55 Top Travel Photos From Capture The Colour Competition

With the winners of the Capture The Colour contest to be announced this week, I’d like to share some of my favourites with you.

I can’t claim to have viewed every entry but I have spent the last few days visiting hundreds of travel bloggers around the web and there’s a lot of talent out there; with some very good collective sets, in a variety of themes – all around colour, of course.

As well as following links to blog posts from the #capturethecolour twitter tag and the Travel Supermarket Facebook page, I also browsed the images on the Travelsupermarket Pinterest Boards; almost 600 in each colour category.

As their boards didn’t seem to be followed by much more than 70 people, perhaps it won’t hurt to share the blogger love a little further.

While looking around the travel blogs I also pinned my favourites to five specially created boards: Blue, Green, Yellow, White, and Red.

The number of images I collected are about ten to twelve in each category. I wasn’t aiming for a ‘top ten’, it’s just how it turned out.

The selection of these images does not attempt to pick a winner, nor influence the judging process in any way. Entering the competition was a lot of fun; the taking part enhanced by travelling around the world through the eyes of others.

Let’s run through my favourites, in the order I pinned them.

Favourite Blue Travel Photography, inspired by Capture The Colour

The Blue Gondolas in Venice will not be winning because it’s a judge’s example from The Planet D. I did see a similar photo from Venice entered in the contest, which may be considered a shame.

It makes a change to get away from the sky and sea for a reflective look inside the bottle in Tallinn’s Raeapteek pharmacy, Estonia – from Runaway Brit.

The national bird of India, posing in Rajasthan – from Breathe Dream Go.

Lake Tekapo, New Zealand – Love the striking blue playing with the white; or is it the white playing with the blue? Either way will do – from Finding The Universe.

I’ve been over and under Lánchíd (Széchenyi Chain Bridge) in Budapest many times but have never seen it in this light before. I also appreciate the low angle, getting nice and low to the floating ice – from Kat Clay.

Le Louvre, Paris – from Paris Through My Lens.

Blue starfish on a beach in Bohol, Philippines. Its simplicity is striking – from The Black Twig.

Hagia Sofia Workers. A nice capture of a quiet moment; and the eye keeps getting drawn back to the blue, where the people are – from Wired 2 The World.

I like the ‘portrait of a vendor in East Jerusalem‘ because it’s so far away from the common sky and sea images, yet the wonderful shades of blue still give it an East Mediterranean feel – from Travel Reportage.

Venice Carnival. Nice and tight photo with sharp focus and no distractions – from Valerie and Griffin.

Girl playing football after school in Awasa, Ethiopia – from The World is Just Enough.

Favourite Green Travel Photography, inspired by Capture The Colour

Maybe it’s because I like waiting for trains and the Trans Siberian Railroad is still on my list; maybe it’s because I’ve never been to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; or maybe it’s that I wish I’d taken the photo myself. Green with envy – from The Polar Route.

I like the yellowy/bluey play to make up the green in Kerala’s Backwaters, India – from Tricia A. Mitchell.

I’ve never been drawn towards photographing insects but I do like this dragonfly in green – from huawei89 Photography.

A vivid display of green from the red-eyed tree frog; native to the rainforests of Costa Rica – from Enjoy The Journey.

I like the way we’re led down the path and deep into this bamboo forest in Ulsan, South Korea – from The Sajin.

The Ubud, Bali paddy fields are obvious, yet not. This angle wins for me because it’s in the not-so-obvious category of a sometimes obvious subject – from The Wrong Way Home.

The Spirit of The Forest – created by using the zoom during exposure technique. Once overused, I haven’t seen this in a while and it seems to work here – from Montreal in Pictures.

With so many pictures of nature associated with green it’s nice to see something different as these boys splash into the algae-green pools of the Mughal-built Fatehpur Sikhri, an hour’s bus ride from Agra – from Wanderings.

The water tupelo and bold cypress swamp on Natchez Trace shows just how impressive nature can be – from Mastering the Art of Travel photography.

What an interesting perspective of a walk in the park; with a wide-angle lens, long shadows and play-with-me doggy eyes – from Heather Buckley.

With so many green submissions capturing nature this green grabber at a metal recycling plant on the Bronx River in New York City really grabs attention; and what a vivid green it is – from Wind Against Current.

Favourite Yellow Travel Photography, inspired by Capture The Colour

Ballooning at sunrise over La Garrotxa volcanic region of the Catalonian Pyrenees – from Mallory on Travel.

Singapore is one of the most densely populated countries in the world – from Kat Clay.

