The Smithsonian.com 13th Annual Photo Contest recently made an exciting announcement: they've selected this year's winners! With over 46,000 submissions, we're sure the judges had their work cut out of for them, but each chosen image represents a stunningly diverse depiction of the world at large.
Contestants submitted photos in seven different categories, including: Natural World; The American Experience; Travel; People; Altered; Mobile; and Sustainable Travel. Last month, Smithsonian.com narrowed down their selections to 70 finalists and also invited readers to vote for a special Readers' Choice award. A winner was later selected for each category, in addition to the Grand Prize and Reader's Choice.
This year, Albert Ivan Damanik won the Grand Prize for his photo titled Remaining on the Slopes of Mount Sinabung. The dramatic composition showcases Indonesia's Mount Sinabung as it cascades a thick mixture of burning ash and gas along the gray and desolate landscape. It's a powerful reminder of nature's awesome power.
Check out all of the winners of the Smithsonian.com 13th Annual Photo Contest below and visit their contest page to see all of the compelling finalists from this year.
Above: GRAND PRIZE
Photo: Remaining on the Slopes of Mount Sinabung
Credit: ?Albert Ivan Damanik. All rights reserved.
Location of Photo: Mount Sinabung, seen from village of Jeraya, North Sumatra, Indonesia
ALTERED IMAGES CATEGORY WINNER
Photo: Synchronous Fireflies
Credit: ?Radim Schreiber. All rights reserved.
Location of Photo: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Elkmont, Tennessee
NATURAL WORLD CATEGORY WINNER
Photo: A Little Monkey on the Cliff
Credit: ?Hidetoshi Ogata. All rights reserved.
Location of Photo: Jigokudani Monkey Park, N?agano Prefecture, Japan
MOBILE CATEGORY WINNER
Photo: China Red
Credit: ?Jian Wang. All rights reserved
Location of Photo: Olympic Forest Park, Beijing, China
SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL WINNER
Photo: My Time
Credit: ?Tihomir Trichkov. All rights reserved.
Location of Photo: Likoni, Mombasa, Kenya
TRAVEL CATEGORY WINNER
Photo: Women's Compartment of a Suburban Train
Credit: ?TaminaFlorentine Zuch. All rights reserved.
Location of Photo: Mumbai, India
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE WINNER
Photo: Trucker Chapel
Credit: ?Lauren Pond. All rights reserved.
Location of photo: Lodi, Ohio.
PEOPLE CATEGORY WINNER
Photo: Lay Off
Credit: ?Benedetta Ristori. All rights reserved.
Location of Photo: Kyoto, Japan
READERS' CHOICE WINNER
Photo: Orient Express
Credit: Alice van Kempen. All rights reserved.
Location of Photo: Belgium
With the conclusion of this year's competition comes the start of the Smithsonian.com 14th Annual Photo Contest. You can submit your images from now until November 30, 2016. Good luck!
