Images from the travel photography of the year awards

1. Travel Photographer of the Year (TPOTY) is a prestigious international photography competition designed to find and showcase the very best in travel photography. It is run by photographers for photographers, and since its launch in 2003 it has become a major annual award, with entries received from over 50 countries around the world. The next few slides show highlights of the last four years of the competition. There is also a young travel photographer of the year if you are interested go to the website

2. Young boy, Kolenze, Mali. Taken by Remi Benali, France. Runner-up, ‘celebration’ single image category, Travel Photographer of the Year 2004

3. Balinese family carrying offerings to the temple, Bali, Indonesia. Taken by Pang Piow Kan, Malaysia. Overall winner, Travel Photographer of the Year 2004

4. A hat trick of penguins, Antarctica. Taken by Amber Maitland, UK. Highly commended, wild portfolio category 2006

5. The Mahamastakabisheka festival, held every 12 years at Shravanabelagola, south India. Taken by Karoki Lewis, India/UK. Winner, ‘festival’, single image, Travel Photographer of the Year 2006

6. Spring lamb, Netherlands. Taken by Gerard Kingma, Netherlands. Winner, single image ‘moment of freedom’ category, Travel Photographer of the Year 2005

7. Lifeguard beach hut, Miami beach, USA. Taken by Peter Adams, UK. Overall winner, Travel Photographer of the Year 2003

8. Beach, north-east Brazil. Taken by André Lichtenberg, Brazil. Winner, wild portfolio category, Travel Photographer of the Year 2006

9. Blackpool, UK. Taken by Chris Parker, UK. Winner, essence of travel portfolio category, Travel Photographer of the Year 2004

10. Havana, Cuba. Taken by Lorne Resnick, Canada. Overall winner, Travel Photographer of the Year 2005

11. Camping, Moonar, Kerala, India. Taken by Mani Puthuran, India. Winner, go beyond portfolio category, Travel Photographer of the Year 2005

12. Wolf chasing Wapiti herd, Yellowstone national park, Wyoming, USA. Taken by Peter Dettling, Switzerland. Runner-up, wild portfolio category, Travel Photographer of the Year 2006

13. The barque ‘Europa’, Antarctica. Taken by Rene Koster, Netherlands. Runner-up, iconic portfolio category, Travel Photographer of the Year 2006