Location: Ronda, Spain
Date: July 2019
Photographer: Dominic Campagna
University Affiliation: Undergraduate Student
Home Country: United States
Category: Places
Award: Honorable Mention

"Puento Nuevo of Ronda, Spain - This photo depicts a Spanish Bridge in southern Spain which was constructed in the late 18th century by architect Jose Martin de Aldehuela. The Puento Nuevo has quite an interesting history as the bridge was actually used as a mini prison during the Spanish Civil War and even used as a torture chamber during this notoriously dangerous time. I first discovered this bridge using Google Earth and was immediately blown away with its 3D digital appearance on the Oculus Virtual Reality Headset. About a year later, I was visiting Spain and purposefully went out of my way for a day trip to visit this bridge. It is especially meaningful to me because getting to this location was not easy as it required an approximately a 4 hour train ride. Upon arriving in Ronda, reaching the shot location was not easy. I took this shot with the Phantom 4 Pro Drone and the winds, incredibly populated city, and the shaky remote to drone connectivity made getting this shot quite difficult. I had to walk well outside the city and down hundreds and hundreds of steps to the base of the waterfall in order to find a good takeoff spot. To this day, this is my favorite shot I have taken.

Location: Kyoto, Japan
Date: February 2020
Photographer: Paul Woo
University Affiliation: Alumni
Home Country: United States
Category: People
Award: Honorable Mention

"Arashiyama is a magical place in Kyoto, a very popular bamboo forest that is normally occupied by many tourists.

This was the beginning of COVID and the forest was empty and an elderly is walking across with his mask on."

Location: Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, India
Date: March 2017
Photographer: Eric Hobson
University Affiliation: Graduate Student
Home Country: United States
Category: Arts & Culture
Award: 3rd Place

"This photo stands at the epicenter between the battle of good and evil in one of the most vibrant and awe-inspiring celebrations on this planet, Holi. This photo showcases a man allowing himself to be doused with rich colored powder. The Holi festival celebrates the battle of good over evil, this man stand immobile in reverence, accepting the outcome with joy and willingness."

Location: Havana, Cuba
Date: January 2017
Photographer: Jynel Casey
University Affiliation: Staff
Home Country: United States
Category: Arts and Culture
Award: 1st Place

"Colorful vintage cars are a staple of Cuban culture. The owners take great pride in their vehicles that are impeccably maintained. They are the modern-day MacGyver, piecing together parts that were never attended for use in cars. Luckily, I was able to visit and take a tour of Havana in style. The ingenuity is inspiring but also makes you appreciate the little things."

Location: Vancouver, Canada
Date: December 2019
Photographer: Daniel Zaas
University Affiliation: Alumni
Home Country: United States
Category: Places
Award: Honorable Mention

"The start of a 25 mile day of wandering around Vancouver on a lucky good weather December day. I took the photo leaning over the edge of Lions Gate Bridge."

Location: Wuyi Mountain, Fujian Province, China
Date: July 2020
Photographer: Yutong Guo
University Affiliation: Undergraduate Student
Home Country: China
Category: Arts and Culture
Award: Honorable Mention

"This is the hotel where I stayed when I was traveling in Wuyi Mountain. The owner is making Kungfu tea for me. China's tea culture is extensive and profound, and Wuyi Mountain is a place rich in tea.

When making tea, you have to change into the distinctive Chinese tea ceremony dress and use more than 10 tools. The age and variety of the tea can be identified by the aroma left on the lid.

I not only learned the types and manufacturing methods of tea, but also became proud of the wisdom of the Chinese people."

Location: Luohong Art Museum, Beijing, China
Date: September 2018
Photographer: Tianyi Guo
University Affiliation: Undergraduate Student
Home Country: China
Category: Arts and Culture
Award: Honorable Mention

"The LuoHong Art Museum exhibits the photos taken by Luohong, a natural photographer and the founder of one of the biggest cake factories in China. The whole environment and the services were great. In this dark, empty room inside the exhibition hall, the colorful shadows were reflected, creating a lively but quiet atmosphere and visual impact."

