Readers' travel photography competition – January winners

For January we asked simply for your best travel photos. Landscapes dominated with several shots capturing the drama of mountain scenery. Scroll to see the winner, judged by Mick Ryan of fotovue.com. Each monthly winner will see their shot displayed in the end-of-year exhibition at the Guardian’s London HQ and stand a chance of winning a ‘Secret Fjords’ self-drive holiday to Iceland for two people with Discover the World

1. Juan Manuel Biaiñ

This shot from La Esmeralda, Uruguay, is about capturing a journey that has reached its final destination and contemplating the stories preserved in an ascetic environment.

2. Iren Sipahi

Taken while I was camping in Elan valley, Powys, Wales. The sunrise provided the perfect opportunity to capture this image looking across Claerwen dam.

3.Georgian Toni Mares

This was the alpha male of a large group of deer. Some of the females of the group had wandered off into the overgrown ferns so this buck followed them to bring them back to the group.

4.Keith Britton

I wanted to take some pictures of Hull’s attractions because it has been listed in Rough Guide’s top 10 cities in the world for 2016. A puddle close by made this reflection. I had to get the camera right to the ground to capture it.

5.Mike King

As trekkers walked along the Annapurna circuit, in Nepal, the skies opened to reveal the scale of the Himalayas. I took the photo because I thought the scene gave some perspective to the enormous size of the surrounding mountains when contrasted against the trekkers.

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6.Tyler Collins

Vestrahorn was the reason I went to Iceland. If I was coming home with only one photo from my trip, it had to be of this mountain. I waited 24 hours for the fog to lift, and this was the result.

7.Manjunath Dayanand Pai Raiturker

I think the heart graffiti in the picture (taken in Elphinstone Point, Mahabaleshwar, India) and the macaque climbing down the wall, with a backdrop of a serene and lovely natural beauty, convey a powerful message.

8.John Main

Walking above Zermatt, Switzerland, we knew we must be in a very scenic spot, but were enveloped in thick cloud. So we hung around, ate some Swiss cheese, and … hey presto!

Runner-up

1.Alastair Swan, runner-up

I met these members of a local community council in a small village in a remote area of Rajasthan, India. Delightful, proud gentlemen who were only too willing to be photographed.

2.Mick Ryan, judge

The power of three, or the rule of odds, always creates strong images. More so if you have three interesting characters to record on your travels who look back at you with piercing eyes.Tree tunnels are great to photograph any time of year and this is a special one. They always have a sense of mystery and you can imagine yourself walking under these leafy boughs. This image would be stronger with a tighter crop eliminating space in the foreground.With a sense of scale added by the three figures, this above-the-clouds mountain scene has a strong narrative from foreground to background. When trekking or climbing in the mountains it is often useful to look out for people to include in your composition rather than pure landscape compositions.



3.Heather Cole, runner-up

Tunnel of trees, near the hamlet of Halnaker, north-east of Chichester, in West Sussex.
Jim Metcalf, winnerThe summit of the Weismiess, a mountain above Saas Fee, on the border of Switzerland and Italy; Italy is in the clouds below. I was fortunate to be, with my son, the first to summit on the day. We saw another party following our footsteps along the summit ridge.

sources http://www.theguardian.com/travel/gallery/2016/feb/05/readers-travel photography-competition-january-2016