June 22 , 2012 The 24 th annual National Geographic Traveler 포토 컨 테스트 is in full swing . The 앤 트리 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 TravelerSPONTANEOUS MOMENTS - 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 ) SPONTANEOUS MOMENTS ? The Running Boy : A young boy is " flying " home . ( Pietro Sferrino / National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest ) SPONTANEOUS MOMENTS - Women ’ s Prayer : This was my first time seeing many women from the youngest to the oldest praying seriously with all of their heart and mind . SPONTANEOUS MOMENTS - Innocence and Icon : The classic American car has become a symbol and staple throughout Cuba . In the back streets of Havana , one who has yet to learn of the country ’ s history , shows her innocence at play . SPONTANEOUS MOMENTS ? Deer Under Falling Cherry Blossom Petals : I sat down on a stump for rest after stroll in Nara Park , and watching deer . They were eating fallen cherry blossom petals , peacefully . Suddenly strong wind blew out and cherry blossom petals were started to fall on the deer . It is like a shower of falling cherry blossom petals . It is called " Hana Fubuki " in Japanese , literally means flower snowstorm . SPONTANEOUS MOMENTS - Chick Dropped in Soup : No , not chicken soup . .. It ' s a literal translation of a Chinese ｅxpression ! for being drenched . Caught this well - dressed lady trying to cross the street in a torrential downpour . SPONTANEOUS MOMENTS - Window Washers : All of the sudden I looked up and there were four window washers way high up on the adjacent skyscraper . I grabbed my camera and started shooting . To get an interesting angle , I went under the glass awning and shot upward . SPONTANEOUS MOMENTS - Swirl : This was taken on 95 th 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 . SENSE OF PLACE ? 4800 Above Sea Level : This shot was taken in Bolivia , close to Sucre city . on 4800 meters above sea level the mountain releases gas everyday from 5 am till 7 am . The gas is hot but not dangerous . It ’ s a beautiful view in the middle of a desert . There is always a lot of travelers stopping and checking out because the place is included on the Salar de Uyuni tour . SENSE OF PLACE - Split : The ancient Old Town of Split ( Croatia ) in February 2012 during the heaviest snowfall in its recorded history . SENSE OF PLACE - Alone : I felt the beautiful landscape of the Earth . SENSE OF PLACE - Cruising in Cuba : The National Highway in Cuba has many stretches where you will not see another car for miles . Then when you do see one , it is an old classic like this 1950 s Buick , which looks at home on the open road with the Cuban landscape of fields and mountains in the distance . SENSE OF PLACE - 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 . SENSE OF PLACE - Snowflakes : Frozen snowflakes on the side window of the car while driving towards the slopes for a great day of snowboarding . SENSE OF PLACE - Waterfall at the WTC Memorial : The World Trade Center Memorial in New York City seemed vast and somewhat sterile until I focused on just a part of the waterfall and was overwhelmed with the feeling of all those fleeting souls coursing down into the abyss . SENSE OF PLACE - Swimming in the Rain : My sister in the south of Chile . We are sitting at home next to the fireplace in our southern lake house when it suddenly began to pour uncontrollably . Had to rush into the lake to take this snapshot ! SENSE OF PLACE - 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 . 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 . OUTDOOR SCENES - Lenticular Over Mt . Rainer : The wonder of the weather . OUTDOOR SCENES ? The Village of Gasadalur : The village of Gasadalur and the island of Mykines in the background . Until a tunnel was built in 2004 , the 16 residents living in Gasadalur had to take a strenuous hike or horseback over the steep 400 meters mountain in order to make it to the other villages . It was a rare sunny day in the Faroe Islands and I had to wait until the clouds rolled in to provide some softer light . I decided to go with a long exposure ( 1 minute 10 seconds ) to illustrate the force of the wind and a serene sea among the isolated islands . OUTDOOR SCENES ? Table Mountain ’ s Cloudy Tablecloth : This gorgeous phenomena of clouds pouring over the top of Table Mountain in Cape Town , South Africa , is what gave the mountain it ' s name . I was mesmerized by this stunning , slow motion , waterfall effect and had to capture it with my camera . .. which I think is impossible to ever truly capture . OUTDOOR SCENES ? Giant Marbles : Like ancient giant marbles , the Moeraki Boulders are strewn across Koekohe Beach on New Zealand ' s South Island . The light of sunrise casts an other worldly hue on these rock formations . OUTDOOR SCENES ? 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 . OUTDOOR SCENES ? New Years : Flying from Bozeman , MT to celebrate New Year ' s with my sister in Minnesota , I awoke from a nap to this incredible view of the sunrise . OUTDOOR SCENES ? Frosted Vignette : An early morning drive along the Pullman Highway coupled with a pale grey sky revealed this beautiful scene . OUTDOOR SCENES ? Middle Americana : Common life for the fifty percent . OUTDOOR SCENES ? Beach Life Moments : Beach life moments in Sicily . OUTDOOR SCENES ? My Balloon : H ' Mong minority children were playing with their balloons on the foggy day in Moc Chau - Ha Giang province Viet Nam . TRAVEL PORTRAITS - Pipedreams : As the call from mosques sound throughout the city , men make their way to begin prayer at this time of Eid . They walk in clothes freshly dressed , through busy streets and building sites . These pipes are some of the obstacles , though also used as shade from the intense sun and as a place of social gathering once prayer has been completed . As for now , men and boys will soon repeatedly bow their heads , all the while strengthening their faith . And I wonder at times , do they ever ask Allah for particular blessings , or do their most intimate hopes remain nothing more than pipe dreams . TRAVEL PORTRAITS - Amazon Boatman : This indigenous Kichwa boatman was our taxi on a recent trip to the Amazon region of Ecuador . It was amazing the control he had over his dugout canoe , which was probably 30 feet long . At one point we had all given up hope when we were caught in the jungle during a flash flood , but he got us out . All without changing facial ｅxpressions . TRAVEL PORTRAITS - 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 . TRAVEL PORTRAITS - Eyes : At the hospital of Dadaab ' s Refugee Camp a weak little girl is hold by her mother . TRAVEL PORTRAITS - Motherhood : Calm Silence shared between a mother and daughter amongst the frenzied traffic along the road to Agra . TRAVEL PORTRAITS - Wet : A swollen creek bed in the desert near Broken Hill in Australia , a local cools off . TRAVEL PORTRAITS - Miss Confidence : Ruth stands in her newly won sash and tiara in her one room apartment that she shares with two other people . Ruth is three feet tall . She entered an able - bodied beauty pageant “ Miss Fabulous Kenya ” competing against hundreds of women . After three intense rounds she walked away with one of the top three prizes “ Miss Confidence ” . The pageant awarded her 5 , 000 Kenya Shillings , which paid for one months rent . TRAVEL PORTRAITS - Looking Back in Time : While walking down the street in Old Havana , I was invited into this elderly woman ' s home . She was lying in bed and told me she wasn ' t feeling well . She asked if I had any Aspirin , which I did have in my purse . As I bent over to give it to her , I noticed this photograph on the nightstand beside her bed . It was taken of her many years before lying in the very same bed . I thought this was very cool .