Breathtaking images from the Landscape Photographer of the Year competition Published duration 10 February

A set of four images by Russian photographer Oleg Ershov has been awarded first place in the International Landscape Photographer of the Year 2019 competition.

image copyright Oleg Ershov image caption Fleswick Bay, England

Mr Ershov beat 3,400 rival entries by 840 photographers from around the world. His images, above and below, show landscapes in England and Iceland.

"My passion for landscape photography is based on a love of nature, especially in places where human intervention is not yet visible," he said.

image copyright Oleg Ershov image caption Blafellsa, Iceland

"Just being in location at dawn and watching the start of a new day gives me tremendous vitality."

Mr Ershov is an amateur photographer and funds his passion by working for a food distribution company.

He says his favourite destinations for shooting landscapes are Iceland, Scotland and the south-west of the US.

image copyright Oleg Ershov image caption Kerlingarfjoll, Iceland

"My interest in photography began in 2007 when I bought my first DSLR camera and signed up for a photo tour to the south-west USA.

"I was struck by the tremendous variety of landscapes, colours and textures found in nature."

image copyright Oleg Ershov image caption Haifoss, Iceland

French photographer Magali Chesnel won the competition for a single image, with her photo entitled The Harvest of Road Salt.

Her image, below, shows the Salin de l'ile Saint Martin; a saltworks in Gruissan, France.

image copyright Magali Chesnel image caption Le Salin de l'Île Saint-Martin, Gruissan, France

Here are other award winners:

Second place, single image: Sander Grefte, Netherlands

image copyright Sander Grefte image caption Bonaire, Dutch Carribean

Third place, single image: Adam Hoszang, Hungary

image copyright Peter Adam Hoszang image caption Sharqiya Sands Desert, Oman

The competition created special award categories, unique to this year's awards.

The Lone Tree Award: Anke Butawitsch, Germany

image copyright Anke Butawitsch image caption Madeira, Portugal

The Heavenly Cloud Award: Brandon Yoshizawa, US

image copyright Brandon Yoshizawa image caption SpaceX rocket exhaust plume, Sierra Nevada, California, US

The Abstract Aerial Award: Ignacio Palacios, Australia

image copyright Ignacio Palacios image caption Lencois Maranhenses, Brazil

The Wildlife in Landscape Award: Ricardo Da Cunha, Australia

image copyright Ricardo Da Cunha image caption West Mongolia

The Snow and Ice Award: Veselin Atanasov, Bulgaria

image copyright Veselin Atanasov image caption Central Balkan, Bulgaria

The competition also produced a selection of the best 101 photo entries, including the images below.

image copyright Armand Sarlangue image caption North Cainevlle Mesa, Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, US

image copyright Greg Stokesbury image caption Sierras, California, US

image copyright Benjamin Maze image caption Lincoln's Rock, Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia

image copyright Daniel Mirlea image caption Cozia National Park, Romania

image copyright Craig Bill image caption Page, Arizona, US

image copyright Helder Silva image caption Yosemite National Park, California, US

image copyright Stanislao Basileo image caption Turin, Italy

image copyright Jaka Ivancic image caption Croatia

image copyright Mat Beetson image caption Pink Salt Lake, Kalbarri, Western Australia

image copyright Patrick Hertzog image caption Vatnajokull National Park, Iceland

More winning photos can be found on the competition website.