© Alain Schroeder, Belgium. WINNER, TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2017. Kolhapur, Maharashtra State, India. Before every match, each wrestler covers the body of his adversary with this earth whose color varies by region (red in Kolhapur, yellow in Varanasi).
© Alain Schroeder, Belgium. WINNER, TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2017. Kolhapur, Maharashtra State, India. At the end of a workout, wrestlers rest against the walls of the arena. This relaxation ceremony is completed with massages to soothe tired muscles and demonstrate mutual respect.
© Alain Schroeder, Belgium. WINNER, TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2017. Kolhapur, Maharashtra State, India. Kushti is the traditional form of Indian wrestling. Practiced in an Akhara, the wrestlers, under the supervision of a guru, dedicate their bodies and minds to Kushti on average for 6 to 36 months.
© Alain Schroeder, Belgium. WINNER, TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2017. Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. At the end of a workout, wrestlers are covering their heads and bodies with earth to soak up any perspiration and avoid catching cold.
© Alain Schroeder, Belgium. WINNER, TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2017. Sereale village, Toraja, Sulawesi Island, Indonesia. During a funeral ceremony a group of men carry the body around the property before the burial. The people are chanting and screaming pushing away any bad spirits.
© Alain Schroeder, Belgium. WINNER, TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2017. Tandung village near Pangala, Toraja, Sulawesi Island, Indonesia. Ma' Nene ceremony. Captain Lode Sarungu wearing his military uniform, seen through the small window of his coffin.
© Alain Schroeder, Belgium. WINNER, TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2017. Tandung village near Pangala, Toraja, Sulawesi Island, Indonesia. In the region of Pangala, the Ma' Nene, or cleaning of the corpses, ceremony takes place in August after the rice harvest. Coffins are removed from their burial sites and opened. The mummies are cleaned, dried in the sun and given a change of clothes.
© Alain Schroeder, Belgium. WINNER, TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2017. Dumbia village, Pangala, Toraja, Sulawesi Island, Indonesia. Ma' Nene ceremony. Brothers Micha from Jakarta and Misi from Makassar embrace their parents, father Tumaang and mother Rara. The grave house is located on top of a hill overlooking the rice fields.
© Wendy Timmermans, Netherlands. WINNER - PRIMARY COLOURS (SINGLE IMAGE CATEGORY). Cenote Nah Yah, Mexico. As freedivers, we explore the abyss on one breath only. Inside the Cenote the water was completely still and silent, but his tiny movements on the surface created an irregular pattern of reflection, beautifully contrasting with the straightness of the rays underwater.
© Emiliano Pinnizzotto, Italy. WINNER, TALES OF ADVENTURE PORTFOLIO CATEGORY. Mon District, Nagaland, at the border between Myanmar and India. In recent years, Myanmar has begun to produce and export opium throughout Asia. The addiction to opium and heroin is creating irreparable damage in Myanmar’s social fabric and to neighbouring countries.
© Jianhui Liao, China. WINNER - FOOD (SINGLE IMAGE CATEGORY). Shanxi, China. A crowd gathers to eat from a huge dish of noodles.
© Katherine Keates, Canada. WINNER, EARTH & CLIMATE PORTFOLIO. Wayne County, Utah, USA (near Capitol Reef Park). Growing in the mud cracks of a dry gulch, this desert plant appears to be part of a well-designed floral arrangement.
© Johan Siggesson, Sweden. WINNER - WILDLIFE (SINGLE IMAGE CATEGORY). Jigokudani, Yudanaka, Japan. Photographing the Snow Monkeys in Hell Valley in Japan is easy. They are everywhere, they are close and they are not afraid. I noticed that if I composed the image in a certain way it would look like an almost human-like creature is climbing up from below.
© Paul Sansome, UK. WINNER, CELEBRATION OF HUMANITY PORTFOLIO. Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. A young girl plays in Thirumalai Nayak Palace in Madurai.

Winners of Travel Photographer of the Year revealed

14 February 2018

The winners of the 2017 international Travel Photographer of the Year awards (TPOTY) have been revealed. Now in its 15 year, the competition which celebrates the humanity, landscape, environment and wildlife of this planet, received more than 20,000 images submitted by photographers in 129 countries.

© Alain Schroeder, Belgium. WINNER, TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2017. Dumbia village, Pangala, Toraja, Sulawesi Island, Indonesia. Ma' Nene ceremony. Brothers Micha from Jakarta and Misi from Makassar embrace their parents, father Tumaang and mother Rara. The grave house is located on top of a hill overlooking the rice fields.

The Belgian photojournalist, Alain Schroeder was named overall winner of TPOTY. He was awarded the title of Travel Photographer of the Year 2017 for his atmospheric portfolios of Kushti wrestling in India and the complex rituals associated with death in Toraja, Indonesia. He received £4,000 in cash along with other prizes.

© Wendy Timmermans, Netherlands. WINNER - PRIMARY COLOURS (SINGLE IMAGE CATEGORY). Cenote Nah Yah, Mexico. As freedivers, we explore the abyss on one breath only. Inside the Cenote the water was completely still and silent, but his tiny movements on the surface created an irregular pattern of reflection, beautifully contrasting with the straightness of the rays underwater.

Fujifilm sponsored all three portfolio categories and the winner in each of these categories receives the Fujifilm X-Series professional camera plus lens of their choice. The range of images was remarkably diverse. British photographer Paul Sansome won the Celebration of Humanity category, Katherine Keates, an amateur photographer from Canada, won the Earth & Climate category, and Emiliano Pinnizzotto, from Italy, won the Tales of Adventure category.

© Jianhui Liao, China. WINNER - FOOD (SINGLE IMAGE CATEGORY). Shanxi, China. A crowd gathers to eat from a huge dish of noodles.

TPOTY is judged by an international panel of photographers and imaging experts. This year’s jury featured judges from the UK, USA, Italy, Germany, and Malaysia, including the award-winning photographer and picture editor, Eamonn McCabe, Michelle Jana Chan (Travel Editor, Vanity Fair magazine), Michael Pritchard (Director-General of the Royal Photographic Society) and TPOTY’s first judge in Asia, picture editor and filmmaker, Cheryl Brophy-Chan.

A full gallery of all 140 of the winning, runner-up, commended, commended and special mention images can be seen on the awards’ website.

© Johan Siggesson, Sweden. WINNER - WILDLIFE (SINGLE IMAGE CATEGORY). Jigokudani, Yudanaka, Japan. Photographing the Snow Monkeys in Hell Valley in Japan is easy. They are everywhere, they are close and they are not afraid. I noticed that if I composed the image in a certain way it would look like an almost human-like creature is climbing up from below.