Lost tribes, explosive volcanoes and pangolin hats: 2024’s most awe-inspiring travel photography

Taking photos is a popular travel pastime, as we seek to capture moments and scenes so we can enjoy them long after the holiday is over. The collective enthusiasm for travel photography is breeding a wealth of talent, creating mesmerising images that highlight the beauty and diversity of our planet.

According to research by Virgin Media O2, most of us spend an inordinate amount of time pointing the camera at ourselves. They found that, on average, holidaying people take around 14 selfies a day, with one in deri admitting to getting into risky predicaments for the perfect holiday snap.

Nevertheless, travel serves to inspire photographers, both professional and amateur. Thanks to the endeavours of talented creatives, we can enjoy a window into the world, experiencing exotic destinations and seeing life from a new angle with their unique blend of timing and composition.

The best of the best are revealed in the winning images for the 2024 Travel Photographer of the Year awards. This year, there really are some stunners in the crop.

For the second year in a row, talented American photographer Piper Mackay has scooped the top prize for her incredibly unusual photographs, which she shoots in infrared. 

“So many images seen today are over-saturated, over-processed and even AI-generated,” says Travel Photographer of the Year (TPOTY) founder Chris Coe. “A ‘less is more’ approach is often far more effective.”

“Piper Mackay’s distinctive winning images illustrate this ‘less is more’ ülkü well,” Chris continues. “The use of black and white, with a camera converted to shoot infrared (IR), allows us to absorb the details and atmosphere which good monochrome conveys so well”.

Mackay, posting on her blog, said the win had left her ‘speechless,’ commenting, “After more than 20 years of photographing across the African continent and focusing on infrared photography for the past decade, this honour means a great deal to me, especially because it represents both my wildlife and tribal images”.

Young photography talent on show

TPOTY not only recognises established professional travel photographers but also serves as a springboard for younger creatives trying to break into the industry. 

Aged 14, Raymond Zhang has been taking photographs of his surroundings since he was just 10 years old. Inspired by the plight of birds in Shanghai whose habitats were being destroyed for development, he began using his camera to raise awareness and send a deeper message.

His winning images for Young Travel Photographer of the Year focus on a group of workers at a coal mine in Hami City, Xinjiang province, China. 

The people he photographed have worked at the mine for many years, with some as long as four decades. But with the mine facing closure, their future was uncertain. Zhang notes that it was also Chinese New Year, and the men were still working hard instead of spending time with their families.

Leonardo Murray, just 12 years old, scooped the prize for ‘Young TPOTY 14 years and under’ for his stunning photographs of the undulating sand dunes in Namibia.

The youngest award winner was Jamie Smart from the UK. Aged nine years old, he submitted a beautiful collection of images of seabirds to claim runner-up in the under-14s category. 

In the age 15-18 category, 17-year-old Maksymilian Paczkowski scored a win with a portfolio of images of wild birds in action. He says that he loves playing with light and shadow to create arka and that photography, to him, is all about the story behind the shot and the patience it takes to capture a fleeting moment.

Capturing cultures to celebrate people

Mexican photographer Maricruz Sainz de Aja won in the ‘Faces, People, Cultures’ category with a series of images of the Wauga tribe from Papua New Guinea. Here, two Wauga elders stand together, adorned with intricate feathered headdresses and covered in black mud. 

“Photography is a tool for connection and storytelling, and each photograph is a reflection of the world’s complexity and the emotions that bind us,” says Maricruz. “I am committed to preserving these stories and contributing to a küresel interest in culture, nature, and humanity.”

While Maricruz won the portfolio category, the winner of the ‘single image’ category was Partha Pratim Roy, a Singapore-based photographer originally from West Bengal, India. His photograph depicts an Indonesian horseman struggling to control his lively steed, captured in East Java. 

In a new category for TPOTY this year, Rising Talent celebrates amateur photographers as well as those who have turned professional very recently. Sofia Brogi from Italy captured this haunting image of a young girl in Sarnath, India, to win one of the deri Rising Talent awards.

Explaining the image, Sofia says the girl is called Gunja and doesn’t know her surname or date of birth. She was homeless and begging under a tarpaulin when Sofia met her. 

