National Geographic unveils winner for the Travel Photographer of the Year Contest 2018
By Globaltimes.cn - VCG, Published: 2018-07-03 19:05:14
The photo titled “Mermaid” was taken by Japanese photographer Reiko Takahashi and is the grand prize winner of the Travel Photographer of the Year Contest 2018. It was Reiko’s first day of snorkeling near Japan’s Kumejima Island and he encountered a curious humpback whale calf. He then snapped a photo of the calf’s beautiful tail as it swam away with its mother. Photo: Reiko Takahashi/VCG
Editor's Note:
National Geographic unveiled the winner for the Travel Photographer of the Year Contest 2018. Japanese photographer Reiko Takahashi won the contest with his photograph of a humpback whale calf as it swam away with its mother.

Thousands of flamingos take off from the beautiful Lake Natron in Tanzania. To take off, flamingos need to build up speed with a short run on the water. As a result, their long, red legs make a series of water ripples on the surface of the lake. Photo: Hao J./VCG
These natural sand towers, capped with large stones, are known as the Earth Pyramids of Platten. They are situated in Northern Italy’s South Tyrol region, and formed centuries ago after several storms and landslides eroded away the earth. These land formations resemble a landscape from an alien planet and are continuously changing. Photo: Marco Grassi/VCG