2010 Frommer’s Favorite Travel Moments Photo Contest Winners
The Favorite Travel Moments Contest celebrates Frommers.com's vibrant community of readers and photographers and is inspired by Frommer's new full-color, full-size Day-by-Day series.
Peter Allinson's image of a whale and his friend perfectly captured his travel moment and won him $4,000 and a Tamron zoom lens. Here's how he describes it: "On this trip my friends and I wanted to swim and photograph some of the local population of Sperm whales that live offshore. We obtained a permit from the fisheries department and chartered a boat captained by Andrew Armour, known as the 'whale whisperer' for his special relationship with the whales. We located the whales and were able to swim, photograph and play with them on multiple days during that week. This is a photo of my friend Jeff thanking one of the whales for posing with us. Interacting with and making eye contact with these huge gentle intelligent creatures was the most memorable moment of my life. May the whale population of the world flourish."
First-Place Winner
The photographer said: "Dominica is a magical island in the Caribbean that is full of wonders on the island and below the offshore waters. On this trip my friends and I wanted to swim and photograph some of the local population of Sperm whales that live offshore. We obtained a permit from the fisheries department and chartered a boat captained by Andrew Armour, known as the "whale whisperer" for his special relationship with the whales. We located the whales and were able to swim, photograph and play with them on multiple days during that week. This is a photo of my friend Jeff thanking one of the whales for posing with us. Interacting with and making eye contact with these huge gentle intelligent creatures was the most memorable moment of my life. May the whale population of the world flourish."
Photo Caption: Diving off the shores of Dominica. Photo by pallinson/Frommers.com Community.
Runner Up's
The photographer said: "Beyond the hedonism that exists in this traveler's mecca, Vang Vieng offers a magnificent abundance of caves to explore. This photo depicts a reclining Buddha at the entrance to one of the caves which I spent several hours climbing through, and which quickly became pitch black."
Photo Caption: Reclining Buddha in a cave near Vang Vieng, Laos. Photo by dklazkin/Frommers.com Community.
The photographer said: "My partner and I took a trip to Alaska and we stopped by the Alaska Wildlife Sanctuary outside of Anchorage. This Grizzly Bear had just finished playing in a little pond and was tired so he climbed up on a log and took a nap."
Photo Caption: Resting bear at Alaska Wildlife Sanctuary outside of Anchorage, Alaska. Photo by Carol Bock /Frommers.com Community.
The photographer said: "Of the places in the world that have fascinated me since childhood, Petra, Jordan has remained at the top of the list ever since I first saw a photo of the ochre cliffs and the incredible Treasury building pictured here. It can be hard to find an unique angle when trying to capture such a famous, oft-photographed landmark, and this photo represents one of my most elaborate and time consuming attempts to find a new perspective. To get to this cliff top, which is less than 200 feet from the Treasury, I ended up hiking over a mile up through the canyons in the blazing midday heat. I was exhausted, dehydrated, and not looking forward to the hike back when I arrived, but it was all well worth the effort to get to see this amazing architectural gem from a bird's eye view!"
Photo Caption: Entrance to the treasury building in Petra, Jordan. Photo by joelmetlen/Frommers.com Community.
The photographer said: "Of the places in the world that have fascinated me since childhood, Petra, Jordan has remained at the top of the list ever since I first saw a photo of the ochre cliffs and the incredible Treasury building pictured here. It can be hard to find an unique angle when trying to capture such a famous, oft-photographed landmark, and this photo represents one of my most elaborate and time consuming attempts to find a new perspective. To get to this cliff top, which is less than 200 feet from the Treasury, I ended up hiking over a mile up through the canyons in the blazing midday heat. I was exhausted, dehydrated, and not looking forward to the hike back when I arrived, but it was all well worth the effort to get to see this amazing architectural gem from a bird's eye view!"
Photo Caption: Entrance to the treasury building in Petra, Jordan. Photo by joelmetlen/Frommers.com Community.