After receiving nearly 18,000 photo submissions, National Geographic Traveler magazine has selected the winning shots for this year’s Traveler Photo Contest. It’s a series of images of our world that dazzles your eyes and stirs your imagination.



The grand prize winner is Anuar Patjane Floriuk of Tehuacán, Puebla, Mexico, who captured a magical underwater photograph of divers swimming near a humpback whale.

Grand Prize: “Whale Whisperer”

“The photo wasn’t planned,” says Floriuk. “I was taking photos near the head of the whale, and all of a sudden she began to swim toward the rest of the diving team. The divers gave the whale and her calf space, and I just clicked at the moment when the flow and composition seemed right.”

The grand prize of this year’s National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest was an eight-day National Geographic Photo Expedition to Costa Rica and the Panama Canal for two.

Second Place: “Gravel Workmen”

Third Place: “Camel Ardah”

Seven other photographs were selected as merit winners:

“A Night at Deadvlei”

“Catching a Duck”

Kushti, Indian Wrestling

White Rhinos

Sauna in the Sky

Highlanders

Romania, Land of Fairy Tales