Free-to-use photography app Agora reveals the winning entries from its latest online photo contest, #Water2020 that gathered more than 8700 photos submitted by the global community of photographers. Filipina photographer @anadgphotography won the contest with her photo 'Thirsty ants' which gathered the most votes during the 5 voting rounds on the photography app.
The #Water2020 contest was launched on February 28th on Agora, the mobile app where photographers, whether amateur or professional, can participate to international photo contests and share their best pictures for a chance to win recognition and cash prizes (from $1,000 to $25,000), and where the global audience can choose the best creations of Humanity thanks to Agora's democratic voting system.
The Top 50 finalists from the competition got revealed through the app on March 25th, showcasing mesmerizing photos of rivers, lakes, seas, and oceans all around the world. Then, the power was in the Agora users' hands to cast their votes and decide which photo struck them the most and therefore should win the contest and the $1,000 prize.
Octavi Royo, Agora's CEO & Co-Founder declared: "Water molecules are a blend of millions of years of history and have passed through many oceans, continents, and beings of all kinds. It has evolved from liquid to solid states countless times over the course of time. Today, we discover the best pictures of #Water at a specific time in history. A moment to make the finalist photographers' point of view eternal and, through Agora, share them with the world to become part of the collective memory and treasures of Humanity. Power to #Water2020!"
Take your time to scroll through the finalists' submissions and don't forget to upvote your favorites!
More info: go.onelink.me
#1 Herrerillo Posándose
Location: Lloret de Mar, Spain
@pabloboguña (Spain)
63points
#2 Afternoon Sunlight Magic
Location: Inle Lake, Myanmar
@zayyarlin (Myanmar)
62points
#3 Winner: 'Thirsty Ants'
Location: Binangonan, Philippines
This image was shot under our garden's mango tree, where local ants have settled their colonies. The weather here in the Philippines is pretty hot, so I give them water and make the most of our encounter to take some macro photos.
@anadgphotography (Philippines), #Water2020 Hero
59points
#4 Underwater Prayers
Location: Hue, Vietnam
"During the full moon festival, a long-standing celebration in Vietnam, people pray to the gods of water and for those who have passed away. They drop candlelights down the river to pray for their souls."
@thanhtoanphotographer (Vietnam)
47points
#5 A Horse Would Like To Be A Seahorse
Location: Lombok, Indonesia
"The horse was moving quite fast and the water was very agitated; so it was quite difficult to take the right picture."
@marcelvanbalken (Netherlands)
44points
#6 Brings Happiness To The Face
Location: Tanzania
"Water is the reason for life in all living things, but we humans are the only ones to destroy the environment and cause sources of water to disappear. It is our responsibility to restore nature to its original form. This image is giving us reasons to smile."
@oceantanzania (Tanzania)
44points
#7 Spotting These 3 Cruising Up The Coast Made My Day
Location: Fraser Island, Queensland, Australia
"3 humpback whales on their annual migration north. These whales can weigh up to 40 tonnes. Just to give you some perspective a standard car weighs about 2 tonnes! I’ve been blessed enough to be in the water with these incredible creatures, but near the shark-infested waters of Fraser Island, they are more safely observed from the air. No matter how your day is going, your mood is always increased when you get to witness these gentle giants."
@lukeylove (Australia)
44points
#8 Vision Tree
Location: Malaysia
@ready.rey (Indonesia)
40points
#9 Splash
Location: Rajshahi, Bangladesh
"The Indian flying fox is one of the largest bats in the world. The heat of the summer makes their body temperature go up quickly, so once in a while, they dive in the water to cool down. I waited for almost 2 hours to take this photo."
@sujonadhikary (Bangladesh)
39points
#10 Sunset On The Salt Field
Location: Nha Trang, Vietnam
"These female workers carry salt all day long, in the heat of the sun."
@tuanngocphoto (Vietnam)
38points
#11 Frozen Water Creates A Path For Climbers
Location: Utah, United States
"Climbing a waterfall at night with a temperature of -18ºC is quite a challenge."
@dmartphoto (Spain)
36points
#12 The First Rains Of The Year Make The Rivers Start Flowing Again
Location: Dili, Timor-Leste
"The first rains of the year make the rivers start flowing again, bringing to the ocean the mud and trash from the mountains. The water is then clearly separated into two: the brownish muddy river water and the deep blue ocean water. The fishes are attracted and get closer to the shore. And where there are fishes, there are fishermen. I borrowed a drone from a friend to continue my other photo project: photos of Timorese fishermen that use apnea technique to fish. I already had underwater photos as well as photos “on the sea level”, so aerial photos was the last step of the project. At sea level, the division of the muddy river and the ocean water is not as clear as from above, so I had no idea what to expect from up there! After launching the drone and face the camera downwards, I was stunned with what I was seeing: the thick texture and brownish color of the river contrasting with the soft texture and deep blue color of the ocean was not something that I have ever seen in my life!"
@joao.galamba (Portugal)
36points
#13 Fishing
Location: Inle Lake, Myanmar
"After a heavy afternoon of rain, this man rowed out to the lake to catch some fish. The reflection on the water was so impressive!"
@caokynhan (Vietnam)
33points
#14 Water Collection
Location: Mandalay, Myanmar
@myatzawhein (Myanmar)
33points
#15 Fisherman Under The Dawn
Location: Quang Lang Beach, Diem Diem District, Vietnam
"Vietnam has a long coastline of 3,260 km, excluding its islands. Vietnamese people mainly stick to the sea with a rich variety of seafood from the North to the South. In order to capture this scene, I and my friends woke up at 4 am and walked about 2km barefoot from the shore to the beach to wait for the sunrise and the fishermen to start their work."
@viếtcường (Vietnam)
32points
#16 A Sunset Flight Over The Waterfall Of The Gods
Location: Iceland
@michaelfoote (UK)
31points
#17 Rainwater
Location: Tokyo, Japan
"During my holiday in Tokyo, I visited the Sensoji temple on a rainy day. I couldn't hope for a better shot with these rain puddles!"
@nguyenbaongoc (Vietnam)
31points
#18 Bajo Children
Location: Kendari, Indonesia
"Akbar was hunting for octopuses to support the economic needs of his family. What a great lesson to see how determined this child was to provide for his family!"
@bobbykuen (Indonesia)
27points
#19 Life Of Buffalo Herder
Location: Garhbeta, West Medinipur, West Bengal, India
"Every summer day, the owner takes his buffaloes for a quick bath in the river to keep them cool and away from diseases."
@saurabh_sirohiya (India)
25points
#20 Chapi Dream
Location: Gia Lai, Vietnam
"This is my first time coming to this place, a very majestic scenery - the highest waterfall in Vietnam. This photo shows love as endless and powerful, just like the grandeur of nature. Water has always been the source of human life. And love, we can't live without it either."
@phamchiconghp (Vietnam)
24points