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AHB Photo Comp Winners

To the victors go the spoils as they say in the classics. Although we were only able to award said spoils to three individuals, the overwhelming amount and quality of entries made it near-impossible to choose. With that in mind we’d like to take the chance to sit back and celebrate both the winners and the top 50-odd finalists. In no particular order, we present the cream of the crop!
Second Place Around Mandurah in the last 10 years property developers have built a huge number of new residential developments which has displaced many of the native animals including these kangaroos. They seem to have adapted quite well by living in the suburbs and eating people’s front lawns. Simon Deadman, AUS

The Kurds of northern Iraq celebrate Newroz, a Kurdish New Years celebration, each year in March. I had heard about the torch bearers that run up and down the mountains of Akre while tracers from machine guns and fireworks light up the night sky, but nothing prepared me for how visually intense an experience it truly was. This shot was taken halfway up a mountain just as the young men were beginning their descent – carrying the fire into the center of the town of Akre.

Cengiz Yar, USA

In Utah’s remote Cathedral Valley, the Temples of the Sun and Moon are bathed in the last light of a cold winter’s evening. I was lucky enough to share this incredible place with just one other human, though not surprising given the temperatures and condition of the road to access these curious monuments. Cody Cobb, USA

Third Place

I had been driving through lava fields for 4 hours, crossed a river with a submerged vehicle in it all while having no phone reception. I was wondering why I even decided to travel solo around Iceland in a camper van and why there were no other cars on this path when in the distance a tiny base camp came into view. I parked the camper and followed a small wooden sign pointing to ”Askja” in the distance. It was a long walk through a smooth lava field with snow. I knew that once I got over this field, I was going to see something special.

Erin Hoffstetter, USA

Dog-sledding, Lapland, -35 degrees. There’s no greater rush than sledding behind a team of racing dogs in the perpetual twilight of a Swedish Lapland winter.

Kade Greenland, AUS

We got to the station super late and missed getting sleeper beds on this 12 hour journey from Bangkok to Chiang Mai but we were so keen to leave the ladyboys and lads-on-tour that we opted for a normal seat without hesitation. Once the train started gaining speed and bringing in massive bugs into the carriage through the massive open windows, the warm buzz of too many Chang’s at the bar next door started to wear off & spent the hours of darkness trying to retain body heat/ trying to grab a nap on the hard plastic seats all whilst holding in our piss so we didn’t have to face the hole-to-track toilet full of colourful spiders. But when the sun came up and showed us the jungle, we were hanging off the railings in between the carriages laughing at the people in their silly little beds missing a truly special moment.

Hollie Fernando, UK

I went to a car show at the Virginian Lodge in Jackson, Wyoming while I was working at Grand Teton National Park. Jackson is well known for it’s tourist attractions and wealthy people living in Jackson Hole so a car show is no surprise. This lone car was near the back of the Lodge sitting alone and serendipitously, a plane happened to pass over at the same time.

Patrick Warner, USA

My friend Lex and I are both journalists, and we once traveled to Norway to find Trygve, a guy we were making a story about. We found him on the shortest day of the year, when he was swimming in a ice-covered lake. We extensively interviewed the bearded Norseman about his frozen, dead grandpa – Trygve believes that if you keep a corpse cold enough, it will at some point in time be possible to resuscitate it. He also thinks that ice baths are healthy for anyone who is still alive – that’s why he went for a swim in the middle of the harsh winter.

Joost Bastmeijer, NLD

These are baby waves for the surfers of Iquique. It was the tail end of summer and six foot midgets were rolling in most days. The locals were practising their best Taj Burrow impressions while they could. In a few months the swell kicks it up a notch to create monster 16 foot beasts. Not exactly the kind of conditions you can treat as play time.

Chris Hillary, AUS

I’d always wanted to photograph arctic landscapes, so after months of saving up, I planned a trip to Arctic Northern Sweden with three of my friends in January. I wasn’t expecting to take my cameras out on the plane, but this view of the sunrise at the very beginning of our journey was too good to miss. We were so thrilled to witness our first ever plane sunrise.

Maya Beano, UK

What’s life without a little bit of risk? You’ve got to give up something to gain a little more. Yosemite isn’t really the place to be going to far with risk. Throw in a dash of stupidity, and with enough luck, everything lines up better than you’d imagine.

