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Photography

The best photography of 2019

By Rich Haridy
December 28, 2019
The best photography of 2019
View 50 Images
Grand Prize winner / 1st Place - Cities in the 2019 National Geographic Travel Photo Contest. "Upernavik is a fishing village on a tiny island in west Greenland."
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Grand Prize winner / 1st Place - Cities in the 2019 National Geographic Travel Photo Contest. "Upernavik is a fishing village on a tiny island in west Greenland."
Commended in the 2019 Drone Awards Urban category. Skyscrapers and Fall Foliage in Central Park
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Commended in the 2019 Drone Awards Urban category. Skyscrapers and Fall Foliage in Central Park
A Commended entry in the 2019 Drone Awards Urban category. Thunderstorm in St Petersburg
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A Commended entry in the Urban category. Thunderstorm in St Petersburg
6th Place winner in the Nikon Microscopic Photography Awards. Small white hair spider
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6th Place winner in the Nikon Microscopic Photography Awards. Small white hair spider
Politician took out an Honorable Mention in the Streets category of the 2019 Urban Photo Awards
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Politician took out an Honorable Mention in the Streets category of the 2019 Urban Photo Awards
Photo of the Year in the 2019 Siena Photo Awards. A Boy in the Crowd, Monrovia, Liberia
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Photo of the Year in the 2019 Siena Photo Awards. A Boy in the Crowd, Monrovia, Liberia
Highlight from the top 50 in Amateur Landscape / Nature category of the 2019 Pano Awards
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Highlight from the top 50 in Amateur Landscape / Nature category of the 2019 Pano Awards
Highlight from the top 50 in Open Built Environment / Architecture in the 2019 Pano Awards
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Highlight from the top 50 in Open Built Environment / Architecture in the 2019 Pano Awards
Highlight from the top 50 in Open Nature / Landscape in the 2019 Pano Awards
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Highlight from the top 50 in Open Nature / Landscape in the 2019 Pano Awards
Finalist in ‘The Great Outdoors’ category in the 2019 EyeEm Awards. Known as The Chocolate Hills in the Philippines.
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Finalist in ‘The Great Outdoors’ category in the 2019 EyeEm Awards. Known as The Chocolate Hills in the Philippines.
Finalist in ‘The Great Outdoors’ category in the 2019 EyeEm Awards. An incredible perspective on the classic three pillars image at Arizona's Monument Valley. This shot was literally taken looking out of a window from a gift shop at the location.
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Finalist in ‘The Great Outdoors’ category in the 2019 EyeEm Awards. An incredible perspective on the classic three pillars image at Arizona's Monument Valley. This shot was literally taken looking out of a window from a gift shop at the location.
Awarded 'Remarkable Artwork' in the 2019 Siena Photo Awards
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Awarded 'Remarkable Artwork' in the 2019 Siena Photo Awards
Awarded 'Remarkable Artwork' in the 2019 Siena Photo Awards
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Awarded 'Remarkable Artwork' in the 2019 Siena Photo Awards
Highlight from the top 50 in Open Built Environment / Architecture in the 2019 Pano Awards
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Highlight from the top 50 in Open Built Environment / Architecture in the 2019 Pano Awards
Highlight from the top 50 in Amateur Built Environment / Architecture in the 2019 Pano Awards
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Highlight from the top 50 in Amateur Built Environment / Architecture in the 2019 Pano Awards
From the 2019 iPhone Photo Awards. “One of my favorite moments, perched on the tummy of my master. I have to confess, the view is awesome!! This cushion makes me feel secure. I can also warn other dogs and protect my master. Yeeaah! Who’s the boss?! I belong to him and he belongs to me.”
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From the 2019 iPhone Photo Awards. “One of my favorite moments, perched on the tummy of my master. I have to confess, the view is awesome!! This cushion makes me feel secure. I can also warn other dogs and protect my master. Yeeaah! Who’s the boss?! I belong to him and he belongs to me.”
Awarded 'Honorable Mention" in the 2019 Siena Photo Awards. A water park in winter, Rybnik, Poland
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Awarded 'Honorable Mention" in the 2019 Siena Photo Awards. A water park in winter, Rybnik, Poland
Highlight from the top 50 in 2019 Pano Awards
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Highlight from the top 50 in 2019 Pano Awards
Winner Highest scoring smartphone panorama in the 2019 Pano Awards
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Winner Highest scoring smartphone panorama in the 2019 Pano Awards
From the 2019 iPhone Photo Awards. “Janta Manta Observatory is very sci-fi looking. I captured the flying pigeon with the building to give the photo a dynamic feeling.”
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From the 2019 iPhone Photo Awards. “Janta Manta Observatory is very sci-fi looking. I captured the flying pigeon with the building to give the photo a dynamic feeling.”
From the 2019 iPhone Photo Awards. “View from Artist’s Point in Monument Valley, where the ground falls away steeply and the flat land stretches ahead for many miles, punctuated by the peaks of buttes, mesas and pinnacles in distance.”
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From the 2019 iPhone Photo Awards. “View from Artist’s Point in Monument Valley, where the ground falls away steeply and the flat land stretches ahead for many miles, punctuated by the peaks of buttes, mesas and pinnacles in distance.”
From the 2019 Pano Awards
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From the 2019 Pano Awards
