September 24, 2012

The world’s best travel photography

Some of the world's leading photographers will be taking part in the 2012 TPOTY Live! festival (5-7 October) at the Royal Geographical Society in London. We asked some of them to share their favourite photos

natgeo: Chris Weston 1 — African elephant, Botswana, by Chris Weston Chris is a wildlife photographer whose work often takes him into potentially dangerous situations that would make most of us think twice. The author of many books on photography, he has recently been concentrating on his passion for conservation of the planet’s most endangered species. As founder of Animals On The Edge, he has travelled the globe in search of these creatures and ways to protect their habitat.
Photograph: Chris Weston Photograph: Chris Weston/Action images

natgeo: Chris Weston 2 — Wildebeest, Zimbabwe 'After 12 hours buried in an underground pit,' says Chris Weston, 'my efforts were finally rewarded as the herd of wildebeest galloped by.' Photograph: Chris Weston

natgeo: Chris Weston 3 — Elephant on a tributary of the Zambezi River, Zimbabwe 'This was part of a project photographing wildlife in water,' says Chris Weston. 'The elephant shook his head in warning, a message for me to stay back and encroach no further. Listening to the messages animals send through body language is all a part of a successful shoot.' Photograph: Chris Weston

natgeo: Chris Weston 4 — Siberian tiger This was shot for the cover of Chris's Animals on the Edge book.
Photograph: Chris Weston Photograph: Chris Weston

natgeo: chris weston 5 — Brown bear, Bavaria. Taken in the Bavaria Forest National Park, Germany. Chris Weston says: 'This image is all about design elements - line, shape and texture - the building blocks of photographic composition.' Photograph: Chris Weston

natgeo: Craig Easton 1 — Thwaite village, Swaledale, North Yorkshire From Craig Easton's book 52 Weekends in the Country, produced with Brigid Benson. Photograph: Craig Easton

natgeo: Craig Easton 2 — Sole Bay Fish Company, Southwold, Suffolk This was taken in 2008 when Craig was shooting images for his book 52 Weekends by the Sea. Photograph: Craig Easton

natgeo: Craig Easton 3 — Glen Fiddich, Speyside This is another shot from 2010 for 52 Weekends in the Country. Speyside, the home of malt whisky, is all brooding hills, heather moorland and peaty rivers. Photograph: Craig Easton

natgeo: Craig Easton 4 — New York This was taken as part of a commercial campaign for 3i. Photograph: Craig Easton

natgeo: Craig Easton 5 — Cape Verde, Newfoundland, Canada This was taken during a 2004 trip for the BBC for an Ainsley Harriott cookbook.
Photograph: Craig Easton Photograph: Craig Easton 5

natgeo: Jason Hawkes — London Bridge Rail station, London This was shot for an advertising brief of people within an urban environment. It was taken from 1100ft out of the door of a helicopter using a 200mm lens. Jason Hawkes, an acclaimed aerial photographer, will discuss how he got into aerial photography and the journey his work has taken him on, at the festival on Saturday 6 October. Photograph: Jason Hawkes

natgeo: Mark Edward Harris — Children playing in Majuro, Marshall Islands Photographer Mark Edward Harris says: 'This image was part of a project for my book Wanderlust. The aim was to capture people and their environments but without the travel photography clichés.' This shot won the single image category in the 2004 Travel Photographer of the Year awards. At the festival, Mark's talks will cover the Photo Essay & Photo Book, and The Fine Art of Travel Photography. Photograph: Mark Edward Harris

natgeo: Martin Hartley — Padham, Zanskar Valley, India Photographer Martin Hartley says: 'This was taken in the village of Padham in the Zanskar valley during the winter of 2001. I had spent a week in the village photographing families and mothers with their babies. (In Zanskar the women try to arrange the births of their children for the winter months so that all hands are free during the summer harvest.)' At the festival, Martin, one of the world's leading expedition photographers, will speak about his 10 years as a photographer in polar, desert, mountain and jungle regions. Photograph: Martin Hartley

natgeo: Nick Meers 1 — Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, Maine, US Photographer Nick Meers says: 'This was taken in 2008. I spent several weeks travelling along the US east coast, photographing as many lighthouses as possible. For this particular shot, the sun was going down quickly, so the camera was on the ground, to make the most of the remaining light.' Photograph: Nick Meers

natgeo: Nick Meers 2 — Blea Tarn, Great Langdale, Cumbria Nick says: 'This was taken in 1998 for a book, Panoramas of England, and was one of the first images I took on a panoramic camera that I built myself.' Photograph: Nick Meers

natgeo: Nick Meers 3 — Putley, Herefordshire 'This is a personal image, because I lived in Putley for many years. (I still live in Herefordshire.) My wife took me to this viewpoint to watch the dawn - and I realised that I had shot from exactly the same viewpoint 15 years before, for a Shell Guide to Britain.' Photograph: Nick Meers

natgeo: Tom Mackie 1 — Morning mist around Belvedere, Val d'Orica, Tuscany, Italy, shot this year during a workshop in Tuscany. Photographer Tom Mackie's talk at Travel Photography Live! (Saturday 6 October) will comprise a tour of some of the world's most beautiful locations and describe in detail how he creates dynamic images from classic and out-of-the way locations. Photograph: Tom Mackie

natgeo: Tom Mackie 2 — Sunset at Seljalandsfoss waterfall, Iceland, taken during the midnight sun. Photograph: Tom Mackie

natgeo: Tom Mackie 3 — Field of lavender at sunrise, Valensole, Provence, France Taken this year during a workshop Tom Mackie holds every year in Provence. Photograph: Tom Mackie

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