Chip Mooney, AUS

Ganbold, a Mongolian herder from Galuut sum, Bayankhongor province shown wrestling a young horse as it receives its yearly hair cut. Mongolian herders sell the hair for a few dollars per kilo. A herd of 50 horses produced around 10 kilos. Taken this April during my ongoing Fulbright-mtvU Fellowship focused on recording traditional music performed by Mongolian and Kazakh herders.

Dimitri Staszewski, MNG

Setting off from Calgary to Canmore in the early hours of the morning, I hoped to start hiking as the sun was rising. In my haste however, I missed one of the hikes turnoff, and ended up walking through a mountain pass for about 3 hours. Following a small stream that ran through the pass, I kept walking and listening to squirrels and birds flitting about, stopping to take photos along the way. As the sun peaked over the mountains, a beautiful soft beam of light streamed into the pass, transforming the colours of the rocks and trees.

Morgan Crowcroft-Brown, AUS

First Place

This fishing village operates on the outskirts of Wilpattu National Park, Sri Lanka. The occupants had been driven out during the 26 year civil war, only returning in the past two years. I had never seen a pair of eyes as intense as his; he allowed me to photograph him the entire time he was untangling the nets, but I only felt comfortable taking a handful of shots.

Darsh Seneviratne, AUS

Kerlingarfjöll in the Icelandic highlands is one of those places that doesn’t seem real even when you’re just there hiking through it. Our path led through along snow fields and geothermal rivers that were quietly co-existing next to each other and hiking through it made us feel like entering a different planet.

Nicola Odemann, GER

Navigating a rental car can be a tricky thing in Patagonia, an estimated two hour trip can take 30mins or five hours depending on what side of the Andes you’re on. A paved road can give way to gravel without warning, some roads on maps don’t exist and some roads that are not on maps do exist. It can be a wild and arduous ride but the views, such as the mountains of El Chanten, Argentina made it all worth it.

Yvette Scott, AUS

I took this photo from my hotel window in Columbo, Sri Lanka. I will never forget how casually men in business suits, holding brief cases were hanging out of the open doors and onto the side of the packed trains as they sped towards Colombo main station in the early morning rush hour.

Jacob Wallwork, AUS

I cant really remember where this was in Mexico. I blame the mescal. It was on the side of the road in northern Mexico. Cafe Fer. 24 hrs.

John Laurie, AUS

Located in a large valley in Northern Utah lies a 150,000 acre ranch. With 1,500  head of cattle, the rancher spends everyday working to keep them safe.  Every cow is accounted for by branding.  5-10 Cowboys come from different parts of the west to help wrangle these cows and get them branded and protected from harm.

Dewey Albert Keithly, USA

From the neighbor island Lombok we had seen the sunset over Bali and Mount Agung.  We took the ferry to Bali to hike the volcano the next day. We reached the top before anyone else and could enjoy a starry sky at the top of the world alone.

Amund Erdal, NOR

Colca Canyon in Peru is situated 160km from Arequipa, it  is the second deepest canyon in the world. Twice as deep as the Grand  Canyon in the USA. The perfect place for some breathtaking hiking into the canyon where these extreme paths take you through little villages.

Jan De Roos, BEL

My greatest feat of travel has been an overland journey of more than 2000km; a gruelling 40+ hours in trucks, buses, chappa mini vans and on the back of motorbikes to reach the small island of Ilha de Moçambique on Mozambique’s northern coast. The small crescent shaped island is connected to the mainland by a 3km bridge, and is a melting pot of cultures; stemming from early Portuguese colonialists in the 15th Century, acting as a trading port for Persia and Arabia, having strong immigration ties to Macau and India, as well as integrated local Makua tribe culture. The island is a place where on cobbled street corners, you will find Islamic mosques and madrasas, Hindu temples, Catholic churches and a beautifully diverse way of life.

Jonathon Collins, AUS

I was sitting down at the dinner table with my family after our usual Sunday night roast when I noticed the mountain had some snow on it.. I got my brother to come along and hit the road. Mid-drive we got caught in a small blizzard and the small amount of snow soon turned into a lot of snow. Just goes to show that sometimes you just gotta go.

Nick Green, AUS

It’s weird to be in a zoo when it’s winter. Dark and sad.

Burçin Esin, TUR

Fire Works’ – 35mm, Leica R4s, 2015. Soon-to-be married Joel firing off a Roman candle at sunset during a 4-day bachelor party on the St. John River, in NB, Canada.