Winner Curator's Award - Pano Awards. The Drowning, New Zealand
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Winner Curator's Award - Pano Awards. The Drowning, New Zealand
Volcán De Fuego.
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Volcán De Fuego.
Wildlife. Botswana, July 2019.
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Wildlife. Botswana, July 2019.
The view of the world famous Victoria Harbour (Hong Kong) under the clouds in the early morning.
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The view of the world famous Victoria Harbour (Hong Kong) under the clouds in the early morning.
A big male Polar Bear in Svalbard. Awarded in the 2019 Siena International Photo Awards
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A big male Polar Bear in Svalbard. Awarded in the 2019 Siena International Photo Awards
Overall Winner 2019, plus Winner in Behaviour: Mammals. Early spring on the alpine meadowland of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, in China’s Qilian Mountains National Nature Reserve
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Overall Winner 2019, plus Winner in Behaviour: Mammals. Early spring on the alpine meadowland of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, in China’s Qilian Mountains National Nature Reserve
Winner in ‘The Architect’ category, this series of images examines dilapidated architecture in Eastern Europe, in particular focusing on Spomenik (Serbo-Croatian) buildings. The photographer added light pastel coloring to amplify a sense of nostalgia on these otherworldly monuments.
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Winner in ‘The Architect’ category, this series of images examines dilapidated architecture in Eastern Europe, in particular focusing on Spomenik (Serbo-Croatian) buildings. The photographer added light pastel coloring to amplify a sense of nostalgia on these otherworldly monuments.
Winner in ‘The Traveler’ category. Located in a remote valley at the altitude of 4,000 meters, hidden deep in the remote areas of China, close to Tibet, Larung Gar hosts more than 40,000 Buddhist monks, nuns and students.
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Winner in ‘The Traveler’ category. Located in a remote valley at the altitude of 4,000 meters, hidden deep in the remote areas of China, close to Tibet, Larung Gar hosts more than 40,000 Buddhist monks, nuns and students.
Third Place, Wildlife. A Grevy's zebra staring at the camera in Lewa, Kenya.
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Third Place, Wildlife. A Grevy's zebra staring at the camera in Lewa, Kenya.
Honorable Mention, People in Nature. A storm comes over Varadero, Cuba, 2019.
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Honorable Mention, People in Nature. A storm comes over Varadero, Cuba, 2019.
"Motherly love" captured at the Tenerife zoo
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"Motherly love" captured at the Tenerife zoo
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Ayah, 37 and Aisha, 18 drink from Burger King cups in a mall ahead of the face veil ban in Hundige, Denmark, July 19, 2018
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Ayah, 37 and Aisha, 18 drink from Burger King cups in a mall ahead of the face veil ban in Hundige, Denmark, July 19, 2018
Like a checkerboard representing the oyster tables of the Thau pond, near Sète
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Like a checkerboard representing the oyster tables of the Thau pond, near Sète
Thousands of women Buddhists line up the hillside to go to the mountains to practice the dharma, which is called Da Yuan Sheng Hui, in Sichuan, China
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Thousands of women Buddhists line up the hillside to go to the mountains to practice the dharma, which is called Da Yuan Sheng Hui, in Sichuan, China
A new housing estate in Tangshan juxtaposed with an older decrepit one
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A new housing estate in Tangshan juxtaposed with an older decrepit one
A crash at the first corner of the Belgian Grand Prix in August 2018
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A crash at the first corner of the Belgian Grand Prix in August 2018
Cīrulīši nature trail, Gauja National Park, Latvia
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Cīrulīši nature trail, Gauja National Park, Latvia
Man overlooks the Nowruz festival in Iran
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Man overlooks the Nowruz festival in Iran
Nominee, Professional, Wildlife/Animals. From a series called Fracile
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Nominee, Professional, Wildlife/Animals. From a series called Fracile
Nominee, Professional, Landscape. Lightning triggered by a volcanic eruption in Colima, Mexico
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Nominee, Professional, Landscape. Lightning triggered by a volcanic eruption in Colima, Mexico
The Human Touch by James Gifford, Human/Nature Winner, Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of the Congo
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The Human Touch by James Gifford, Human/Nature Winner, Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Vincent Wu from Hong Kong, China, took this photograph of Hill of the Buddha in Japan's Makomanai Takino Cemetery by Tadao Ando. It was entered into the Interior category
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Vincent Wu from Hong Kong, China, took this photograph of Hill of the Buddha in Japan's Makomanai Takino Cemetery by Tadao Ando. It was entered into the Interior category
'Two opposed worlds' by @hadangkhoa (Vietnam)
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'Two opposed worlds' by @hadangkhoa (Vietnam)
Awarded 'Remarkable Artwork'. Window Of Autumn, taken in Chatos, Cyprus
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Awarded 'Remarkable Artwork'. Window Of Autumn, taken in Chatos, Cyprus
Honorable Mention, Landscape. Torres Del Paine National Park in Chile. January, 2019.
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Honorable Mention, Landscape. Torres Del Paine National Park in Chile. January, 2019.
View gallery - 50 images

