Gallery: Wanderlust Travel Photo of the Year – Landscape
From the USA to Iran, Scotland to China, these are the breathtaking photos that made the shortlist of our Landscape category and the amazing stories behind them
Land of Narnia
Mourne Mountains, Northern Ireland
Brian McCready, Quality assurance manager
“I reached the summit of Slieve Bearnagh in time for sunrise. I remained there for several hours as the early morning light began to illuminate the frozen mountain landscape, which had turned white following an overnight fall of snow.”
Nikon D750, 16-35mm f/4 @ 16mm, 1/15 sec @ f/11, ISO 100, ND Grad filter
The Subway
Zion National Park, USA
Vittorio Ricci, Government employee
“On a strenuous, non-technical day hike in a wet canyon with many obstacles, I reached this fantastic natural creation on the left fork of North Creek, where the water flows through a long, tubular passage with only a narrow opening above.”
Nikon D200, 12-24mm f/4 @ 13mm, 6 sec @ f/22, ISO 100, Manfrotto 055 tripod
Faces of Brim
Brim, Victoria, Australia
Jason Freeman, Graphic designer
“This 29m-high artwork by Guido van Helten took three weeks to create and was completed on 4 January 2016. The characters are lifelong farmers in the town of Brim in central Victoria’s wheat belt. Three silos in the region have now been painted by various artists, with a further three to be completed in 2017 as part of the ‘Silo Art Trail’ – a tourism initiative created to bring new life into struggling rural areas.”
Nikon D600, Nikkor 16-35mm f/4 @ 16mm, 30 sec @ f/11, ISO 100, polarising filter, 10-stop ND filter, tripod
Guests Mountain
Sabalan Mountain, Ardabil Province, Iran
Reza Isapour, Student
“The mountain accepts human nature with open arms.”
Canon EOS 5D Mark III, EF 70-200mm f/2.8L @ 195mm, 1/400 sec @ f/16, ISO 200
Flooded wood
Punte Alberete, Italy
Vittorio Ricci, Government employee
“The riparian forest in the Po Delta Regional Park is one of the last remaining spots of this previously widespread type of forest in the Po Valley. The southern catchment area of the Lamone River is very popular among landscape photographers, and hundreds of bird species find protected breeding and nesting grounds there. An overcast sky and the fresh green of young leaves were the ingredients for this photograph.”
Nikon D70S, 17-35mm f/2.8 @ 30mm, 1/40 sec @ f/7.1, ISO 200, Manfrotto 055 tripod
To the summit
From Scar Crags towards the summit of Sail Hill, Lake District, UK
Chris Evans, Retired police officer
“I was out with two friends in March celebrating my retirement from the police. I saw the zigzagging path ahead, which in the snow was so distinctive, and it felt a photo opportunity. I waited for my friends to walk on ahead of me, capturing them at the crucial moment before they descended into the valley to begin the ascent of Sail.”
Canon PowerShot G15, 6.1-30.5mm @ 13.2mm, 1/125 sec @ f/8, ISO 125
Tekes landscape with horses
Tekes County, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China
Gunther Riehle, Food technology engineer
“Horses on their spring route from the winter lowlands to the summer highlands.”
Nikon D4, 80-400 mm f/4.5-5.6 @ 300 mm, 1/320 sec @ f/10, ISO 1250, B+W polarising filter
Ice falls
Goðafoss waterfall, Iceland
Howard Angus, Client services director
“Travelling to northern Iceland in February 2016, after its heaviest snowfall in 20 years, meant many closed roads and a change of plans. Luckily the road to Goðafoss stayed open and the falls were a beautiful sight, encrusted in ice. I walked to the side opposite the car park and down to the foot of the falls where the snow-softened world was peaceful and calm, even with the crashing water from the fast-flowing falls.”
Nikon D700, 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm, 5 sec @ f/11, ISO 200, 10-stop ND filter and polariser
Ice ages
El Chaltén, Los Glaciares National Park, Argentina
Louise Radestock, Filmmaker
“The winds in El Chaltén, Argentina, blow up to 180km per hour, and on the day I hiked to Grey Lake in Torres del Paine National Park they were strong enough to blow people over. I noticed a brief window of sunshine on the fragmented ice from the melting glacier, and I held up my hiking buddies while I waited, crouched in the slush and wind, for the perfect wave. I managed to get this shot before the looming storm hit.”
Canon EOS 700D, EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM @ 18mm, 1/250 sec @ f/10, ISO 100, UV filter
The Painted Hills
The Painted Hills, Mitchell, Oregon
Sophie Carr, Accountant
“In central Oregon, the Painted Hills form part of the John Day Fossil Beds – an extensive area of fossil beds where early horses and camels were found. The colours are formed from mudstone, siltstone, shale and laterite soil, giving beautiful reds, yellows and greys.”
Canon EOS 5D Mark III, EF 70-200mm F/4L IS USM @ 200mm, 1/60 sec @ f/13, ISO 100
The winners of the 2017 Wanderlust Travel Photo of the Year will be announced at Destinations travel show in London on February 3 at 4pm. The winners will receive a photographic commission to Thailand and all the short-listed photos will be on display at the Wanderlust gallery throughout the show.
The photos will also be on display at the Destinations travel show in Manchesterbetween January 19-22.
Entry in to the 2018 Wanderlust Travel Photo of the Year will be opening soon.