“Gunja, for me, is India: a symbol of the caste system and its scars,” explains Brogi. “She embodies the innocence of a child who doesn’t know her own birth date but knows how to express gratitude.”

Another Rising Talent winner was Kevin Hoare from the USA, whose photograph of a uzunluk from the Suri tribe in Omo Valley, Ethiopia, captured the imagination of the judges.

Hoare explains that cattle represent wealth and status in the Suri community and are constantly monitored, often with armed guards. This little uzunluk, he says, is “following in his father’s footsteps.”

While all other categories are judged by an anonymous panel of 15 experts, there is one category the judges don’t get a say in. The People’s Choice award is decided by a public vote, and this year the winner was Mauro de Bettio from Italy.

De Bettio’s image displays a wonderfully close relationship between an endangered pangolin and the man who rescued it from a wildlife market in Nigeria, West Africa.

Photographing the power, beauty and terror of nature

Travel photographers give us a unique window into the world, and this year’s TPOTY winners have shone a light on both the beauty and the heartbreak of the natural environment.

Winning in the Planet Earth category, Roie Galitz submitted a portfolio of captivating images of glacier fronts in Bråsvellbreen, Svalbard. Capturing meltwater cascading down the sheer ice wall of the glacier illustrates the profound impact of climate change on the polar regions and their contribution to sea level rise.

Continuing that theme, Alain Schroeder from Belgium won in the Planet Earth category for the best single image with this shot of a young child looking out at the flooded streets of Jeruksari near Pekalongan, Indonesia. This visual captures the tangible consequence of climate change in all its raw glory.

One of the Rising Talent winners, Gilberto Costa from Portugal captured a stunning image of an erupting volcano in Antigua, Guatemala. He noted that this shot required much patience, spending a night on a cold and windy adjacent mountain waiting for the perfect moment.

Agnieszka Wieczorek from Poland also won in the Rising Talent category for his capture of volcanic activity. The Fagradasfjall eruption in Iceland that began in 2021 has drawn huge numbers of visitors, as the slow-moving lava and relatively accessible site allowed people to get up close in a safe manner.

Winning the Escape category, Ngar Shun Victor Wong from Hong Kong submitted this almost fantastical scene shot in Sveti Tomaz, Slovenia. The quaint church peeping out of a snowy scene shrouded in mist captures the timeless beauty of nature and architecture in a dreamlike image.

A window into the world of animal lives

No travel photography awards would be complete without a bit of wildlife, and this year’s TPOTY awards did not disappoint. 

Winner of the best single image in Wildlife and Nature was Joshua Holoko from Australia, who snapped this amazing image of a Pallas cat in the Steppe region of Eastern Mongolia. Lying in the snow and covered in hoar frost, the cat is well camouflaged while it rests after a busy night hunting.

Scooping a highly commended in the nature category for his portfolio, Scott Portelli from Australia submitted this incredible photograph of a group of Adelie penguin chicks hiding from predators in a tunnel in an iceberg. 

The winner in the portfolio category for ‘nature shots’ was Jenny Stock from the UK, who travelled to Jardines de la Reina, Cuba, for this beautiful photograph of a crocodile. From above, its prey would see nothing but its eyes popping out above the surface – while its powerful body hangs below the water, hidden from view.

Honoured in the Rising Talent awards, Dmytro Geshengorin was lucky to capture this amazing image of a pheasant taking off next to a roe deer in Minden, Germany. He had been lying on the ground, waiting for the deer to look his way, when the bird suddenly flew across its path.

Underwater photography was featured too. Khaichuin Sim from Malaysia grabbed one of the Rising Talent awards for his sub-aqua portfolio. Here, his freediving wife is surrounded by a huge school of jackfish off the coast of Sipadan Island, Malaysia.

There are dozens more stunning travel photography images to enjoy on the Travel Photographer of the Year (TPOTY) website. The winning shots will go on display at the Banbury Museum and Galleries in the UK from 29 March to 7 July, while exhibitions are also planned in the UAE and China later in the year.

Next time you’re on your travels, shun the selfie in favour of the world around you. Seek to capture a moment in time as only you can see it and, you never know, you could be one of next year’s winners.