Travel Image of the Month - March 2022

Thank you to all those who submitted images for March.

This month's judge, Richard Lewis noted:

Twenty-one entries this month with several strong contenders and some difficult choices to be made.  As ever, the assessment emphasis is on that essential sense of time and place which is at the core of what makes a Travel image, together with technical and aesthetic strengths and sheer interest value.

Winning Image

Mighty Matterhorn and Skiers at Gornergrat - Zermatt - Switzerland, by Martin Reece

A straightforward image that exudes sense of place, not only by the presence of the snow-clad mountain range surrounding the subject peak, but also by details such as the snow blowing off it and people's colourful cold-climate clothing.  Composition is strong with that block of colourful sightseers giving it life, and the winding walkway leading into them, featuring the nicely positioned couple toward the foreground. The light is well suited to the image and one can almost feel the quietude to be found in Alpine spaces such as this.

Highly Commended Images

Lone Walker on the Wall, by Bob Chiu

Again a strong sense of place, which is well supported by the composition, with the iconic wall snaking away in three dimensions and the far distant hazy backdrop.  The softer lighting that retains contrast in this monochrome image enhances the mood, while the higher viewpoint emphasises perspective and the sole figure gives a point of human interest and sense of solitude.

Mongolian Retail, by Neil Harris

The sense of place this time comes from the people and their activities, combining with sense of time from in the way that trade is conducted from the open back of the somewhat older colourful truck.  The trio of customers on horseback are gathered alongside the parked truck with its wares laid out for them to see clearly from their elevated vantage point - nothing contrived there.  Nicely framed to contain the points of interest and exclude the non-essential.  The people are clearly separated and engaged in their tasks, resulting in an interesting image of life in Mongolia away from urban centres.

Budapest, by Anton Panchenkov

This is a striking image, largely due to its low viewpoint and much of the scene being observed though the dominant bicycle which frames the adult and child, together with the city buildings beyond the square.  The sense of place comes from the book stall, the architecture, the open square and the bikes themselves.  The image is aided by strong lighting and ensuing long shadows and those silhouetted birds gathering above in the otherwise empty sky.

The winning shot has been added to the Travel Image of the Month page on the website, with the overall monthly winners competing to be the Group’s best travel photograph of the year.

Click here to see winning images from previous years or here to see 2019 winners, here to 2020 winners, here for 2021 winners, and here for 2022 winners