Location: Battambang, Cambodia
Date: November 2015
Photographer: Brian Cruickshank
University Affiliation: Alumni
Home Country: United States
Category: Arts and Culture
Award: Honorable Mention

"Fish is an essential ingredient in Cambodian cooking - and therefore an important part of Cambodian culture. This photograph artistically shows two common fish drying in the sun near a market in Western Cambodia. The red fish is trey niet and the other is prahok, used to make distinctive Cambodian fish paste."

Location: Munich, Germany
Date: July 2014
Photographer: Eric Hobson
University Affiliation: Graduate Student
Home Country: United States
Category: Arts and Culture
Award: Honorable Mention

"Fire bring both destruction and birth. When an individual can control fire with a flick of a wrist, they become the momentary gate keeper of exultation and purgatory."

Location: Jinka, Ethiopia
Date: June 2016
Photographer: Brian Cruickshank
University Affiliation: Alumni
Home Country: United States
Category: People
Award: Honorable Mention

"When traveling, one starts to get a sense of a new normal, however that's defined in the country one is visiting. At a rural Omo Valley market, this young man stood out. He was out-of-the ordinary, unique is sea of similarly dressed young men in South Ethiopia. I was drawn to his uniqueness - his half smile, his head covering, his necklaces. It reminds me that being true to ones-self is essential to being authentic."

Location: Orchid Island, Taiwan
Date: July 2017
Photographer: Yu-Chang Wu
University Affiliation: Graduate Student
Home Country: Taiwan
Category: Arts and Culture
Award: People's Choice
Award: Honorable Mention
2021 International Photography Exhibition

"Orchid Island is s small island in Taiwan. The fishing boats are pieced together with individual sections of wood supplied by different tribe members, representing tribal unity."
 

Location: Prague, Czech Republic
Date: January 2020
Photographer: Julian Chamucero
University Affiliation: Staff
Home Country: Colombia
Category: Arts and Culture
Award: Honorable Mention

"Heraclitus said, "you could not step twice into the same river". Similarly, it is not possible to see the same wall twice. The Lennon Wall has been painted and erased countless times. Yet the songs of freedom and hope for a better world will still be there to make us reflect on our own humanity."

Location: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Date: November 2012
Photographer: Anh Bui
University Affiliation: Graduate Student
Home Country: Vietnam
Category: People
Award: Honorable Mention

"I took this photo during the trip to Ho Chi Minh City (Sai Gon). It was a sunny & vibrant early morning when I realize many parents are rushing their kids to school on motorbikes. And there was this boy in his uniform sitting at the back of his grandmother on the bicycle slowly moving with the busy traffic.

I like this photo a lot even though it has been many years. It portraits the vibrant of the biggest city in Vietnam in its typical tropical weather in November. Also, it signifies one of the strangest things foreigners talk about in our country - many motorbikes. Inside the crazy traffic, you can still see a moment where everything blurs out, just the boy and his grandmother on their bicycle, calmly going to school."

Location: Antarctica
Date: December 2019
Photographer: Kate Holland
University Affiliation: Alumni
Home Country: United States
Category: Places
Award: 1st Place

"Back and forth the penguins marched, methodically carving out highways in the snow. Not much in the way of megafauna exists on the Antarctic peninsula and the penguins take it upon themselves to engineer the landscape how they please."

Location: Iceland
Date: August 2016
Photographer: Matthew Marquardt
University Affiliation: Graduate Student
Home Country: United States
Category: Places
Award: 3rd Place

"My father, facing his fear of small spaces, ventured with me into the heart of a glacier cave."