To celebrate the coming new year, we have hand-picked a selection of the most spectacular photographs of 2019. This "best of the best" gallery gathers our favorite images from the greatest photo contests of the last twelve months, from head-spinning drone shots to psychedelic microscopic photography.

From a standpoint of pure spectacle one of the most impressive competitions from the last year has been the Pano Awards, a photo contest with only one major criteria – that entries must be presented in at least a 2:1 or 1:2 aspect ratio.

Highlight from the top 50 in 2019 Pano Awards
Highlight from the top 50 in 2019 Pano Awards

For those with a penchant for the marvels of the microscopic world, the Nikon Small World Photo Contest always delivers an incredible assortment of tiny treats. Running for nearly 50 years this is one of the oldest photo competitions in the world.

6th Place winner in the Nikon Microscopic Photography Awards. Small white hair spider
6th Place winner in the Nikon Microscopic Photography Awards. Small white hair spider

Two of the world's larger photo contests also delivered the goods in 2019. The Sony World Photography Awards served up some incredible winners, whittled down from an astounding 320,000 entries. While the Siena International Photo Awards, only in its 5th year, cemented its place as a premiere photo contest with a truly remarkable array of winning selections.

Take a look through the gallery at our picks for the top 50 photos of the year.

View gallery - 50 images

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PhotographyPhotoPhotographersDrone photographyAwardsCompetitionBest of 2019
2 comments
Rich Haridy
Rich Haridy
Rich has written for a number of online and print publications over the last decade while also acting as film critic for several radio broadcasters and podcasts. His interests focus on psychedelic science, new media, and science oddities. Rich completed his Masters degree in the Arts back in 2013 before joining New Atlas in 2016.

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2 comments
RJB
Amazing images with (in many cases) inadequate detail in the captions.
guzmanchinky
Incredible photography. My favorite is the tiger.