Year in photos: Our travel photographers share their fave shot from 2024

We asked our travel photographers to share their favorite shot from 2024, and what they sent back is a candid, interesting, beautiful collection of photographs from all around the world. All of which offer us visual insight into some special moments in time. Scroll for inspiration.

Photographer: Pier Niranda

“Back home in Thailand, I take a quick dip off the coast of Phuket, not expecting much marine life amid decades of degradation—plastic bags, ghost nets, and floating debris. Floating in the blue, I find a scene I almost missed: Fish hiding beneath the bell of a jellyfish. It was a reminder that wonder isn’t always found in grand adventures but in the small, unexpected moments close to home.”

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Photographer: Patrick O'Neill

“Our tour guide Muneer took us on a walk through Skardu’s local market to pick up any final provisions before our hike into the Nangma Valley. He introduced us to accomplished local climber, Sadiq Sadpara. Sadiq had summited K2, the very mountain that claimed the life of his legendary mountaineering brother, Mohammad Ali Sadpara, in 2021.”

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Photographer: Christoffer Åhlén

“My mother in-law, Jackie, has lived with a prosthetic leg since she was just 11 days old; still, this hasn’t stopped her from living a full, vibrant life. I captured this moment in her riad in Essaouira, Morocco, with the intention of creating an abstract and unique portrayal of disability. What I love about this shot is that the only visible part of the human body is a hand, yet it tells a story of strength, courage, and fearlessness – especially in a country where living and traveling with a disability is often met with limited support.”

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Photographer: Matt Costa

“We’d gone into Kingston to go record shopping, and the owner of one infamous record store asked what we were doing in town. I told him we were out here looking for skate spots. He dropped the needle on an old dub record and cranked the volume as loud as it could go; opened the door to the shop so we could hear it on the street, and told us we could skate the car parked out front. Featured here is Frog Boss, a surfer and skater who also gives back country tours of the island.”

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Photographer: Matt Horspool

“Blue hour has always been my favourite time to shoot. The deep, luminous blue of the sky, paired with the soft, atmospheric light, creates an unmistakable mood. During a recent commercial adventure shoot in Kosciuszko National Park, the team and I had already worked for over 10 hours. Still, I couldn’t resist pushing for one last set of images. I love using artificial light outdoors, especially when it seamlessly integrates into the scene. For this shot, I added a strobe to mimic a head torch, aiming to enhance the story without breaking its authenticity.”

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Photographer: Liam Neal

“At the beginning of this year my good friend and colleague Taryn underwent major surgery after finding out she had inherited a genetic mutation that put her at high risk of developing aggressive breast cancer. Her 8hr operation – a full double mastectomy and DIEP flap reconstruction which involves rebuilding her breasts using tissue from her lower abdomen – left her in immense pain and having to re-learn how to live in her body.

It was a tough mental and physical recovery for her, but she is amazingly determined and resilient. Seeing Taryn back out on a shoot in the Blue Mountains only six months later, hiking rugged trails and scrambling up rock faces for dusk views like these, was a special moment to have shared and captured with her.”

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Photographer: Sarah Pannell

“This photograph was taken on the train from Plovdiv to Sofia in Bulgaria, the final leg of a 8 day train trip with Eurail around Greece and Bulgaria. This train was an older style of carriage with separate compartments, and this man was our neighbour, sitting alone reading the newspaper. I just enjoyed the simplicity of the scene as the light flickered outside.”

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Photographer: Nicola Zolin

“Olivia Mancino during a fire show at the Kama Etna Festival in Sicily, a festival on conscious intimacy and sexuality.”

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Photographer: Lola Akinmade Åkerström

“I often describe cities like people and my city Stockholm feels androgynous. Very jean jacket with a flipped collar and white pants. A bit selfish about its space, keeping its very best secrets to itself yet with a bright-eyed bewilderment about the world. Stockholm wants you to find your own secret space and own it selfishly too.

While on assignment this year, I captured this image that personified the city in a single shot – from ferries that shuttle between its 14 core islands and a few more in its 30,000+ island archipelago to getting a glimpse into its laid-back startup/tech bro scene which is still heavily dominated by white men, as well as a peek into the overall Swedish work-life balance which comes to the fore during summer.”

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Photographer: Charukesi Ramadurai

“Mongolia was a dream trip, and I travelled west from Ulan Baatar towards the Kazakhstan border to spend time with a nomadic family known for traditional eagle hunting. Known as burkutchi, eagle hunting is in danger of disappearing, with only a handful of skilled hunters left in Mongolia. My host Galym was one such, with his young son and daughter poised to take over from him in the future. In a touching moment, Galym said, “These eagles are like our children, and we have to take care of them the same way.”

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Photographer: Josh Edwards

“I shot this photo at a very special place called Melissa’s Garden, in Raja Ampat. I’m currently out here in West Papua, Indonesia, doing my Dive Master training, diving every day and exploring the most biodiverse marine ecosystem on earth…it’s a privilege, to say the very least. For me, this photo captures what Raja Ampat is all about – a phenomenal variety of healthy coral species and fish dancing in the morning light, the beauty of mother nature on full display. It’s breathtaking.”

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