Location: Morocco
Date: September 2019
Photographer: Linda Teufel
University Affiliation: Alumni
Home Country: United States
Category: Arts and Culture
Award: Honorable Mention

"Morocco was one of the only countries that accepted Jews during WW2. They protected them and wouldn't surrender them to Hitler. I wanted to see their cemeteries but didn't expect this. These white mounds are used instead of headstones and there is no identification for paupers or royalty. I found it very moving."

Location: Soufriere, Saint Lucia
Date: August 2020
Photographer: Nathan Peachman
University Affiliation: Undergraduate Student
Home Country: United States
Category: People
Award: 1st Place

"After walking to the beach, I was met a new life long friend, named Kyle. Kyle and I played "cartoons" in the water, splash and made faces at the camera, and ran around the beach playing football/soccer with a plastic bottle. Later, I spoke with his Aunt, Yasmine, who explained to me Kyle was abandoned by his mother and took him in so he wouldn't grow up on the streets. Two days later, they had me over for an authentic St. Lucian meal. It's so incredibly eye-opening to witness how the rest of the world lives. St. Lucian is by no means the cleanest country I've ever been to, but it truly is the soul of the Caribbean and none more embody that idea than Kyle and Yasmine. They have very little but we some of the kindest people I've met around the world."

Location: Lake Como, Italy
Date: April 2018
Photographer: Gloria Jeronimo Zarate
University Affiliation: Staff
Home Country: United States
Category: Places
Award: Honorable Mention and People's Choice

"This was the first big trip that I did with my closest friends from high school. We where walking around Lake Como and we were all taking pictures. In this one my friend is taking a picture of the lake, and you can see the beauty of the place: the lake, the mountains, the wood ships, the climbing plants...it's one of the most beautiful lakes I have ever seen."

Location: Lake Eibsee, Germany
Date: July 2021
Photographer: Ayse Gurer
University Affiliation: Undergraduate Student
Home Country: United States
Category: Places
Award: Honorable Mention

"Lake Eibsee is a crystal clear lake hidden in the Alps Mountains. I took this photo because it was one of the most blue waters I had ever seen. This picture is meaningful to me because it shows how beautiful nature can be when it is preserved and the importance of protecting our environment."

Location: Manang, Nepal
Date: December 2017
Photographer: Bindu Adhikari
University Affiliation: Graduate Student
Home Country: Nepal
Category: People
Award: Honorable Mention

"The person in the picture lives in high mountains. In picture, he is cooking dinner named 'Phapar ko dhido' (thick porridge made with buckwheat flour) which is highly nutritious and popular dish in high himalayas. He was my host for few days while I was there in Pisang, Manang in 2017. Picture shows the way of life of a person in high region of Nepal and I was impressed by the unique way of making this dish. So, I took this picture."

Location: China
Date: October 2021
Photographer: Zechen Yu
University Affiliation: Undergraduate Student
Home Country: China
Category: Arts and Culture
Award: Honorable Mention

"A flower hidden in the corner is as small and exquisite as a girl. The flowers in the corner, when it's lonely and admires itself, the world is small. No matter how small the flower is, you can also feel the breath of spring youth."

Location: Tibet, China
Date: July 2021
Photographer: Chen Linyingzi
University Affiliation: Undergraduate Student
Home Country: China
Category: Places
Award: Honorable Mention

"About Two O'clock, The Mist Cleared Away."

Location: Vienna, Austria
Date: October 2021
Photographer: Carlos Reck
University Affiliation: Alumni
Home Country: Austria
Category: Arts and Culture
Award: 2nd Place

"The Naschmarkt is Vienna's most traditional market. Here you can find art and peculiar souls selling everything under the sun, from clothes to shoes or even vegetables!"

Location: Vienna General Hospital, Austria
Date: September 2021
Photographer: Carlos Reck
University Affiliation: Alumni
Home Country: Austria
Category: People
Award: Honorable Mention

"The news era has become one in which everyone wears a mask. I used to only see this during surgery, but now it's everywhere and left us all with an heavy burden of reality created by covid..."

