National Geographic's Travel Photo contest's most spectacular entries

Ventured into the city during the thunderstorm, hoping for a lightning strike photo. I got lucky with this photo after waiting two hours.
Photograph: Vinay K S/2019 National Geographic Travel Photo Contest

This picture is a single shot. This city has a problem of oversupply of taxis. The letters "empty car" displayed in red letters mean "vacant" in English. On the weekend, the city is full of taxis. A lot of taxis are waiting for customers to get in and the sight is a familiar in this city. Driving a taxi is a very hard job.
Photograph: Youhei Nakai/2019 National Geographic Travel Photo Contest

This room the TokyoTower looks dynamic. In the busy city, the natural light entering this room gave us time for relaxing. My wife was reading a magazine, while enjoying the scenery and slow time.
Photograph: Shan W/2019 National Geographic Travel Photo Contest

St Andrews Bay, Sub Antarctic, South Georgia Island: It is moments like this that make the arduous expedition worth it. It takes three and a half days at sea to get to South Georgia -- truly a final frontier. So, when you do get there, you just hope conditions work in your favour. You better be prepared to make it count.
Photograph: Jonathan Lee/2019 National Geographic Travel Photo Contest

On a scientific expedition to SnowIsland, Antarctica, we had as company a colony of more than 200 southern elephant seals. During the days with strong winds, this group formed different designs trying to protect itself.
Photograph: Eduardo Bastos/2019 National Geographic Travel Photo Contest

The trademark of the alpine ibex is it’s imposing, curved horns. The headdress of these unique animals continues to grow annually and can weigh up to 20 kg. The age of the animal can be determined from the grooves. The Alpine ibex belongs to the Bovidae family. I photographed the mighty alpine ibex in the Bernese Oberland, Switzerland. To meet ibexes in the wild is always a unique experience.
Photograph: Jonas Schäfer/2019 National Geographic Travel Photo Contest

I took this photo of an adolescent humpback whale in the South Pacific, several miles off the coast of Tongatapu, Tonga. I captured this as a split-shot with half my dome port submerged, and the other above the surface. This playful whale came right up to me and looked directly into my eyes as the tip of his rostrum glistened in the afternoon sun. Looking closely, you can see Loni, our expert skipper, lining up a surface shot of this incredible encounter from the roof of our dive boat.
Photograph: David Edgar/2019 National Geographic Travel Photo Contest

Nothing better than being in my kayak in the rain, watching beautiful moments like this unfold.
Photograph: Michelle Valberg/2019 National Geographic Travel Photo Contest

I was travelling on Oigawa Line Steam Locomotive Express. It was not a peak season, therefore seats were almost empty. I tried my best to capture this authentic coach --including its preserved 1920s details. My activities were observed by the train master to ensure I observed the no-tripod rules. At first, her presence was disturbing, but it is kind of perfect too -- her uniform is authentic, and it completes the historic scene.
Photograph: Azril Azam Abdul Rahim/2019 National Geographic Travel Photo Contest

Many people come to swim at the river, early in the morning for exercise. People come for all seasons, 365 days a year. During the floods there is a different type of enjoyment -- the young men enjoy a lot during floods -- the water in-take hood is a centre of attraction and activity. On an early morning, there was fog and the group of swimmers were planning for a synchronised dive and I captured it.
Photograph: Appasaheb Chougule/2019 National Geographic Travel Photo Contest