National Geographic Announces Student Expedition Photo Contest Winners

by Kraig Becker on

National Geographic has announced the winners of their second annual Student Expedition Photo Contest, selecting the best images from more than 2,500 entries submitted by high school students from across the country. Those amateur photographers were asked to share their photos that best convey a sense of adventure and exploration, along with a short descriptive caption explaining the image. The entries were then examined by a board of Nat Geo photographers and photo editors who judged them on the overall quality of the photography, the quality of the included caption and the extent to which the image captured the heart of student expedition.

The winner of this year’s contest was 17-year-old Lijah Hanley, whose beautiful image entitled “No Boundaries” can be seen below. He snapped the photo while on a family drive to Dallas, OR, where they were planning a picnic under the stars. Lijah, who finished second in last year’s contest, has earned himself an all expense paid trip to attend a 12-day photography workshop to be held in London later this year.

The second place photo, entitled “Anticipation,” was taken by 16-year-old Julianna Brown and can be seen above. That image earned her a $250 gift card for the Nat Geo store. Third place went to Emily Watson, 18, who received a $100 gift card.

All of the winners, along with the other finalists, can be viewed by clicking here. Judging by the images that are on display there, I’d say there are some very talented photographers in this group.

The National Parks Conservation Association Wants Your Photos!

by Kraig Becker on

The National Parks Conservation Association is looking to send a message to the folks in Washington, D.C., and they’d like our help in doing it.

The non-profit organization is dedicated to protecting and preserving America’s national parks for future generations, but with potential budget cuts looming the fear is that members of Congress may have forgotten just how special those places truly are. That’s where we come in. The NPCA is asking us to submit our favorite photos from our visits to the national parks so that they can be used in an upcoming advocacy video. The hope is that that video will help convey just how passionate travelers are about the park system.

So dig out those photos of you hiking in Yellowstone, climbing in Yosemite or rafting in the Grand Canyon. Share your pics from that camping trip to the Great Smokey Mountains that you took with your dad when you were 10. Whatever images convey great memories from your national park excursions, the NCPA wants to see them.

You’ll find complete details on how you can share your pictures at npca.org/snapshots, which has specific details on how to get the images into the hands of NPCA. There are options to email the files directly, share them via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest or simply to upload them through the organization’s website.

This is our chance to help explain just how important our national parks are to us. Who knows, your photo may just be the one that speaks directly to one of the Congressmen or women who will be deciding their fate in the weeks and months ahead.

[Photo Credit: Kraig Becker]


NPCA SNAPSHOT from NPCA on Vimeo.

Photo Of The Day: The Shanghai Tower Rises

by Jonathan Kramer on

Today’s Photo Of The Day comes from Lawrence Wang, who captured this astounding image of the Shanghai Tower currently under construction. After its completion, the Shanghai Tower will be the tallest building in China and second tallest building in the world, after the almighty Burj Khalifa. This image perfectly captures the chaotic landscape of Shanghai, dominated by glass, steel and concrete.

Pudong, the district of Shanghai that the tower resides in, is a central financial hub of China and has undergone an extraordinary amount of development in the past two decades. Going from nothing but grass and trees to having some of the tallest buildings in the world. It is nothing short of spectacular and indicative of the economic progress that China has seen in the modern age.

As always, if you have a great photo you’d like to share with us, upload them to our Gadling Flickr Pool and it may be selected as our Photo Of The Day.

[Photo credit: Lawrence Wang]

Photo Of The Day: Some Som Tom Salad

by Meg Nesterov on


I don’t mind food photos, even when they clog up my Instagram feed or distract me from my dinner companion. As long as they are interesting and tell me something I don’t know or might not have experienced otherwise, I think they are a great expression of social networking. I spotted today’s Photo of the Day in the Gadling Flickr pool taken by Ladyexpat of a Som Tom Salad. This turns out to be the Thai version of a green papaya salad. Not sure how she grated those amazing shapes that look like waffle fries, but the dish is a combination of the four local flavors: hot chili, tart lime, sweet sugar and savory fish sauce. The photo is full of color, texture, and the brightly painted nails and jewelry give it character. I’ll have what she’s having!

Share your favorite travel food discoveries for the Photo of the Day by adding to Gadling Flickr pool.

[Photo credit: Nancie (Ladyexpat)]

Diver Captures First Full Light Field Underwater Images With Lytro Camera

by Kraig Becker on

The Lytro Camera is an interesting piece of technology for sure. Like all cameras, it is adept at capturing images that we can later share with friends and family. But what separates the Lytro from any other consumer camera on the market is its ability to capture the entire light field in any given shot. That means every ray of light traveling through a scene is captured and embedded in the image itself. This gives the camera the ability to do some very unique things, such as changing the point of focus of the photograph or altering the perspective of the shot, even after the picture has been taken. This may sound like an odd concept at first, but once you see it in motion, you’ll realize just how very cool this technology really is.

Recently, Lytro’s Director of Photography Eric Cheng took one of these cameras with him on a trip to Indonesia. As a professional photographer and avid diver, Cheng hoped to be able to snap the first underwater images ever taken with this groundbreaking little camera. Using a specially built waterproof housing, he was able to do just that and Lytro has been kind enough to share the images with Gadling readers.

The photo below is not only a great example of what Eric was able to capture with his Lytro but also an indication of the technology behind the device. If you click on any part of the image, the photo will automatically update its focus to that point. Clicking and dragging gives you the ability to shift perspective a bit, while double-clicking will zoom in on that particular part of the image.




More Lytro photos after the jump!Here’s another image that really shows off what the Lytro is capable of. It features a tiny fish hiding close to a beer can and at first glance it appears to be completely out of focus. You can change that by clicking on an area of the image, sharpening up the photo in the process. And when you click and drag to shift perspective, you get an almost-3D effect that also alters the image dramatically.




Finally, we have this shot that illustrates the cameras abilities once again, this time with the scary face of a lizardfish staring out at us. The focus-shifting and 3D features of the Lytro are put to dramatic effect in this image, which was taken in Indonesia’s Triton Bay.



For a look at more of the images that Eric captured with his Lytro camera, check out the full image gallery here. And to learn more about the Lytro camera itself, visit the company’s website. The device carries a $399 price tag and opens up some interesting and creative opportunities for photographers of all types.

Lytro would like to extend a special thanks to Nauticam, who manufactured the prototype underwater housing, and to Light & Motion, who provided SOLA 2000 video lights for the shoot.



[Photo Credit: Lytro]