Location: Koh Lipe, Thailand
Date: December 2021
Photographer: Kelly Becker
University Affiliation: Alumni
Home Country: United States
Category: Places
Award: Honorable Mention

"Typically, November is the start of Thailand's tourism high season. On a normal day, this beach would be cleared of boats, rain or shine. Due to Covid-19, these long tailed boats have been left 'stranded' without tourists."

Location: Chongqing, China
Date: May 2021
Photographer: Jiachen Zhang
University Affiliation: Undergraduate Student
Home Country: China
Category: Places
Award: Honorable Mention

"The outside of Hongya cave looks historical, which makes it very outstanding while nearby a lot of skyscrapers. In this strong contrast between ancient and modern, it is reminding although the past is history, it is a cultural treasure inherited from my ancient, standing until now. Moreover, it is serving tons of people to entertaining and relaxing which makes it like a present given by our ancestors. That is why I name it "Past is present."

Location: London, England
Date: April 2018
Photographer: Steven Hirsch
University Affiliation: Alumni
Home Country: United States
Category: Places
Award: Best in Show

"The double decker bus is a symbol in London. I got the idea of this image from the Harry Potter novels. To create a bus that appeared to be lengthening and shortening at the same time I used a long exposure of 4 seconds as the bus passed thru Piccadilly Square."

Location: Varanasi, India
Date: October 2007
Photographer: Brian Cruickshank
University Affiliation: Alumni
Home Country: United States
Category: Places
Award: 1st Place

"The most holy river for Hindus is the Ganges; the most spiritual place is Varanasi, through which this holy river flows. Varanasi, during the day, is like most of India - chaotic, frenetic. But in the morning, a calming peace takes hold, when the people come to pray. This photograph, taken in the early morning mist, shows a man at prayer on this most holy of rivers and reminds me of Varanasi at its most magical time of day."

Location: Pakistan, June 2021
Photographer: Haleemah Gill
University Affiliation: Undergraduate Student
Home Country: United States
Category: People
Award: People's Choice

"As we drove down the bumpy mountain road from the Saif-ul-Maluk Lake, this man came galloping past our left. He was one the the workers giving joy rides to the children up at the cold attraction. As evening neared, everyone was ushered out quickly because the 45-minue trek down the path was quite impossible in the dark. He noticed us taking videos of him so he slowed down and looped behind us, only to come dashing by again."

Location: Rapperswill, Switzerland
Date: June 2014
Photographer: Eric Hobson
University Affiliation: Graduate Student
Home Country: United States
Category: Places
Award: Honorable Mention

"This photo showcases the golden beauty of a rising hot air ballon as it begins its voyage. Rapperswill, Switzerland is known as the city of roses. Just as a rose blooms and sheds her beauty so does this hot air ballon blooming and giving forth its beauty too the sky's."

Location: Shangri-La, Yunnan, China
Date: June 2021
Photographer: Shih-Hong Lee
University Affiliation: Alumni
Home Country: Taiwan
Category: People
Award: Honorable Mention

"Description: The light is too bright to extinguish the starlight. There is my dim shadow in the starlight."

Location: Isle of Skye, Scotland, United Kingdom
Date: May 2018
Photographer: Jen Morris
University Affiliation: Staff
Home Country: United States
Category: People
Award: Honorable Mention

"A lone photographer waits for the perfect light at the ends of earth in the Highlands of Scotland."

Location: Soufriere, Saint Lucia
Date: August 2020
Photographer: Nathan Peachman
University Affiliation: Undergraduate Student
Home Country: United States
Category: Places
Award: Honorable Mention

"Pictured above/below is Petit Piton, one of St. Lucia's crown jewels. A Caribbean nation in the windward islands, Saint Lucia is an explorers dream. Resting in the foothills of the Pitons, Soufriere is a small fishing village nestled on the shores of the Caribbean Sea. Every night I walked from town to the local beach to watch the sunset with some new friends. We'd laugh and drink, talk and sing. They showed me how St. Luchians really live. I usually don't return on any trip with souvenirs, because it's moments like these that I want to keep forever."

