AAP Mag Has Announced The Best Travel Photos Of 2021, And They're Quite Diverse (26 Pics)

"'Legends of the Desert' is a series of high-contrast black and white photographs taken in Las Vegas. Vegas is the most American of city concepts — it is a distillation of other places, repackaged for easier consumption. Performers impersonate other performers. Architecture approximates other architecture. Money ravages money. I have to admit I’m intoxicated by the experience — as easy as it is to see its seams, the spectacle of Las Vegas is still something to behold. The drama of the desert heat and the allure of glittering surfaces are as exciting as they are dangerous."

"The fascinating city of Tokyo is home to around 14 million people and the overriding feeling that grabs me when I arrive is that I must join the evermoving crowds. The hurrying hordes, the neon signs and bright lights, the dense traffic, all make it feel impossible to pause for just one moment. It is this constant hustle and bustle that I have captured in my Life’s a Rush project."

"The Arctic Circle cuts across Lapland with a palette of frigid winter light where colors are subtle and make a statement. With seven months of winter, such an environment heightens the awareness of isolation, vulnerability, and trust. Yet, it provides an opportunity to inspire and strengthen our inner selves, to self-reflect and observe our passage in time, both in a literal sense and metaphorically. Our experiences reflect our personal odysseys as we move from a place we know to one that we are just discovering."

"Ladies separated from men by a fence, celebrating Lag Baomer in the Orthodox Mea Shearim neighborhood of Jerusalem. Lag Baomer is a festival that is celebrated by all manner of Jewish communities around the world. The festival itself commemorates two historical events according to Jewish tradition: the passing of revered Second Century sage Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, who ordained that the anniversary of his death be a time of rejoicing at his life; and the end of a plague which killed some 24,000 students of another great rabbi, Akiva Ben Yosef (who lived around the same time as Bar Yochai)."

"Winter in Woodend is cold, -3 degrees on this day. I wake up early and set off not too far away as we can only travel five kilometers from home. Along a dirt road I have traveled before, through these encompassing white clouds, the landscape looks remarkably different. My imagination eludes me and I am misguided into believing this is the Wilderness. The heavy fog reduces the surrounding landscape, suffused by the early morning light, thinking I am remote and distant from any human connection."

"A game of Kok Boru in the village of Taldy-Bulak. A rider throws the goat into the tai kazan (goal). The men share a great respect for the sacrificed animal despite the roughness of the action. The origins of this legendary game lie somewhere between nomads hunting or defending their livestock against predatory wolves, to men and horses honing their fighting skills.

Kok Boru is the national sport of Kyrgyzstan. Dead Goat Polo, as some refer to it, looks more like cavalier rugby with a headless goat as a ball. Two teams of five fearless men on horseback try to score a point by heaving the 20-kilo body into the tai kazan (goal) at either end.

Only stallions are used in this game because they are naturally anti-social and eager to fight off rivals. The players train their horses to muscle out other horses in the pack while they themselves wrestle each other to snatch the goat and gallop toward the goal, slamming into the rubber tires of the meter-high mound."