50 Best Photos Were Selected From The 130,000 Submissions To The AGORA Awards Photography Contest 2019

It was a long nine-month wait but AGORA images have finally announced 50 finalists from the 130,000 submissions from both professional to amateur photographers to this year’s #AGORAawards2019 competition. However, it’s not over yet – the finalists will compete one last time for the grand prize of $25,000.

#1 Ant Balancing The Earth

It took the photographer 4 hours to take this shot of an ant carrying water drops spread on a piece of thread.

By @anadgphotography (Philippines), Analiza De Guzman/AGORA images

#2 The Best Friends

A lizard and a snail having a cute moment.

by @andihalil (Indonesia), Andi Halil / AGORA images

#3 Incense Work

In Vietnam, incense is known to connect living people with ancestors and gods.

By @ptkhanhhvnh (Vietnam), Khánh Phan/AGORA images

#4 Reaching For Heaven

The Mont Saint Michel, France, lost in the middle of the fog.

By @thedronelad (UK), Konrad Paruch/AGORA images

#5 Rainy Day

Red-eyed tree frog in West Java.

By @hendymp (Indonesia), Hendy MP/AGORA images

#6 Songs Of Freedom

More than a photo – an unspoken struggle for freedom and belonging, inspired by Bob Marley’s ‘Redemption Song’.

By @eighthman (Ghana), Michael Aboya/AGORA images

#7 Mother’s Goodness

Perfect timing for this shot of a Hoopoe bird feeding its chicks.

By @phyomoe (Myanmar), Phyo Moe/AGORA images

#8 Alone In The Desert

The shot was taken from a high dune in Merzouga, Morocco, where Nomads are seen moving through the Sahara desert.

By @carlesalonsophotography (Spain), Carles Alonso/AGORA images

#9 Echoes Of The Unknown

The photographer wanted to display the cordial relationship between a man and a beast.

By @theeastwoodexperience (Ghana), Clement Eastwood/AGORA images

#10 Run And Fun

Young monks having fun at the Hsinbyume Pagoda.

By @lingling25 (Myanmar), Ling Ling/AGORA images

#11 Veins Of Earth

The Amazon-like shot was taken in East Sussex, where the Cuckmere river divides the grasslands.

By @hugohealy (UK), Hugo Healy/AGORA images

#12 Under The Light Making Batik Crafts

Batik making in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Batik is a technique of wax-resist dyeing applied to whole cloth. The lady pictured has been mastering this art for the past 35 years. With this picture, the photographer hopes to keep this tradition alive.

by @_bimo_ (Indonesia), Bimo Pradityo/AGORA images

#13 Wild Look

Lynx spotted in the Cábarceno Natural Park.

By @saavedraphotography (Spain), Sergio Saavedra/AGORA images

#14 Colors Of Life

Women fishing in West Bengal before heading to the market.

By @pranab_basak (India), Pranab Basak/AGORA images

#15 Motherly Love

More than a 2-hour wait for this photographer to capture a tender moment between a chimpanzee and its infant at the Tenerife zoo.

By @santiagolopezfotografia, Santiago López/AGORA images

#16 Sand Wasp With Prey

This wasp is on a mission to bring its prey home!

By @pokokemoto (Indonesia), Imam Primahardy/AGORA images

#17 Reitdiephaven

Long exposure sunset shot in the District in the city of Groningen, Netherlands

By @anskar (Germany), Anskar Lenzen/AGORA images

#18 Unknown

Taking this shot without getting his lenses soaked was a hard exercise for this photographer in Tumpak Sewu Waterfall, East Java.

By @jprphotos (UK), Jonathan Rogers/AGORA images

#19 Rainbow Reine

Double rainbow spotted as the photographer was crossing a bridge in the Lofoten Islands.

By @uglefisk (Norway), Paal Lund/AGORA images

#20 Throwing Nets

Fisherman in action at the Situ Patenggang lake.

By @g13nnn (Indonesia), Glenn Valentino/AGORA images

#21 Expressions

Saint met in a Pakistani Shrine.

By @asimijaz (Pakistan), Asim Ijaz/AGORA images

#22 Among The White Umbrellas

Traditional umbrellas factory in Mandalay, Myanmar. The production of a traditional umbrella cannot be done by a single person or within a day: there is a division of labor in the making of a single umbrella. Each worker is responsible for different parts to finish one umbrella.

By @aungthuya (Myanmar), Aung ThuYa/AGORA images

#23 Dark Disneyland

Vertical panorama of the Neuschwanstein Castle.

By @tommimatz (Germany), Tommi Matz/AGORA images

#24 Nature Always Wins

Shipwreck graves in Brittany, France. Some boats have been there for more than 100 years.

By @charliieb (Monaco), Charlie Berthaume/AGORA images

#25 Hearts On The Sea

Aerial photos of fishing nets in Vietnam.

