The Winner
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Photographer: Claudio Lombardo, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Destination: Huntington Beach, California, U.S.
Prize: $5,000 and his photo on the cover of Frommer's Los Angeles 2011
The Story:
"My wife Florencia and I were visiting good friends in May 2009 and went to Huntington Beach for a short walk."
"I've always been intrigued by the bottom of the piers, it feels like they are hiding stories waiting to be told."
"I saw the shot and liked the light and the sensation of depth the columns made when aligned -- especially as they highlighted the ocean at the end. Took a few shots but thought it would be stronger with a person in it. Despite the request from my wife to leave I waited on one knee for 30 mins or so until the surfer on his cellphone arrived. I think he made the shot as it relays the laid-back vibe Californians enjoy along their amazing coastline."
Tell us what you think of the winning shot
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Runners Up
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Photographer: Joel Cohen, Swoyersville, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Destination: Venice, Italy
Joel's Story:
"The largest city in Europe without cars or trucks, Venice is overrun by tourists, overcome by flooding and overwhelmingly romantic. 'Don't take a touristy gondola ride, we were told.' But how could we not? The gondoliers were persistent -- in their smiles and their charm -- so we succumbed. He told us about his life, his city and then he sang. It was a slice of a day my wife and I will never forget."
"I took this photograph on my first afternoon in Venice, having just disembarked from a glorious 12-day cruise through the Mediterranean. I will return to Venice some day, if for no other reason than to try and relive that memorable day in the most beautiful city in the world."
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Photographer: Desmond Gribben, San Francisco, California, U.S.
Destination: Seville, Spain
Desmond's Story:
"This shot was taken at the Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza de Caballeria in Seville, while my wife and I were on a three week trip around Spain. We had had a great deal of apprehension about seeing a bullfight. On one hand, we wanted to experience it because it's a significant part of the Spanish culture, but on the other hand we didn't want to have to witness the gruesome side of the event. In the end, we opted for the 'when in Rome' ideology."
"We were wandering around an outer balcony when we discovered a backstage area of the bull ring. I started shooting some picadors standing in doorways, in which I could only see the tops of their hats. Then an elderly man tapped my wife on the shoulder and motioned towards another area where there were at least 20 picadors on horseback, all lined up against a wall as if they were just waiting for me to take their picture. This is one of my favorites because of the symmetry and the seeming solemnness of the picadors just before going into the ring."
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Photographer: Brian D. Clark, Fife, Scotland
Destination: Oia, Santorini, Greece
Brian's Story:
"This sunset shot of Oia, Santorini was made during a photographic workshop with the UK company Light and Land. Santorini provides some spectacular sunsets and this location is a great favourite attracting crowds of people each evening waiting to see the sun dip below the horizon. Incredibly, as soon as the sun disappears, so do the spectators, who miss the amazing colours which appear later as the sky lights up with the afterglow."
"The framing was critical in order to contain all the buildings and to position the windmills in the optimum part of the frame. The exposure was chosen to retain plenty of detail in the foreground and this was enhanced by the use of a neutral density graduated filter placed across the sky area. As it was almost dark the exposure was 18 seconds and as with all my landscape shots the camera was firmly locked down on a tripod."
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Photographer: Audrey Nosworthy, Ontario, Canada
Destination: Port Elizabeth, South Africa
Audrey's Story:
"I was in South Africa on vacation. Our tour through Addo Elephant Park was truly wonderful. The four zebras were at a water hole and there were many others. These four lined up and I actually was astounded when I viewed it."
"The picture was taken with a Sony alpha digital SLR with a Sony zoom 70 to 300. When taking my photographs I look for the 'wow factor.' It comes along only occasionally."
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Contest Highlights
The Contest
Back in January we asked readers to submit their favorite travel shots to our first ever cover photo contest. They responded with almost 100,000 uploads, and choosing the best ones took our judges a little longer than we expected.
We've made our choices now, starting with Claudio's great shot of Southern California and then making a circuit around the world with contributions from the runners-up. Our winner will walk away with $5,000 and his image on the cover of a guidebook. The four runners-up will receive a prize pack containing three Frommer's Day by Day travel guides and a selection of Frommer's Lug travel accessories.
The Frommer's Cover Photo Contest celebrates our new full-color editions that premiered in September. Debut titles available now include London, Paris, New York City, Italy, Costa Rica, Alaska, and Hawaii. Nine more full-color guides will be available in 2010.
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