I like the yellow meandering down the Escalante River valley, as seen from Scenic Hwy 12 in Utah – from Divermaiden.

Looming over the skyline of Yangon is the Shwedagon Paya, also known as the Golden Pagoda. The pagoda lights up the entire city with its golden glow, a beautiful sight visible from almost anywhere in the city – from Wild Junket.

South Africa’s KwaZulu Natal province – from 2Summers.

Pha That Luang (Golden Temple) – Vientiane, Laos – from Untitled Adventure.

Dallol, Danakil Depression (Ethiopia). The lowest point in the African continent and claimed to be the hottest spot on earth. It may look awesome but be warned, it smells of rotten eggs – from La Puerta Entornada.

Tibetan monk lights candles inside the monastery before morning prayers – from The Cinnamon Journey.

Child lighting a candle on a family grave for All Souls Day; Sagada, Philippines – from Living If.

Lao boys kick up dust on the banks of the Mekong in Vientiane, Laos – from Wanderings.

Rome at night, and not a Colosseum in sight – from Travel for Love.

Favourite White Travel Photography, inspired by Capture The Colour

A winter scene on a steep incline had me wondering what the state of the tyres were like on the truck – from My Nomadic Life.

A farmer handing a sample from one of his white wheels of cheese to an early morning patron in Annecy, France – from The Constant Tourist.

Lake Eyre, Australia. The dry salt lake that has only filled completely three times in the last 150 years – from Livin on the Road.

New York City Ballet performing in Saratoga Springs. The shot was something of an accident, but sometimes accidents are just meant to happen – from The Architect of Adventure.

Seeing skiing through the goggles; Columbia Mountains, Canada – from The Adventure Freelancer.

Bolivian Salt Flats – from Landing Standing.

School Girls at the Citadel; Hue, Vietnam – from Transformations Through Travel.

Drinking milk at the Semenggoh Orangutan Sanctuary in Borneo – from Living If.

Alberto is a hermit who’s been living in the mountains of the Tisey Nature Reserve, in Nicaragua, for over 30 years – from The Expert Vagabond.

El Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia; the forced perspective photography capital of the world – from Cynthia Ord.

Favourite Red Travel Photography, inspired by Capture The Colour

Eating Out in Chiang Mai, Thailand. I like the bold red background of the passing songthaew. Often we see a sharp (panned) red with a blurred background, like Ferrais in F1 racing, so this works (for me) as an opposite of that – from Wanderlust and Lipstick.

Locals set paper lanterns adrift in the night sky during the annual Lantern Festival; Tainan, Taiwan – from Matt Gibson.

Australian War Memorial, Canberra – from Dani Carlucci.

Not only has this image captured the colour red, but the facial expressions capture a sensual spirit of the Chiang Mai fest – from Where Sidewalks End.

Drinking red wine from the floating bar on a party-boat trip from Nha Trang, Vietnam. The photo is sharp, tight, full of character and the Vietnamese host even has a red strap to his hat. Probably a good job he’s fitted snuggly into a rubber ring – from i Backpacker Travel.

Hawaiian torch twirling in Maui – from Synne in Tacoland.

While I usually like to see tight composition and graphic elements in photographs, this example of red – which is clearly focused on the lady – beautifully captures the atmosphere of a single moment on a hot summer night in a Chinese street market – from Life on Nanchang Lu.

Adding a fresh lick of paint to the Red Fort in Agra, India. I like the feel to this photograph: the home-made ladders, the enthusiam of the boys and the chap on the ledge without any shoes on. His friend in red shorts has no shoes either. Great story – from Globe Scribbler.

Off to Lunch – Chimi Lhakhang Monastery in Bhutan. I also like the depth of field background blur, where the seated boy looks back out of the doorway towards our main subject – from Mira Terra Travel.

In an emrgency, press the shutter. An interesing look at what looks like an emergency window on a train. I really like the feel of motion while sitting still – from Playground Love.

Indian wedding in Jodhpur, India. There’s a lot going on here and I might have been inclined to crop in closer. It appears the main subject – the bride – is the lady on the left while the photographer has chosen to follow her gaze and bring our attention to the passer-by. Intriguing – from Snaps and Blabs.

Finally

I thoroughly enjoyed finding new travel blogs to keep an eye on and I hope you do too.

Sorry if I didn’t add your photograph to the collection, even if I commented on the blog. There are about five to ten very strong sets which could quite easily pick up points with all five judges. Fingers crossed that yours, or one that you like, is among them.