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6th Annual Photo Contest Winners and Finalists

See the winning photos from our 2008 contest

FINALIST: People
A man washing in Malowi
Malowi, Africa • Photographed March 2006 Jayson Carpenter
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FINALIST: Natural World
A tiger underwater
Vallejo, California • Photographed July 2008 Pam Wood
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FINALIST: Natural World
Forest fire remains
Kootenay National Park, Alberta, Canada • Photographed January 2006 Paul Colangelo
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WINNER: Natural World
A starfish greets the sun after a hurricane
Kiawah Island, South Carolina • Photographed October 2006
Walking the beach after a strong storm struck Kiawah Island, S.C., Pendred found a starfish washed ashore, its arm gently uplifted. "In my mind," he recalls, "I thought that was a cry for help, or maybe it was just trying to say, 'Hello, please try not to step on me.' I took a few photos and then picked him up and laid him back in the water." Brandon Pendred
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FINALIST: People
Room 11
Montreal, Canada • Photographed February 2008 Daphne Caron
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FINALIST: People
Walk on Water
Uyuni, Bolivia • Photographed January 2008 Hayden Carlyon
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FINALIST: People
An old Himachali man smoking at a local festival
Shimla, India • Photographed September 2008 Himanshu Khagta
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FINALIST: People
Bus station guardian angels
Romania • Photographed July 2007 Horia Popan
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FINALIST: People
A Vietnamese woman selling flowers on the streets of Hoi An
Hoi An, Vietnam • Photographed February 2008 Nara Rocha
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FINALIST: People
Aliwan Festival
Manila, Philippines • Photographed May 2008 Rodolfo Vicente
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FINALIST: People
A man working in a cast-iron workshop
Khulna, Bangladesh • Photographed July 2008 Shaikh Mohir Uddin
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WINNER: people
Buffer-class passengers
Chittagong, Bangladesh • Photographed January 2008
"I took this photo while traveling on this train's rooftop,” says Adnan. "In a country like Bangladesh, there are many people who live beside the railway and the railway becomes part and parcel of their lives." Those who could not afford to buy a ticket clambered on top with Andan or teetered between coaches. Wahid Adnan
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FINALIST: Natural World
Chinese Poppy
Barnet, Vermont • Photographed June 2008 Lynne Guimond Findlay
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FINALIST: People
Three kids play soccer in Havana
Havana, Cuba • Photographed August 2006 Olivier Douliery
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FINALIST: Travel
Erik in the World’s Greatest Store
London, England • Photographed December 2006 Edward Schonsett
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FINALIST: Travel
Jujing Village
Guangxi Province, China • Photographed November 2007 Hai Yang
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GRAND PRIZE WINNER
In the early morning, fishermen clean their nets by Erhai Lake
Yunnan, China • Photographed October 2008
Ensing and the Chinese fishermen he shot that day did not share a common tongue, but that didn't matter. The language of photography proved universal. "I asked the fishermen if it was OK to take some shots. (In other words, I held up my camera and showed them my most friendly grin.) For more than a half-hour, I made my pictures." Johan Ensing
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FINALIST: Travel
After a hard night's work at sea, a fisherman collects the rope that ties the nets
Digha, West Bengal, India • Photographed August 2008 Kushal Gangopadhyay
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FINALIST: Travel
A mountain dwarfs a passenger boat in the Three Gorges area of the Yangzi River
Yangzi River, China • Photographed January 2007 Shelby Karns
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FINALIST: Travel
Copper Artisan
Mudurnu, Turkey • Photographed December 2007 Kani Polat
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FINALIST: Travel
Ganga Arati
Varanasi, India • Photographed September 2006 Soumyadip Ghosh
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FINALIST: Travel
Michel Frazier plays in the fields next to her trailer
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota • Photographed September 2007 Svetlana Bahchevanova
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FINALIST: Travel
Ancestral Pueblo Indian Kiva
Mesa Verde, Colorado • Photographed October 2008 Stephen Oachs
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WINNER: Travel
Dining in Gion
Kyoto, Japan • Photographed January 2008
