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Readers’ travel photograph competition: January – action

Our 2013 travel photography competition kicks off with the theme of action – click through the gallery to see the winner and find out the theme for next month
  
  


BT gallery Jan13: In Kyrgyzstan, two buzkashi players and their horses clash
Nick White: In Kyrgyzstan, two buzkashi players and their horses clash. Buzkashi is similar to polo but it is played with a headless goat carcass, which players attempt to carry to their opponents' goal before it is wrestled from their grasp. Photograph: Nick White
BT gallery Jan13: Biggleswade, Bedfordshire
Marc Ehrenbold: The Birds of Prey Centre in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, hosts an impressive collection of more than 200 birds. American bald eagles, European white storks, red kites, hawks and even pelicans are featured. Here an owl with talons extended lands on the gauntlet of a falconer during one of the flying displays. Photograph: Marc Ehrenbold
BT gallery Jan13: parkour, traceur, Martgate
Justyna Pezik: I caught this traceur (a practitioner of parkour) spinning fast in the air against the beautiful early autumn sky full of colourful kites in Margate. It was such a fabulous jump from the promenade's wall onto beach sand and everyone who was watching this brave young man admired how incredibly high he jumped. I saw a lot other jumpers that day but no one did it as well as this one. Photograph: Justyna Pezik
BT gallery Jan13: Mumbai docks
Jim Grover: This is the Mumbai docks where every morning they unload the night's catch by tossing baskets of fresh fish up to the quay above.  Somehow nothing ever gets dropped. It's fun to watch – although you have to keep out of the way! Photograph: Jim Grover
BT gallery Jan13: India wrestling
Monika Mukherjee: My first feeling about going to a wrestling match in India wasn't very positive; the place was dark, and the competitors were moving very fast during a fight. But I absolutely loved the experience and the resulting picture! It really shows the boys' determination to win. Photograph: Monika Mukherjee
BT gallery Jan13: Brighton beach
Sam Howard: In Brighton, the beach and promenade is where all the action happens. I captured Italian Fran showing off his footy skills on the beach among a flurry of seagulls and people taking a walk. Photograph: Sam Howard
BT gallery Jan13: Muslim Muharram festival, Jaipur
Tim Bird: I was advised not to go near Jaipur in Rajasthan, India, for the start of the Muslim Muharram festival. I took the plunge just the same, emerging later from a crowd of crazed young drummers with my ears throbbing and minus my hat, which the kids took from my head and proceeded to dance on until it was flattened. I set the camera to its widest aperture and went in close – this is one of the best shots – worth the price of a hat. Photograph: Tim Bird
BT gallery Jan13: BMXer mid-jump at the Southbank Centre
Marika Chalkiadis: This photo was taken on a sunny day on London's South Bank. The colours of the graffiti were strikingly vivid and are complemented by the equally colourful and patterned clothes of the dare-devilish bikers. This rider is actually going backwards, not forwards as the photo might suggest. Photograph: Marika Chalkiadis
BT gallery Jan13: Grand Central Station
Will Mawby, runner-up: I took this in New York's iconic Grand Central station. I stood for a while, taking in the beautiful atrium and atmosphere. The sun was streaming through the windows reflecting off different surfaces giving the shot, I think, a surreal quality. The lady in the centre is reading the departure board. She had no idea the picture was being taken but made a great subject, choosing a perfect place to stand. She really accentuates the busy scene.

Natalie Mayer, judge: Whilst I don't think this image is 100% successful (the lack of people/action in the foreground makes it feel a bit bunched and unbalanced towards the busy middle), it does use the light beautifully, and the lady is very well placed not to overlap the darker areas of the image. A bit more contrast in post production could also help dramatise the image further. Still, I like the idea, and the use of light, so it's a well deserved runner-up this month.
Photograph: Will Mawby
Photograph: Action images
BT gallery Jan13: train between Dhaka and Chittagong, Bangladesh
Dominic Burdon, winner: I took the photo on top of a moving train between Dhaka and Chittagong, Bangladesh's two largest cities. It's common to see this type of action in Bangladesh, either for thrill-seeking or fare-dodging. I wanted to take a documentary-type shot of the children riding the train and took several shots with different exposure settings before I was able to create the movement effect in the background.

Natalie Mayer, judge: This is a super image, splendidly captured. The photographer must have felt rather precarious on that roof holding his camera and looking through the viewfinder, experimenting with exposures. It would be great if we could see a little more of the train to give things even more of a sense of place, but even so, this image stands out this month as the most technically proficient and well thought out.
Photograph: Dominic Burdon
 

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