More than 9,200 entries were submitted from over 150 countries, with professional photographers and amateur photo enthusiasts across the globe participating.
Photographs were submitted in three categories: people, places and nature. The competition was judged on creativity and photographic quality by a panel of experts including National Geographic photographers John Stanmeyer and Erika Larsen, as well as Keith Jenkins, Nat Geo’s General Manager of Digital.
A photo of a woman spotlighted by the glow of her phone on a crowded train was chosen as the grand prize winner of the 2014 National Geographic Photo Contest. The photo, titled “A Node Glows in the Dark,” was shot at Ocean Park in Hong Kong. The photographer, Brian Yen of Hong Kong, tells National Geographic, “I feel a certain contradiction when I look at the picture. On the one hand, I feel the liberating gift of technology. On the other hand, I feel people don’t even try to be neighborly anymore, because they don’t have to.”
The grand prize winner receives $10,000 and a trip to National Geographic headquarters in Washington, D.C., to participate in the annual National Geographic Photography Seminar in January 2015. The first place winner in each category receives $2,500 and his/her winning photograph will be published in National Geographic magazine.
Nicole Cambre of Brussels, Belgium, won in the nature category for a photo of migrating wildebeests in Tanzania, and Triston Yeo of Singapore won in the places category for a photo of the Budapest thermal spas.
To see all of the entries and honorable mentions visit the official contest home page.
In the last 10 years, mobile data, smart phones and social networks have forever changed our existence. Although this woman stood at the center of a jam packed train, but the warm glow from her phone tells the strangers around her that she’s not really here. She managed to slip away from here, for a short moment, she’s a node flickering on the social web, roaming the earth, free as a butterfly. Our existence is no longer stuck to the physical here, we’re free to run away, and run we will.
Location: Hong Kong
Jump of the wildebeest at the Mara river. Location: North Serengeti, Tanzania
© Triston Yeo / National Geographic 2014 Photo Contest
The Thermal Spa in Budapest is one of the favourite activities of the Hungarian especially in winter. We were fortunate to gain special access to shoot in the Thermal Spa thanks to our tour guide, Gabor. I love how the mist caused by the great difference in temperature between the hot spa water and the atmosphere. It makes the entire spa experience more surreal and mystical. Location: Budapest, Hungary
On a windy day right after a Cyclone passed the far northern Great Barrier Reef i took some friends out to the reef. Never before i saw that many glass fish on this particular coral ‘bommie’ . Just when i setup my camera, this Napoleon Wrasse swam right through the school of fish building a living frame.Location: Cairns, Great Barrier Reef, Flynn Reef, Australia
This playful fight amongst two young sub adult Tigers was indeed a brilliant life time opportunity that lasted exactly 4-5 seconds. The cubs were sitting in the grass as dusk approached when suddenly one of them sneaked up behind the other and what happened next is captured in this image. Location: Bandhavgarh National Park, Madhya Pradesh, India
The chef of Ramnami people in Chhattisgarh,India. Ramnami tattoo the name of the lord “Ram” on their body. Their entire focus is on the name of Ram, the name of God that is most dear to them. The Ramnami Samaj is a sect of harijan (Untouchable) Ram. Formed in the 1890s, the sect has become a dominant force in the religious life of the area. The tattoo is the result of their devotion and also, a gift and an acknowledgement from Ram. Location: India, Chhattisgarh
Stag Deer Bellowing in Richmond Park. Location: Richmond Park, London, UK
A wild short-eared owl completes a shoulder check in case something was missed. Northern harriers were also hunting in the field and these raptors will often steal a kill from the owls. Location: Boundary Bay, BC, Canada.
He was waiting on the bed, lost in thoughts, while his wife was preparing the bread to be blessed for the orthodox Eucharist. Location: village of sarbi, Maramure (Romania)