Photographer Eduard Gutescu won a merit prize at the National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest 2015

Photographer Eduard Gutescu won a merit prize at the National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest 2015, with his shot titled "Romania, Land of Fairy Tales," entered at the "Outdoor Scenes" section. 

The photo shows a white frost-sprinkled earth-toned landscape of mountain backs at the Pestera Village, Bran area. 

The jury of the contest reviewed almost 18,000 photos entered in four categories: Travel Portraits; Outdoor Scenes; Sense of Place; and Spontaneous Moments, to finally pick the best ten snaps. 

Eduard Gutescu's photo won one of the 7 special awards. 

The grand prize went to the black-and-white "Whale Whisperers," by Mexican artist Anuar Patjane, which captures a humpback whale swimming with her new born calf close to a team of divers near Roca Partida, the smallest of the four islands of the Revillagigedo Archipelago, in the Pacific Ocean. 

The second prize went to "Gravel Workmen" by Faisal Azim of Chittagong, Bangladesh, while Ahmed Al Toqi won third place with "Camel Ardah," a dynamic snap of a camel race whipping up the sand in Muscat, Oman.

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