Smithsonian Magazine's Annual Photo Contest

Old Mine on Red Mountain Pass, Ouray, Colorado, October 2009

Disguised Fun, Kolkata, India, April 2009

25 Toes, West Bengal, India, November 2009

Steam from Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, October 2009

Every year, I look forward to seeing the photos of the finalists of Smithsonian Magazine's Photo Contest. They are always full of color, unexpected details, and fascinating places and people.

Here are my favorites from among this year's winners. You can see more photos here.

What are your favorites?

Smithsonian Photo Contest Winners

Finalists from the travel section of the Smithsonian Magazine's 6th Annual Photo Contest, taken in China, England, and India (respectively).

The first photo, "In the early morning, fishermen clean their nets by Erhai Lake", won the Grand Prize. It looks like a diptych, but it's just one photo. The way the photographer caught the light shining through the trees onto the fishing nets is just incredible!