2010 National Geographic Photography Contest Galleries

Cambodian Boys and Snakes

Photo and caption by Thomas Szelazek

I was getting an intimate perspective of the Tonle Sap in Cambodia from a local teenager, when these two boys with snakes swam up behind looking to engage us. This was a day in the life of a child living on a river settlement. This was also one of those moments that can not be conveyed with words.

A Wrinkle in Time

Photo and caption by nikki krecicki

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Winter Swimmer

Photo and caption by Hao Lv

People in Beijing, China, develop a square on ice, for their winter swim.
Shows power of human.

Steps to Enlightenment

Photo and caption by Ryan Hellard

Buddhist monks perform a tscham dance in a small village in the Bumthang Valley of Bhutan.

Shy love, Japan.

Photo and caption by Laura Loss

This traditionally dressed couple was walking a few meters ahead of me in Yohohama, Japan. They caught my attention because physical contact in public is not a common thing in Japan, and they were holding hands (fingers) so sweetly..

Fishing out, pond Rozmberk, Czech Republic

Photo and caption by Petra Chromá

Fischermen pull fish net by fishing out of pond Rozmberk, South Bohemia, Czech Republic.

Getai

Photo and caption by Joey Lim

Getai is now increasingly accepted in Singapore. It is often sang in Hokkien.

from the series "Cossack Resurrection"

Photo and caption by anastasia taylor-lind

Alexander Kydrin, a member of the “All Powerful and Great Warriors of the Don Cossack Army”, instructs his horse Tribunal to lay down at Azov aerodrome, where the troop practice Djigitovka tricks, a traditional form of Cossack trick-riding that are performed at state ceremonies. These complex acrobatic moves were originally developed by the Cossacks as battle techniques, and laying horses down allowed a whole army to hide in the grass of the Russian Steppes and attack advancing enemies in close quarters with the element of surprise. Azov, Southern Russia.

From the series "Cossack Resurrection"

Photo and caption by anastasia taylor-lind

Anya Romanova (centre) and her Year 8 friends at Ataman Platov Cossack Cadet School, Belaya Kalitva. Southern Russia. 21.05.10.

The Fisherman Dance in The Morning

Photo and caption by Thommy Auguzth

look for fish in the morning is a habit of fisherman in the Rawa Pening, Central Java, Indonesia. One of the fishermen in this picture called Sugeng. He has a characteristic in catching fish using nets. While he was fishing he looked like he was dancing.

Cockfight

Photo and caption by Ario Wibisono

Suradita Village, West Java, Indonesia (2010). Children playing with their rooster. Actually it was not a real cockfight because the rooster didn't wear blades on their feet. Children likes to play this game because they almost never have toys in their life.

The Music Of Love

Photo and caption by Ario Wibisono

This picture was taken in Tenganan Village, Bali (2010). Tenganan is the most famous Bali Aga (original Balinese) village and is located close to Candi Dasa in East Bali. A man was playing bamboo music to entertain a disabled child which is not his son, but he loves this child likes he loves his own son.

Belqis, from Al Hajjara

Photo and caption by Don Whitebread

In the cliff-top town of Al Hajjara, we had drawn a crowd of local boys eager to see what the two foreigners were up to, and try out the English words they had learned in school. Eventually a remarkable girl named Belqis, maybe 10 or 12, joined in. She was a bit more clever and resourceful than the rest, and she held court over the group, and eventually let me photograph her. It upset me that in a few years she would put on the black niqaab, becoming another anonymous black ghost in the street, her cleverness wasted.

The Book of Antigone

Photo and caption by Jose Antonio Villalon

Visiting my old high school campus, I was able to watch a very different and rewritten (not butchered) take on the classic Antigone. This version set its first act in a warehouse filled with kids in juvie, rehabilitating themselves through performance. The headline read "where street meets greek," and the end result was something very energetic and fun.