The Big Picture reader photo competition 2016: finalists

  • THE WINNER: A Nepalese villager traversed from place to place via of the many suspension bridges found in this beautiful, mountainous Himalayan country. The bridges connect villages to villages that are usually separated by huge mountains of deep valleys which makes a 10 mile journey a really long one. Photo: Callie Yuen Chee
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  • Winter wonderland, Emerald Lake near Banff, Canada. Photo: Norman Arnott
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  • Salt mines in Maras, Peru. Photo: Glen Bishop
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  • While wandering around Santorini last month & taking the usual tourist shots, I noticed this photographer snapping his ... While wandering around Santorini last month & taking the usual tourist shots, I noticed this photographer snapping his model/girlfriend while posed in a most precarious position. He was quite safe, but she was close to the quite a drop!  Photo: Steve Webster
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  • This goat is perched atop the Jebel Shams mountains at 3000m high in Oman. My wife and I saw an article on these goats as a reason to visit Oman and trek up to the mountains and hang out with the goats. Photo: Ben Brand
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  • While enjoying an early morning balloon ride over the Dubai Desert we were amazed to see a lone horseman riding out along the sand-dunes... it was quite an atmospheric "Lawrence of Arabia " moment! He turned and waved, and after a few seconds disappeared over the sandy the horizon- a really special memory. Photo: Sheryl Taylor
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  • We recently had the good fortune of visiting a game reserve in the stunning Plettenberg Bay area of South Africa. In the late afternoon light we came across these two beautiful lions waking up from their nap. I managed to capture them in what felt like an ideal setting as they looked at each other bordered by the African bush glowing in the setting sun. This photo was a perfect ending to a great day out with the family on safari. Photo: Clifford Rosenberg
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  • Boys playing in the Udam Dam River in Bali. Photo: Adrian Whear
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  • A sudden rain storm in Cusco Peru meant that everyone had to run for cover. I spotted these gorgeous women sheltering at the cathedral and had to take a photo!  Photo: James Hay
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  • The dunes of the Sahara lit up under a million stars. Earlier this year, my girlfriend and I spent a couple of nights in the Sahara Desert, Morocco. I will never forget the utter serenity of this place. You could hear your heart beating in your chest, watching the shooting stars flying over head.  Photo: Luke Marriott
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  • Lake Ndutu Great Wildebeest Migration - TANZANIA. In December 2015, on route to Kusini in the southern reaches of the Serengeti National Park from the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, we stopped at Lake Ndutu for some lunch. From the other side of the bank, we watched in wonder as one of the world’s most spectacular natural events unfolded – a precarious lake crossing of thousands of wildebeest who were continuing their great migratory journey directly towards us. I took this opportunity to capture this mammoth gathering as they herded past us.  Photo: Nick Ranieri
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  • During the warmest part of the year, Moroccans come to Erg Chebbi to be buried neck-deep in the hot sand for a few minutes at a time - a practice considered to be a treatment for rheumatism.  Photo: Alexandra Adoncello
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  • A view of the many karst mountains peaking through a river of fog. Taken on spring morning in Guangxi, China. Photo: Yuen Chee
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  • Times Square New York at night is overflowing with excitement.The wonderful neon signs are a perfect backdrop to the crowds of visitors coming to Times Square for the Broadway shows,or to watch the street buskers or just to soak in the atmosphere. I met this group of young guys visiting New York. They were happy to jump for joy for my camera.  Photo: Michael Hing
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  • Stowe Gardens in England is one of those amazing concocted landscapes that the English do so well, where vistas of follies open up as you wander around. It didn't hurt that the breeze had dropped and there was this sublime reflection. Photo: Rob Morgan
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  • A Maasai warrior stands in his homeland as Africa's tallest mountain, the snow-capped Mt Kilimanjaro, stands in the background. Photo: Bee Elle
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How do you choose one winner from more than 2000 images submitted by passionate travellers?

Not easily, is the short answer.

But that's what The Age photo editor Leigh Henningham, traveller.com.au editorial producer Kylie McLaughlin, Sydney Morning Herald photographer Nick Moir and Clique Photo Club community manager Louisa Kirby were asked to do recently, spending a day poring over submitted images in the fifth Big Picture competition.

Henningham, a photographer with more than 30 years' experience, says the overall standard of photography gets higher with every competition.

"People are no longer satisfied with just taking landscape photos but are trying to capture the character of a place by using the people and the elements in context of where they are," Henningham says.

"The horse rider in Dubai is a great example of showing the scale, heat and enormity of the desert."

Henningham, a keen traveller himself, says weather can play a big part in travel photography and was a feature of a number of the last-round finalists.

"The rain in Peru made for a fantastic photo as did the soft afternoon light on the lions in Africa."

Take a look at the finalists in the gallery above. The winner will be announced on Saturday, September 3.

The overall winner and a partner or friend will travel to Indochina for a 13-Day Vietnam & Cambodia Highlights cruise and tour for two people in January 2017.

Enjoy the adventure through Vietnam and Cambodia, including a seven-night cruise along the Mekong River.

Visit World Heritage-listed Angkor Archaeological Park and Ho Chi Minh City and Phnom Penh.

The prize value is about $15,490 for two people in a Category C Standard Suite.

For the full itinerary, see aptouring.com.au

To join Clique, see smh.com.au/clique or theage.com.au/clique.

Clique

Traveller's Big Picture reader travel photo competition sponsors.

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