Guardian readers June 1, 2010

Been there photo competition, May: transport

Last month's theme was transport, and the images readers caught the spirit of the road from Kathmandu to Chicago, slow camels to ultra high-speed trains. Here's our selection of the best

Been there May 2010: Cyclist, Basel — With the skies closed due to the ash cloud, it was nice to see more traditional forms of transport thriving in the sunny spring weather. Taken in Basel, Switzerland
Photograph: Andrew Langley Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Been there May 2010: Desert Rider in Cario, Egypt — Desert rider in Cairo, Egypt
Photograph: Bryan Pereira Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Been there May 2010: Kayaks on the Thames — Night-time paddling on the Thames
Photograph: Scott French Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Been there May 2010: Tokyo Station, Japan — Taken in Tokyo station, Japan. From high-rise buildings to late-night businessmen and, of course, super speedy trains, this photo is typically Tokyo. Look out for the reflection of the buisnessman in the train window!
Photograph: Miranda Lowe Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Been there May 2010: Porthole — Taken aboard a ship at sea
Photograph: Emily Griffiths Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Been there May 2010: Family portrait, Pakistan — This photo was taken in the dusty southern city of Multan in Pakistan. I was negotiating the afternoon rush hour in a rickshaw and spotted this family of four travelling together on a motorbike
Photograph: Tahseen Chaudhry Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Been there May 2010: A girl on a bus in Ladakh, India — A girl on a bus in Ladakh, India. I like the layers of the photo - her, the reflections on the windows of the scene around her, and her hand and window frame outside. The first photo I took of her she was smiling back at me, but the reflection of another vehicle got too far into the frame. I wish I had a good one of her smiling, but like this as she looks as if she has some interesting stories to tell
Photograph: Chloe Kenward Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Been there May 2010: Ducks on the Kerala backwaters, India — Lazy ducks don't want to get wet as they hitch a ride down the backwaters of Kerala, India
Photograph: Tim Jones Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Been there May 2010: Train to Manmad, India — Train to Manmad, India. On our way to see the first cricket Test match between India and South Africa, our train stopped 10 minutes from our transfer station at midnight. It stayed there for two hours, setting in process three horror-filled days of travel by car, rickshaw, train, bus, and bike to travel a few hundred miles. In such a populous country, it was a rare treat to be in the black sea of night - one that was unfortunately lost on us at the time
Photograph: Lachlan Yates Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Been there May 2010: Bedouin camel riders — Young Bedouin boys ride their ships of the desert home in the Wahiba Sands, Oman
Photograph: Anne Paylor Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Been there May 2010: Train, India — On a trip to India, I took this picture of a busy train carriage while waiting around for several hours on the platform in the station in Delhi
Photograph: James Ng Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Been there May 2010: Plane across the moon — Coming home to London I just caught this plane as it turned across the full moon on its approach to Heathrow. Sort of sums up how far it's now possible to travel!
Photograph: Sarah Ackner Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Been there May 2010: Chook man, taken in vietnam — "Chook man" taken in Vietnam
Photograph: Dr Jo Williams Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Been there May 2010: Thai boy with his bike — A boy with his bike in Thailand
Photograph: Josef Hargrave Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Been there May 2010: Havana reflection — Reflection in a Havana Viejo window showing not only one of Cuba's iconic vintage cars passing by, but one of the local yellow buses as well
Photograph: Matthew Fleet Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Been there May 2010: Rickshaw driver, Thamel, Kathmandu — A rickshaw driver taking some time off on the busy and dusty streets of Thamel, Kathmandu
Photograph: Gavin Yam Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Been there May 2010: Bus turning corner in Kowloon, Hong Kong — A bus turning a corner in Kowloon, Hong Kong
Photograph: Sarah Law Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Been there May 2010: 'L' train in Chicago — Downtown loop, the Brown line in Chicago. It's nicknamed the "L". The elevated railway clatters along a maze of girders held with millions of rivets above the road system. It snakes among skyscrapers offering opportunities to watch office workers and residents in the buildings
Photograph: Peter Norris Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Been there May 2010: Aerial, New Zealand — My Kiwi friend had just bought a van to live in while she worked on film sets around the country and had refurbished the whole interior. As a gift, her brother made the aerial for her. We took the van on its inaugural road trip from Ohope to Te Kaha, where we celebrated the new year on a desolate beach with friends. The image encapsulates for me not only the theme of travel in New Zealand, but also the DIY culture that is so prevalent there
Photograph: P L S Vermeulen Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Been there May 2010: In Venice, a gondolier waits for customers — In Venice, a gondolier waits for customers
Photograph: Bryan Brooks Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Been there May 2010: In the Jordanian desert — In the Jordanian desert
Photograph: Kerry Grainger Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Been there May 2010: Wooden sloop, Carriacou — A traditional wooden sloop being launched at Windward, Carriacou, Grenada. The tradition of boat building on the island goes back centuries and whenever a new one is launched it is a time for every one to join in
Photograph: Paul Crask Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Been there May 2010: Car mirror — Car mirror
Photograph: Robin Carter Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Been there May 2010: Walk versus run, south London — Slawek Kozdras: Walk versus run: I took this photo in south London and wanted to capture great colours on the wall under a bridge. The moment I pressed the shutter a man ran into the frame from the left and another one biked his way into the shot from the right. I think this photo captures the intensity of the world's best means of transport, feet and bike wheels.

Judge Natalie Meyer: This is another interesting competition entry from Slawek Kozdras, a previous winner of the Been there photo contest. Fantastic timing; just a millisecond later and the composition would have been all wrong. And a nice choice of location with the graphic nature of the billboard which adds to the interesting clean lines of the photograph. Keep up the great work Slawek, I am looking forward to seeing more of your entries!
Photograph: Slawek Kozdras Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Been there May 2010: View from a rickshaw, Kerela, India — Libby Powell: View from a rickshaw, Kerala, India.

Judge Natalie Meyer: It would be hard to know if the photographer had similar intentions without seeing more work, but this reminds me of a Martin Parr image. A very interesting "photographer's perspective", with a nice inclusion of the tourist and her camera. A very near winner for me
Photograph: Libby Powell Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Been there May 2010: New York subway — The winning shot by Mitra Nataraj: The photo was taken on the New York subway and captures what I love most about a city subway: that the train is not just a mode of transport, but a venue.

Judge Natalie Meyer: This is a lovely moment caught on the NY subway. The divided composition adds to the feeling of the photograph being a "stolen moment" rather than a posed shot. I like the different, and very real, expressions on all of the people. Also the sense of friendship and intimacy between the girls, versus the lone, rushed lady on the other side, oblivious to the fun going on beside her
Photograph: Mitra Nataraj Photograph: guardian.co.uk

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