Strolling through Kyoto's Gion district, Bratosin looked up and saw the brightly lit restaurant. He felt as if he were peering into a dollhouse carefully arranged with figures inside. "I've looked at this restaurant as the perfect representation of the mixture of traditional and modern, which is present everywhere in Kyoto," he says. Bogdan Bratosin
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FINALIST: Americana
Night Bus
Manhattan, New York • Photographed July 2008 Dina Litovsky
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FINALIST: Altered Images
Hotel Ipanema
Porto, Portugal • Photographed April 2006 Ricardo Leal
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FINALIST: Altered Images
Sattler Theatre
Buffalo, New York • Photographed March 2007 Ali Shah
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FINALIST: Altered Images
Canna Leaves
Poughkeepsie, New York • Photographed September 2008 Russ Martin
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FINALIST: Altered Images
A Philippine native tour guide on Mt. Pinatubo
Tarlac, Philippines • Photographed November 2006 Samuel De Leon
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FINALIST: Altered Images
Rumex crispus seed
Prague • Photographed August 2007 via scanning electron microscopy Viktor Sykora
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FINALIST: Altered Images
A small waterfall by Ruckel Creek
Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, Oregon • Photographed May 2008 Zeb Andrews
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FINALIST: Altered Images
The London Eye on a rainy day
London, England • Photographed March 2007 Emily Steinbeigle
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FINALIST: Altered Images
The Old Glassworks
Szklarska Poreba, Poland • Photographed September 2008 Robert Pietraga
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WINNER: Altered
A toucan on black
National Zoo in Washington, D.C. • Photographed July 2008
"I just love birds. They have such great personalities," says Abbott, who visited the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. to photograph the animals. "The toucan really stood out, with those vivid colors and the large bill," she says. "I spent more time at his exhibit than any other in the zoo. He seemed to be posing just for me." Pat Abbott
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FINALIST: Americana
Route 66 restaurant at night
Rt. 66, New Mexico • Photographed May 2008 Brian Rickards
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FINALIST: Americana
Broken Barn
La Grande, Oregon • Photographed July 2008 Daniel Berman
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FINALIST: Altered Images
Silhouette
London, England • Photographed April 2006 Kim Taylor
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FINALIST: Americana
The littlest cowboy at the National Western Stock Show
Denver, Colorado • Photographed January 2006 Marc Piscotty
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FINALIST: Americana
Outdoor Antiques
Gleeson, Arizona • Photographed August 2007 Robert Jensen
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FINALIST: Americana
Silence and solitude on the late night, Bronx-bound subway
New York City, New York • Photographed April 2008 Mark Hendron
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WINNER: Americana
A ride at the Virginia State Fair
Henrico County, Virginia • Photographed October 2008 Gordon Stillman
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FINALIST: Natural World
A reindeer corral in a Gabna Sami village
Kiruna, Sweden • Photographed January 2007 David Bacher
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FINALIST: Natural World
Where is freedom?
Rădăuţi, Romania • Photographed January 2007 Ghioc Tudor
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FINALIST: Natural World
A Great Egret fishing in shallow waters
Reelfoot Lake State Park, Tennessee • Photographed July 2007 Don Holland
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READER'S CHOICE
Window to the old chapel
Taos, New Mexico • Photographed October 2007
The first San Geronimo Mission in Taos, New Mexico, was destroyed during an 1847 uprising. "From one of the damaged walls," says Monakil, "the view of the cemetery serves as a reminder of the more than 150 people who perished during the revolt." The remnants of the Spanish church stand tall, "as if still protecting its parishoners." Dan Monakil
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FINALIST: Natural World
Chinstrap penguins climbing an iceberg
Antarctica • Photographed January 2007 Isobel Wayrick
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FINALIST: Natural World
Devil City sunset
Xinjiang, China • Photographed September 2006 Jia Han Dong
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FINALIST: Natural World
Portrait of a pig on exhibit at the New Mexico State Fair
Albuquerque, New Mexico • Photographed September 2006 Marc Piscotty
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