By @phannguyen5285 (Vietnam), Nguyen Phan Xuan/AGORA images

#26 Sea Of Ice

The professional wildlife photographer took this photo in Antarctica, where crabeater seals like to rest on ice for a nap.

By @florianledoux (France), Florian Ledoux/AGORA images

#27 The Most Beautiful Roundabout In The World

Vertical panorama of Paris’ Arc de Triomphe, where 12 avenues come together.

By @henrydo (USA), Henry Do/AGORA images

#28 Dancer

Taken at the Peace and Friendship Stadium in Athens.

By @markellos (Greece), Markellos Plakitsis/AGORA images

#29 When The Buffalo Comes Back

Buffalos bathing in Pleiku, Central Vietnam.

By @hoangquocvinh, Hoang Quocvinh/AGORA images

#30 Snow Horseman

Winter in Mongolia.

By @zayyarlin (Myanmar), Zay Yar Lin/AGORA images

#31 Undefined

Snapshot taken during a road trip in California, Todos Santos. The photographer was lucky to snorkel with the animals afterwards!

By @jordisark (Spain), Jordi Sark/AGORA images)

#32 Oeil De Zèbre

Shot taken at the Madrid safari.

By @s.p.marin (Spain), Sara Pinto Marin/AGORA images

#33 Diamond Ring Total Solar Eclipse

Snapshot of the 2017 total solar eclipse, pictured from Nebraska.

By @edoindo (USA), Edward Panjaitan/AGORA images

#34 La Mujer Que Espera

Women waiting to be served in a salami shop in Rome, Piazza de la Rotonda.

By @paulaaranoa (Argentina), Paula Aranoa /AGORA images

#35 Water Is Life

Although typhoons are pretty common in The Philippines, the citizens still worship the life-giving element of water.
By @froirivera (Philippines), Froi Rivera/AGORA images

#36 Strawberry Greenhouses

Young women working in a strawberry field, located in the Aegean region of Turkey.

By @leylaemektar (Turkey), Leyla Emektar/AGORA images

#37 Eid Prayer

The Eid prayer is celebrated on the first day of the Islamic month of Shawwal, after the fasting during the holy month of Ramadan.

By @azimronnie (Bangladesh), Azim Ronnie/AGORA images

#38 Farming

Shot of the rice fields in Northern Vietnam, where workers plant the rice seedlings for the upcoming harvest.

By @diepvan (Vietnam), Diep Van/AGORA images

#39 In Retrospect

Lonely man looking at the horizon in Kobe, Japan.

By @patriciasoon (Malaysia), Patricia Soon/AGORA images

#40 Six Feet Under

Foggy morning in Ukraine, where the photographer spotted a man digging a grave with his bare hands in a little cemetery.

By @davidedziegler (Spain), David Carbonell/AGORA images

#41 Rain

Powerful portrait of the photographer’s father under the rain.

By @wunderbilder (Germany), Perry Wunderlich/AGORA images

#42 Blue Eye

The photographer pictured his son running through the City of Arts and Science, in Valencia.

By @ajuriaguerra (Spain), Pedro Luis Ajuriaguerra Saiz/AGORA images

#43 L’espurna Que Fa Que Tot Comenci

Correfocs during a traditional Catalan festival, where groups dressed as devils light fireworks in the crowd.

By @xopet1969 (Spain), Albert Castañe/AGORA images

#44 Striving

The shot was taken near the Nias Islands, an internationally famous surfing destination.

By @bastian_as (Indonesia), Bastian AS/AGORA images

#45 The Lights Of Life

Early morning shot of the Cirahong Bridge, located on the border of Tasikmalaya Regency and Ciamis Regency. The bridge was built in 1893 by the Dutch colons.

By @dikyedarling (Indonesia), Dikye Ariani/AGORA images

#46 Preparing For 1000 Takjil Iftar Ramadan Kareem

Three volunteers serve 1000 plates of chicken and rice prepared for the Iftar, an evening meal during which Muslims end their daily Ramadan fast at sunset.

By @dharmaku (Indonesia), Dharma Kurniawan/AGORA images

#47 Fire Fighter

Locals and firemen work as a team to fight a fire caused by a power incident in Bangladesh.

By @tanveer.rohan (Bangladesh), Tanveer Rohan/AGORA images

#48 The Road And The Farm Have Been Flooded

Floods in Gorgan city, Northern Iran.

By @mohammadmoheimany (Iran), Mohammad Moheimani/AGORA images

#49 Out At Sea – Msc Orchestra

Entry from the contest’s youngest finalist, a 18-year-old photographer from the Jersey Channel Islands. The cruise boat was visiting the harbor close to his hometown.

By @above_and_beyond_visuals (UK), Cameron Aird/AGORA images

#50 Boys

With this shot, the photographer wanted to portray equality between two human beings.

By @diegocampomar (Uruguay), Diego Campomar/AGORA images