Corey J. Isenor, CAN

That day in the afternoon, I and my friends went to the mountains for a trip. Once there we walked up to the top in the deep snow. Someone launched the idea to make a fire. So we collected some wood and we tried to light it there in the snow. Anyway it turned out to be a good idea because in the evening it became colder and colder. Walking around I suddenly saw far away the green sky and, just below, the bright orange fire making a wonderful contrast. I totally loved it.

Lorenzo Scudiero, ITA

Whist on a Californian road trip at the top of the list but the last place we made it to was Yosemite National Park. Driving into Yosemite Valley the scenic views make it hard to concentrate on the road so we stopped of at a look out point only to find that the other vacationers were just as photogenic as the nature in the background!

Marcel Rollock, USA

The end of a solid day of surf in Half Moon Bay. Its crazy to think Mavericks is just around the corner. I’m usually one for all natural light, but having the added element of the headlights of cars help make this image I think. It’s the meeting of two cultures: the business/rush hour side, and the natural fun-loving side.

Adam Raymaker, USA

‘I began to feel the land as my home, as if I was returning to it after a thousand lifetimes in exile’

Travellers walk along the beach on day 3 of the 5-day Otter Trail. The trail crosses an incredible ancient wilderness so removed from the modern world that to experience it is to lose yourself in time.

Megan King, ZAF

Free Diving with Moby Dick.

We want to share stories about our journeys above and under sea level, immersed in all sorts of waters, our travels, our favourite encounters, our sports challenges, our hassles, our friends… We are not free diving champions, high-level swimmers, professional photographers, or even marine biologists, just human beings and Parisians passionate by salt water, its entire wildlife, but also swimming pool chlorine or other frozen lakes.

We spend a lot of time splashing around the globe and we simply wish to share our experiences on these topics.

Alex Voyer, FRA

When planning our Iceland trip, we always knew that Dettifoss would be a highlight (especially since seeing the epic opening scene of ‘Prometheus’). We looked across to the man on the other side, and thought how precarious it looked where he was standing, so close to the edge. It wasn’t until we had finished taking shots of the roaring glacial waters, that we realised the little rock ledge we ourselves were standing on was only joined to the rest by a very small piece of earth, and that he was probably looking at us thinking the very same thing.

Amberly Kramhoft, AUS

On my final day in Cappadocia I got up before sunrise and hiked to the top of the town of Göreme to watch the hot air balloons rise above the morning mist. It was a cool morning and deathly quiet save for the intermittent roar of ignited burners lifting the balloons slowly skyward. I was the only soul there.

Tim Cilento, AUS

We woke up that morning to a fresh blanket. We heard wild turkeys behind the cabin and went to check them out. Before we knew it, we were farther deep in the woods than we all had realized. It was perfectly quiet, and only the slightest sounds seemed to be heard. I snapped this as the gun was being handed off across a small river, a reminder of what we had in store for us that day. Moffatt, Michigan.

Matthew Price, USA

For me, this photograph is much more than a simple snapshot from one hot magical swamp adventure through the heart of Florida. It represents one of those fleeting eternities which we all seek in our adventures, when everything comes together, is just so; when past & future flow away; when our realities, in a sudden flash of illumination, shiver & swell & become so charged with radiant beauty that our breaths catch & our hearts ache, & we are lost to the glorious, thrilling grandeur rippling through us… All is clear. This is IT. WE ARE ALIVE!

Justin Ford, USA

With the next land mass in-front of me being over 6 and a half thousand miles away, it really drove home just how big this small planet is.

Ben Emrich, UK

Show Pony.

Lloyd Stubber, AUS

We took a road trip from Montreal to Vancouver one winter, with an old 80s Dodge Ram van. After days of driving through endless roads across the country we reached the road from Banff to Jasper in Alberta. Our van was too low to make it through the thick layer of snow. But the experience of exploring through the snowy mountains and the green pine trees under this bright sun was unique! To fit this raw atmosphere, we opted for the analog camera to capture the moment.

Stéphane Guigné, FRA

There are various legends around the Old Man of Storr and it’s clear why once you’re there. From miles away you can see the unusual black jaggy rock towering majestically out of the rugged landscape. Up close it’s an absolute beast. It was drizzling on the walk up (of course) but being Scottish we didn’t take any notice. As we got closer the drizzle stopped and instead a ghostly mist engulfed us and Storr. We stood, like little ants, in awe of the sheer scale and otherworldliness of the pinnacles, now framed by brilliant white swirling fog.

Kirsty Gillan, UK

A group of Peruvian nuns on holiday on the Bolivian salt flats.

