Winners of the National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest 2012 Aug 15 , 2012 | The winners of the 24 th annual National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest have just been announced , with a group of ten photos coming out on top , plus one Viewer ' s Choice winner . These eleven images were chosen from more than 12 , 000 entries submitted by 6 , 615 photographers from 152 countries . National Geographic was kind enough to allow me to share the winning photographs with you here , from four categories : Travel Portraits , Outdoor Scenes , Sense of Place , and Spontaneous Moments . Also , be sure to see the earlier entry featuring 40 images from the submissions to this year ' s contest . . [ 11 photos ] Use j / k keys or ←/→ to navigate Choose : 1024 px 1280 px A Japanese maple , by Fred An , one of seven Merit winners . " 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 )