Cliffs of Svalbard
Photograph by Stuart Chape
„The high cliffs of Svalbard drop steeply into the sea,” says Stuart Chape, who submitted this picture from Norway’s Arctic archipelago to the National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest. „The eroded green cliffs, remnant snow, and aquamarine sea create an abstract visual impression.”

Procession of the Mysteries
Photograph by Willem Kuijpers, National Geographic Your Shot
Your Shot member Willem Kuijpers captured this shot during the 24-hour I Misteri procession in Trapani, Sicily, during which the stations of the cross are carried through the city on the Friday and Saturday of Holy Week. „I came across this situation on the morning of Easter Saturday,” Kujipers says. „The participants were getting very tired and I had to wait a lot because of the slow movement of the procession. The heavy stations are carried by the guilds of the city, each accompanied by a music group playing funeral music and a group of women and children.”
Kujipers has been attending such processions in Sicily since 2002.

Island in the Sky
Photograph by Shane Kalyn
„There is an ethereal, otherworldly feeling to this photograph, as this little island in the middle of Tumuch Lake in northern British Columbia appears as if it’s floating in the clouds,” says Shane Kalyn, who submitted this photo to the National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest. „To bring us back to Earth, a fish has left a ripple in the water on the left-hand side of the shot. The scene was amazing to witness, let alone be lucky enough to photograph—totally the right place at the right time.”

Burmese Rays
Photograph by Marcelo Castro
„In Old Bagan, Burma [Myanmar], a young monk finds a perfect light source to read his book inside a pagoda,” says Marcelo Castro of this picture he submitted to the National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest.
http://photography.nationalgeographic.com