Travel

Winning Images from the 2015 National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest

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Grand Prize: Whale Whisperers
'Diving with a humpback whale and her newborn calf while they cruise around Roca Partida … in the Revillagigedo [Islands], Mexico. This is an outstanding and unique place full of pelagic life, so we need to accelerate the incorporation of the islands into UNESCO as [a] natural heritage site in order to increase the protection of the islands against the prevailing illegal fishing corporations and big-game fishing.' - Anuar Patjane Floriuk (Anuar Patjane Floriuk / National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

1/10
Grand Prize: Whale Whisperers
'Diving with a humpback whale and her newborn calf while they cruise around Roca Partida … in the Revillagigedo [Islands], Mexico. This is an outstanding and unique place full of pelagic life, so we need to accelerate the incorporation of the islands into UNESCO as [a] natural heritage site in order to increase the protection of the islands against the prevailing illegal fishing corporations and big-game fishing.' - Anuar Patjane Floriuk (Anuar Patjane Floriuk / National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

More than 17,000 amazing images were submitted to the 2015 National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest by photographers from around the world, but only one—an underwater photograph of divers swimming near a humpback whale—took the grand prize.

The stunning, winning image was taken by Anuar Patjane Floriuk of Tehuacán, Puebla, Mexico. He shot the photo, titled "Whale Whisperer," near Roca Partida, an island off the western coast of Mexico. "The photo wasn’t planned," Floriuk said. "I was taking photos near the head of the whale, and all of a sudden she began to swim toward the rest of the diving team. The divers gave the whale and her calf space, and I just clicked at the moment when the flow and composition seemed right."

As grand-prize winner, Floriuk will embark on the National Geographic Sea Lion for the Costa Rica and the Panama Canal Photo Expedition, an eight-day voyage with a National Geographic photographer and a team of photo instructors. Tracing the Pacific coasts of Costa Rica and Panama, guests on board the vessel will explore the Manuel Antonio National Park, Osa Peninsula, Isla de Coiba and much more on the way to the Panama Canal. The trip is provided by National Geographic Expeditions, the travel program of the National Geographic Society, which offers guided trips spanning all seven continents and more than 80 destinations.

(MORE: Stunning Entries from the 2015 National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

Faisal Azim of Chittagong, Bangladesh, placed second for his photo "Gravel Workmen." He will receive a six-day National Geographic Photo Expedition: Winter Wildlife in Yellowstone for two. The third-place photo, "Camel Ardah," was shot by Ahmed Al Toqi of Muscat, Oman. He wins a six-day cruise for two from Schooner American Eagle and Heritage. Seven merit-prize winners will receive a $200 (USD) gift certificate to B&H Photo and the National Geographic Masters of Photography course on DVD. All winners will receive a subscription to National Geographic Traveler magazine.

"National Geographic Travel celebrates and illuminates destinations around the globe, and it was exciting to see that same theme captured in the contest entries," said Maggie Zackowitz, editor-in-chief of National Geographic Traveler magazine. "I was blown away by the creativity of the photographers."

The contest featured four categories: Travel Portraits, Outdoor Scenes, Sense of Place and Spontaneous Moments. Judging consisted of two rounds of evaluation based on creativity and photographic quality.