National Geographic has become synonymous with the best photography, with the magazine always showcasing the outstanding beauty and wonder of our planet. So naturally, their annual photo contest is a prestigious and hotly-contested event, with judges having thousands of breathtaking images to narrow down, to find the eventual winners.
This year's photo contest grand prize winner was Jassen Todorov, a violinist and professor of music at San Francisco State University, whose aerial shot shows a vast boneyard in Southern California's Mojave Desert. The area is well known for storing retired aircraft, where the dry air keeps corrosion away before they are eventually dismantled and scrapped for parts. What many are unaware of, however, is the huge stretch of land nearby that is set aside for recalled vehicles and is filled with row-upon-row of Audis and Volkswagens that cheated emissions tests between 2009-2015. “I have flown and explored the Mojave Desert area quite a few times,” Jassen said Bored Panda about the Nat Geo's best picture of 2018. “There are several airports in the Mojave, and at least 3-4 of them have large boneyards, which I have explored and photographed. It was my first photo flight over Southern California Logistics Airport. I had done some research using google maps, so I had a general idea of the position of the cars around the airport.”
Combining his three loves of flying, music, and photography Jassen have really gotten into his aerial photography. Using a Nikon D810 with a 70-200 mm lens, he flies his single-engined Piper Warrior aircraft while listening to everything from classical music to country. “Music has a lot to do with structure and composition, colors and patterns, moods and characters - when I am looking at a photo, I am thinking about the same things,” he told us. “By capturing scenes like this one, I hope we will all become more conscious and more caring for our beautiful planet.”
Having previously had his photographs published in a variety of publications, from the Guardian to the Washington Post, this Nat Geo award is the highlight of Jassen's photography career so far. “To me, National Geographic has always been a very influential organization. I have always admired the mission, high professionalism, and dedication of all people working there. I often doubt my own work, so having this type of recognition from National Geographic is not only very inspiring but also really meaningful.”
Having previously had his photographs published in a variety of publications, from the Guardian to the Washington Post, this Nat Geo award is the highlight of Jassen's photography career so far. “To me, National Geographic has always been a very influential organization. I have always admired the mission, high professionalism, and dedication of all people working there. I often doubt my own work, so having this type of recognition from National Geographic is not only very inspiring but also really meaningful.”
Best photographers and their submissions to this photography contest included Pim Volkers' epic capture of wildebeests crossing Tanzania’s Mara River, which took the Wildlife prize, while Mia Collis' portrait of a Kenyan photographer took first place in the People category. You can scroll down below to check out all the winners below, and don't forget to vote for your own favorites! For more breathtaking photos from National Geographic photography contests, check out these here and here.
#41 An Overcrowded Train Journey, Noor Ahmed Gelal
Thousands of millions people travelling on the roof an overcrowded train heading for Dewanganj, Jamalpur, from the city of Dhaka to celebrate Eid-al-Fitr with their families.
125points
#42 Second Place, Places: Thunderbird In The Dust, Nicholas Moir
A rusting Ford Thunderbird is blanketed by red dust from a supercell thunderstorm in Ralls, Texas. The dry, plowed fields of the Texas Panhandle made easy prey for the storm, which had winds over 90 miles an hour ripping up the topsoil and depositing it farther south. I was forecasting and positioning a team of videographers and photographers on a storm chase in Tornado Alley—this was our last day of a very successful chase, having witnessed 16 tornadoes over 10 days.
114points
#43 Flamenco Del Caribe Salinera Salsol, Fernanda Linage
Nesting place of the flamingos, every year the flamingos arrive at the red lagoons of yucatán, to put their nests, last year they did not arrive due to any climate change, this year they managed to return to the place of nesting, laying thousands of eggs, many of them were out of the nest, and I found this other one taking care of the baby until he was big enough to take care of himself.
113points
#44 Second Place, Wildlife: Deep Snow, Jonas Beyer
A few miles from Qaanaaq (Thule), Greenland, I was hiking in search of musk oxen when I saw a group of them. This ox was running hillside in deep snow, which exploded underneath it. I was lucky enough to be at the right spot to see them frolicking, and I watched them closely for about an hour. I love photographing musk oxen against the wintry landscape: They’re very tough Arctic survivors. This photo shows their beauty and power—and the snow they deal with for about eight months of the year.
108points
#45 Surfers In Bali, Carsten Schertzer
This photo was taken during sunrise in Bali, Indonesia. I first saw the gate earlier in the morning knowing this would be a perfect place for an image. I only needed a subject to walk within the frame, so i sat and waited, locked in my composition and waited until the surfers walked into my frame.
101points
#46 People's Choice: It's All A Blur, Susan Blick
It's All a Blur - that's how it can feel on the streets of this incredible country sometimes. I was in India leading a photo tour through the streets of the Paharganj. We stopped for a break at a rooftop cafe, it was late afternoon, the light was softening and the street shadows were disappearing. I set up my tripod and with the help of an ND filter I lowered my exposure to 8 seconds to add emotion to the scene.
99points
#47 Inquisitive Eyes, Sanghamitra Sarkar
A little tribal girl hopes to be a part of the modern world beyond the boundary of her traditional tribal village
98points
#48 Through The Cave, Guanghui Gu
The high-speed train goes through the cave.
94points
#49 Hideout, Mike Harterink
Carpets of green algae-like plants covered the shallow plains of the pantanal wetlands, the perfect cayman hide-out. After this cayman popped up to breath on the surface he just dropped himself in a thick carpet of plants. the protective membrane covering his eyes made him look like a dinosaur zombie.
89points
#50 "In An Another Time ?", Brice Le Gall
Protest against education policies. Paris, France, 2018.
84points