm lens, f8, 1/200s, ISO 100

Jianhui Liao, China

Winner, Food – Flavours of the World (Single Image Category)

Shanxi, China. A crowd gathers to eat from a huge dish of noodles. 


Credit: Johan Siggesson, Sweden. Nikon D500, 300mm lens, f13, 1/250s,  ISO 400

Johan Siggesson, Sweden

Winner, Wildlife (Single Image Category)

Jigokudani, Yudanaka, Japan. Photographing the Snow Monkeys in Hell Valley in Japan is easy. They are everywhere, they are close and they are not afraid. I noticed that if I composed the image in a certain way it would look like an almost human-like creature is climbing up from below. 


Credit: Alexandre Zindy, France. Nikon D750, 24-120 mm lens, f14, 1/80s, ISO 1400

Alexandre Zindy, France

Winner, New Talent Award, ‘Destination’

Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda. I was hiking on my way to go back to my motel from Volcanoes National Park when the weather got very foggy.  


Credit: Katherine Keates, Canada. Canon 5D Mk II, 24-105mm lens, f22, 1/5s, ISO 160

Katherine Keates, Canada

Winner, Earth and Climate Portfolio

Wayne County, Utah, USA (near Capitol Reef Park). Sudden and intense rainfall produces flash floods that rage through the valleys and flood plains of Utah. After the torrent of water subsides, the wet, muddy base that remains dries, bakes, contracts, cracks and curls in the hot sun. The polygonal mud cracks (desiccation cracks) that form during the drying and contraction of this clay bearing soil create an interconnected network of design that is a feast for the photographer’s eye.


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