Both the beginning and ending of each amazing day in our world provide some of the most magical, mystical and beautiful light. The golden hour or the blue light combined with magnificent skylines or majestic landscapes can produce some of the finest images a photographer will ever capture!
The Carcal BY Thomas Vijayan
Our First Place Winner was submitted by Thomas Vijayan from Ontario, Canada
My name is Thomas Vijayan, I am basically an Architect hailing from Kerala, India also known as God’s Own Country, I was raised in Bangalore and now settled in Canada with my family. I have traveled all the seven continents for photography which is my passion but not my profession.
The big cats have always been my favorite subject for photography. To me there is nothing called "perfection" in any photography, every click to me is an experience, the more I click the more I learn something new. I give more importance to quality than clicking pictures in quantity. I love nature and I can never be bored by staying in nature for long, photography to me is a combination of my love for nature, travel, practice, patience, passion, care, friends and gear; more than anything else, it is a blessings of my creator to be able to witness the special moments in nature. My love for photography has got me many awards including Wildlife Photographer of the Year (NHM) and also made me a Brand Ambassador of the most renowned brand Nikon from 2015 until now for Middle East & Africa.
With my little experience I can say, we can learn a lot, when we spend time with our Mother Nature. We will start seeing the importance of the life cycle of these tangible living things which belongs to this beautiful world. It can also help us become a better person, who would then understand the necessity of respecting nature and maintaining the ecosystem. For this same realization I would like to use my passion for photography as a medium to bring this hidden wildlife beauty of nature to the common man so that they start loving and respecting the Mother Nature and stop exploiting it.
Visit more of Thomas's amazing work online at: https://thomasvijayan.com/ https://www.instagram.com/thomasvijayan/ https://www.facebook.com/ThomasVijayanPhotography/
Stokksness gold BY Kai Hornung
Our Second Place Winner was submitted by Kai Hornung from Hanover, Germany
Kai Hornung is a freelance landscape photographer living in Hanover, Germany. His images from different countries and places are best described as landscape photography art. His work has been published and awarded. On Instagram more than 95,000 people follow his images and behind the scenes of his frequent photo tours.
Our Third Place Winner was submitted by Judith Kuhn from Immenstaad, Germany
I am a nature photographer - I mainly shoot landscapes, animals and plants.
My goal is to make moody moments last. Colorful sunsets, magical fog moods and the nature in the change of the seasons belong to the highlights in photography for me.
I live in southern Germany on the beautiful Lake Constance, where I have some excellent fotospots right outside the front door. The German, Austrian and Swiss Alps are not far away either. But I also like traveling to more distant destinations around the world.
Our Honorable Mention Winner was submitted by Wojciech Kruczynski from Piastow, Poland
I am an amateur landscape photographer from Poland, also known as Swen Stroop. My favorite places to take my pictures is Iceland, Scotland and Norway (especially the Hebrides and Lofoten Islands). I always spend my vacations in these locations, on feet with backpack or on my bicycle, struggling with rain, cold wind and ugly midges. I can't imagine something more beautiful and pleasant than this.
Visit more of Wojciech's amazing work online at: www.stroop.pl
Theme Shortlist
Below are the amazing images that shortlisted into the top tier of this themes competition. A big congratulations to all the talented photographers that participated!