Nick Doring, AU

We like to visit abandoned, deserted places: they have a unique beauty because the society stopped to believe in them. We went to an old hotel, with a big empty pool on the top. The stairs were falling down in some points but we decided to go upward to the top anyway. There we started to throw stuff around, run from side to side of the rooftop and do some other crazy things. One of my friends kicked some dust in the pool and I shot him at the highest moment of his jump. This shots means to me that we can live an adventure anywhere, with anyone and with anything: if you have and adventurer hearth it will spread out of your body making your life free and beautiful.

Lorenzo Scudiero, ITA

This was the first time we saw the wildebeest migration in the Serengeti – it was one of those moments on safari that sneaks up on you. You spend the morning looking for it and then all of a sudden the truck ends up right in the middle of a mass of mythical African animals. I ended up living in East Africa for two years after that, but nothing quite topped this day.

Emma Wanchap, AUS

As a part of a desert road trip throughout Arizona, Utah and Nevada in 2013, my brother and I visited Monument Valley. Most people would know Monument Valley from old and modern western movies and its huge red rock formations makes it a popular spot to visit for any landscape lover driving around the USA. It’s my favourite spot in the USA to visit and I was lucky to capture this great shot with the shadow from the clouds coming across the front of the massive formations and the four wheel drive taking tourists around below being completely dwarfed by the whole scene.

Anthony Christie, AUS

The landscape along the trail to Everest Base Camp changes rapidly from forested hills, to grassy plateau, to masses of ice and rock. Every moment is beautiful and you forget the anticipation of what lies ahead.

James Baker, AUS

A horse covered in snow after the storm stands still. Shot in a farm in North Iceland.

This is part of a travel diary shot in Iceland. It is however about an internal journey as I experienced for the first time the natural phenomena known as the ’whiteout’, this is suddenly being in the middle of a snow storm, unable to see anything around you, there are no references points at all, the individual is left with a distorted orientation and it just feels as if everything around you disappears. Only for a few minutes you are in the middle of a big void.

Jahel Guerra, VEN

Located just after town of Bishop, boiling water bubbles up into this creek, superheated by a magma chamber buried three miles beneath the surface.  The product of a journey through complex underground piping, the process takes roughly a thousand years before the water is released aboveground.  This particular section has claimed over 10 lives since the 1970s, as sudden eruptions of molten water surprise tourists, blissfully soaking in the expansive views of the Sierras after a long day in the mountains.

Kellen Mohr, USA

Euro Honeymoon 2/3 – Sunbathers and colors on the beach of Monterosso al Mare.  Monterosso is the first of five villages in Cinque Terre on the coast of Italy.  Old world charm and wineries abound on this small stretch of coast.  Each village a couple hour hike from the next, or opt for the train ride through the hillside and you’ll be at the next stop in minutes.  If ever a place was destined to be on postcards, Cinque Terre was it.

John Lucarelli, USA

Trail riding through the canyon at dusk with friends on an 800-acre ranch outside of Rifle, Colorado while traveling cross-country with 4 women, a 32ft Airstream in tow and a dog named Charlie for #thehatterandthehound.

Amanda Leigh Smith, CAN

The summer of 2013 was extremely hot. Ann and I went camping to the black sea. We were living in a tent, drinking local sugary wine and eating watermelons for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Unfortunately, this shot one of few that managed to survive after my camera had crashed from the rock but it fully reflects our hot adventure. The serenity, the heat, the sweet dizziness..

Anna Zherdeva, RUS

Elyse wandering through the beautiful high alpine of the Valhalla Range, Southern BC. It’s at least 60km to the nearest paved road, 10 from any road at all, filled by peaks named after Norse Legends, the Valhallas are a mystical range guarded as a secret to residents of the Kootenays. Don’t tell them I told you.

Elliot Kramer, AUS

Smoke and steam from a controlled prairie burn.

Hudson Gardner, USA

It was the first days of August.

It was the first day of our holiday together.

It was the first time that he used his holidays to spend time in the mountains.

It was the first time he went to 3000 meters.

It was the first time that he felt the thrill of the majesty of the rocks.

And I was there.

Sofia Podestà, ITA

This was taken flying high somewhere over Saudi Arabia, an unknown mountain range hazed in the blue of the earth’s atmosphere. Staring down at these veins of the earth made me wonder of all the explorer’s that may have ventured through this baron yet beautiful range. The untold stories of ancient adventures carved within the crevasses that only the earth will ever know.

Elliot Fairhurst, UK


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