H'mong children photo nets second prize at National Geographic contest
Update: Aug 21, 2012
"My balloon" by photographer Vo Anh Kiet has won second prize at the National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest 2012, reports VnExpress.

The National Geographic Traveler Photo contest, annually organized by the U.S.' National Geographic Magazine, this year attracted over 12,000 photos from 7,000 photographers from 152 countries. The 11 top photos depicted one of the four topics Travel Portraits, Outdoor Scenes, Sense of Place and Spontaneous Moments.

 

"My balloon" records a moment when three young H'Mong kids were frolicking about with their balloons on a foggy day in Moc Chau in the northern mountainous province of Son La.

 

"This picture is like a dream, and it's timeless not only because it's black and white and there's no sense of modernity, but also because it depicts an activity that children everywhere on the planet frolic with balloons," photographer Alexandra Avakian, a member of the organizing panel, said.

 

The winning photo was "Butterfly" by Cedric Houin taken in the cottage of a family in a remote mountain area in Afghanistan. The photo is highly evaluated due to its contrast between traditional and modern characteristics.

SGT