BOSTON.COM

The 24th annual National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest is in full swing. The entry deadline has been extended until July 11. The four categories include: Travel Portraits; Outdoor Scenes; Sense of Place and Spontaneous Moments. Last year’s contest drew nearly 13,000 images from all over the world. The pictures are as diverse as their authors, capturing an assortment of people, places and wildlife – everything that makes traveling so memorable, evoking a sense of delight and discovery. The following post includes a small sampling of the entrant’s work, taken from the editor’s picks in each of the categories. (The captions are written by the entrants, some slightly corrected for readability.) And for fun, take a look back at the winners from 2011 at National Geographic Traveler.

Marrakech Traveler: It was mid-morning and he must have wanted to ride into the light. I was shooting for the ABC TV show Born to Explore when I snapped this photo. (John Barnhardt/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest

Swirl: This was taken on 95th floor of John Hancock Building. I was fortunate to watch as fast moving low hanging clouds swept through the city buildings during late afternoon. A cloud swirled around the Trump Tower for a very brief moment for me to capture two frames. This is one of the two. (Jian Lou/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

Curious: As a kid I was always curious to know where we were going. Always impatient to know the current location, and how much time it would take to get to the destination. Somehow knowing that would make me feel better. On a recent trip on a train early morning I was taking some photos and there was this kid. He was peeping back every now and then and every time the train stopped he was looking at the boards. Once he saw the camera in my hand, he got curious but was not waiting for me to click. It was worth the wait and tries. I love how it just reminds me of my childhood travels. (Gopal Patil/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest

Split: The ancient Old Town of Split (Croatia) in February 2012 during the heaviest snowfall in its recorded history. (Nenad Saljic/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest

Lost in Time – An Ancient Forest: Near the city of Morondava, on the West coast of Madagascar lies an ancient forest of Baobab trees. Unique to Madagascar, the endemic species is sacred to the Malagasy people, and rightly so. Walking amongst these giants is like nothing else on this planet. Some of the trees here are over a thousand years old. It is a spiritual place, almost magical. (Ken Thorne/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest

The Ice Cave Experience: Deep, blue and cold. The frightening experience of climbing inside an ice cave on the north face of alpine summit at 3800 meters above sea level is very difficult to describe in words; especially in summer, when all the glacial ice melts making place for completely new formations. You need to stay focused, pay attention to every single move and commit yourself entirely to this climb. The reward: an amazing experience of climbing something pure and truly unique. (Kamil Tamiola/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest) SENSE OF PLACE - Divine: When light pours over the Taj Mahal everything else clears your mind. The tour guides, the crowds, the construction statistics…all become moot. (Colin Roohan/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

Divine: When light pours over the Taj Mahal everything else clears your mind. The tour guides, the crowds, the construction statistics…all become moot. (Colin Roohan/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

Lenticular Over Mt. Rainer: The wonder of the weather. (Rolland Hartstrom/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

Another World: This is the great Japanese maple tree in the Portland Japanese Gardens.  I tried to bring a different perspective of this frequently photographed tree. (Fred An/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

Middle Americana: Common life for the fifty percent. (Jim Seiler/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

My Balloon: H’Mong minority children were playing with their balloons on the foggy day in Moc Chau – Ha Giang province Viet Nam. (Vo Anh Kiet/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

All Smiles: Our surgical team spent 2 weeks in the Western Highlands of Ethiopia performing obstetric fistula and uterine prolapse surgeries last November. I’ve never seen so many smiling ladies in a hospital before. The love and gratitude was overwhelming. This little girl was an orphan living on the hospital grounds and would come hang out with us on our breaks. Her smile and infectious laugh were an unbelievable gift. I look at this picture often and can’t wait to go back next year. (Kathryn Quenneville/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

Eyes: At the hospital of Dadaab’s Refugee Camp a weak little girl is hold by her mother. (Lucas Mello/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

Wet: A swollen creek bed in the desert near Broken Hill in Australia, a local cools off. (Miles Rowland, National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

_________

MORE ON

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2012/06/national_geographic_traveler_m.html