Moremi game reserve, Botswana. Category: Portfolio. This photograph was taken from a Cessna plane and shows the approach to the reserve in Botswana’s Okavango Delta region. This is one of the many tributaries of the Okavango basin that snake through the landscape following the annual run-off of rain from the Angolan highlands. (Photo by Daniel Burton/National Geographic Traveller UK)





Nambiti game reserve, South Africa. Category: Portfolio. “Our game ranger had been informed of mating activity within a group of lions. When we found the group, the sudden torrential downpour put a halt to the lions’ activities but created a different photographic opportunity. The lions were completely exposed to the elements with no nearby shelter on offer”. (Photo by Miguel de Freitas/National Geographic Traveller UK)





Yala national park, Sri Lanka. Category: Action. “The daylight was fading and I was scanning the bush for a leopard. Then, I saw this garden lizard and a common bronzeback snake in the road. When the snake struck, the lizard performed amazing acrobatics to avoid it. The snake didn’t enjoy the extra attention from the crowd of jeeps. The distraction gave the lizard the chance to live another day”. (Photo by Sajith Buddikha Withanage/National Geographic Traveller UK)





Corcovado, Rio de Janeiro. Category: Urban. “After a couple of hours waiting between rain showers and with the light fading, I had almost given up hope of seeing the classic vista across to Sugarloaf mountain. But suddenly the clouds parted to reveal Rio in all its glory. As light flooded across the city, I noticed the shadow of Christ the Redeemer fill my frame and quickly took a series of shots, just as a rainbow briefly gave the statue its own halo”. (Photo by Ben Goodwin/National Geographic Traveller UK)





The Watering hole, New Forest, England. Category: Nature. “The skies turned dark but the sun snuck through the clouds bathing the forest in a beautiful golden light. Then out of the purple heather came a herd of horses, heading for the watering hole for their evening drink. I took a number of shots but waited patiently in the hope that they would circle the water in perfect symmetry – and they almost did”. (Photo by Daren Baker/National Geographic Traveller UK)





Dunluce Castle, Co Antrim, Northern Ireland. Category: Nature. “I was due to catch a train and didn’t have much time, so I just took a few pictures quickly. When I got home I reluctantly inserted the memory card and I saw this picture. And I hadn’t even realised there was cloud like that on the day”. (Photo by Rashid Khaidanov/National Geographic Traveller UK)





On the train, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. Category: People. “I always ask permission before taking a photo and generally people are very generous, curious and helpful. I spent two mornings riding trains and this is the result”. (Photo by Marco Pozzi/National Geographic Traveller UK)





Bead man, Kathmandu, Nepal. Category: People. “While touring Bhaktapur, near Kathmandu, the brightly coloured door and hanging beads of this shop caught my attention. This sweet old man in national dress took great pride in his handmade beads”. (Photo by Francis Cox/National Geographic Traveller UK)





Day of the Dead, Cancun, Mexico. Category: People. A woman dressed in skull-candy face paint and costume to celebrate the Day of the Dead festival in Cancun’s El Parque De Las Palapas. (Photo by Laura Jane Dale/National Geographic Traveller UK)





Sunset in Salalah, Oman. Category: Nature. “Salalah was my starting point for an expedition to cross the Rub Al Khali desert, also known as the Empty Quarter. I was preparing my equipment when I spotted a young man training his horse on the beach, backlit by this beautiful orb of a sun. I grabbed my equipment and sprinted towards the beach, changed my lens to a 400mm and snapped about three shots before the sun disappeared below the horizon”. (Photo by Stuart Dunn/National Geographic Traveller UK)





Photographer Toby Trueman took while travelling to Hong Kong on a video commission for his company, Heehaw. It has been entered in the Urban category. (Photo by Toby Trueman/National Geographic Traveller UK)





The church of St. George, the most famous in Lalibela, Ethiopia, shaped in a Greek Orthodox cross. It was carved by hand and completed in over 20 years. (Photo by Mario Adario/National Geographic Traveller UK)





This photo was taken on a Singapore Night Safari. The photographer managed to not only capture the fire as it curled into the shape of a horse-head but also as the flames illluminated the man and his own swirling tattoos. (Photo by David Candlish/National Geographic Traveller UK)





In the evenings people gather to watch the sunset over the town of Oia on the northern tip of Santorini’s crater. The view is incredible, so much so that the sunset has now become a bucket-list tourist attraction. (Photo by Matt Parry/National Geographic Traveller UK)