Location: Jaipur, India
Date: December 2020
Photographer: Sharvari Karandikar
University Affiliation: Faculty
Home Country: India
Category: Arts and Culture
Award: Honorable Mention

"I took this photograph in a bazaar at Jaipur as we enjoyed local street food! No words can describe the experience, the best street food ever!"

Location: Cape Town, South Africa
Date: May 2017
Photographer: Kirsten Packer
University Affiliation: Staff
Home Country: South Africa
Category: People
Award: 2nd Place

"I was on a photo walk through the streets of Cape Town when a lorry pulled up at a red traffic light. Workmen sitting on the back of the lorry noticed me and my camera; they began whistling, calling and singing. "Take our photo, we are cool men!" they shouted. That certainly made me laugh and as I raised my camera to my eye to snap the shot they all raised their hands with pride. One thing I miss about home is sharing a uniquely South African smile with fellow citizens."

Location: Gyantse, Tibet Autonomous Region, China
Date: October 2016
Photographer: Lopamudra Basu
University Affiliation: Alumni
Home Country: India
Category: People
Award: 3rd Place

"Photographed in Gyantse Village near the Dzong, Tara looked straight at me with her contagious smile and I could not help but smile back."

Location: Tzfat, Israel
Date: July 2021
Photographer: Benjamin Sorkin
University Affiliation: Undergraduate Student
Home Country: United States
Category: Arts and Culture
Award: Honorable Mention

"I chose this photo for this competition because it captures both the hectic and chaotic experience of street food and the energy of the people of Tzfat, while also showing the craftsmanship and skilled touch that goes into creating the culturally significant dish known as Yemenite Pizza."

Location: Puno, Peru
Date: October 2018
Photographer: Vanessa Burrowes
University Affiliation: Alumni
Home Country: United States
Category: Arts and Culture
Award: Honorable Mention

"Living and working in Puno, Peru for 2 years, it was pretty hard for me to avoid witnessing the seemingly daily street festivals that take place throughout the main city streets. In the buildup to Puno Week, (celebrated the first week of November to commemorate Manco Capac, who, according to folklore, rose from nearby Lake Titicaca to found the Inca Empire), the streets become alive with reveling dance troupes and Andean altiplano music practicing their routines. I was having lunch at a cafe right above the main street Calle Lima when this particular dance troupe spun through my view from the window. My first thought was how alike the shapes of the dresses were to those I had seen in videos of the Sufi Whirling Dervishes. I loved the symmetry and motion simultaneously captured in this picture by the spinning pleated skirts, repeatedly fanning out and retracting again as the ladies whirled and spun their way down the walkway to the tempo of the Sikuri music that followed closely behind them."

Location: Tzfat, Israel
Date: July 2021
Photographer: Benjamin Sorkin
University Affiliation: Undergraduate Student
Home Country: United States
Category: People
Award: Honorable Mention

"During my time in Tzfat, I heard many stories about how the energy of the city was unlike any other city in Israel and even the world. The people are known to be so kind and friendly, and even known to invite strangers with no place to stay into their homes. At this point in the day, we were wrapping up in Tzfat and our tour guide was teaching us a simple song that we could all sing together. We started singing, and really getting into it, putting out arms around each other, and swaying with the rhythm. These people in the photo, complete strangers, joined in with the guitar and even joined our dance circle. It was one of my favorite moments throughout the trip. We were all just people living and enjoying life and it was a really special experience."

Location: Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
Date: May 2019
Photographer: Youjeong Han
University Affiliation: Graduate Student
Home Country: South Korea
Category: Places
Award: Honorable Mention

"Kota Kinabalu is famous for its sunset. Because the color of the sky constantly changes, anyone can find their favorite color in the sky if they wait. The photo is the moment that I liked the most. The sky in the photo was the moment when the sky changed to my favorite color."