Volcanoes, sunsets and glaciers: 18 epic images from National Geographic's photo contest

Photographers from around the world capture the planet's beauty, from the beaches of Ireland to Iceland’s steaming geysers

The Grand Prize winner: 'Iceland' by Andro Loria, a series of images depicting Iceland from the air. All Photos: National Geographic Traveller UK

Urban category winner: Clara Dip Wan Cheung's 'The Veles e Vents building in Valencia, Spain' is beautifully composed

Urban category runner up: 'Maha Bandula Garden Street, Yangon, Myanmar' by Joshua Paul Akers is a vertical urban jungle

Urban category runner up: Vai Meng Chan's shot 'Sunset in Rainham, UK' took months of planning

People category winner: 'Ice fishing on the frozen sea in Hokkaido, Japan' by Claire Waring

People category runner up: 'A local boatman in Northern Myanmar, tackling a challenging water channel' by Rajiv Joshi

Wildlife category winner: Mitchell Lewis's 'A lone rabbit in Richmond Park, London'

Landscape category winner: 'Marble Hill Beach' by Ozgun Ozdemir is a photo of the coast of Donegal in Ireland on a wild November morning

Landscape category runner up: Jordan Banks' 'Diamond Beach in Iceland' captures the wildness of the location and magnitude of the ice blocks

Landscape category runner up: 'Emerald Lake' by Jianbo Jia was taken by drone in the remote Qinghai Province of China

Food and Travel category winner: Nic Crilly-Hargrave's photo of stallholders with the fresh catch in a market in Veracruz, Mexico

Food and travel category runner up: 'Cooks craft their famed dim sum in Shanghai's Yu Garden District' by Ian Douglas Scott

Food and travel category runner up: 'Fresh produce on sale at a market in Urubamba in Peru's sacred valley' by Karolina Wiercigroch

Wildlife runner up: 'Osprey catching a fish' in Aviemore, Scotland by Hari Kumar Prasannakumar

People runner up: 'Vietnamese woman in traditional clothing in the imperial city of Hue, Vietnam' by Walter Monticelli

Wildlife runner up: 'Bumblebee at RHS Garden Wisley' by Dimitrios Zacharopoulos

Portfolio runner up: 'Sierra Leone' by Renato Granieri shows sustainable oyster farming in a remote part of the African nation

Portfolio runner up: Jonathon Doyle's 'Australia' captures aftermath of bushfires

National Geographic Traveller has announced the winners of its 2021 Photography Competition, with a portfolio of aerial images shot in Iceland claiming the top prize.

Captured on several small aircraft trips taken during summer and autumn, Andro Loria's Iceland series was deemed the overall winner in the competition. Loria's striking collection depicts deserts, volcanoes, glaciers, mountains, coastlines, rivers and lakes.

“What an incredible selection of landscapes, mixing abstract swirling colours with frozen geyser-filled vistas that are at once cohesive and distinct,” said the judges.

The travel publication's annual awards aim to highlight the best photography from around the world across six categories.

“From the abstract and mesmerising overhead shots taken from drones and airplanes to studied portraits of people and wildlife, together these images capture human behaviour, changing landscapes and nature’s beauty in a way that resonates with the National Geographic brand,” said Pat Riddell, editor of National Geographic Traveller in the UK.

A lone rabbit took the top spot in the always-popular wildlife category. Captured by photographer Mitchell Lewis in London's Richmond Park, the backlit image highlights the creature's delicate features.

In the Food and Travel category, photographers were invited to tell the story of a destination through its food culture.

Nic Crilly-Hargrave's Stallholders ready the catch for market in Veracruz, Mexico was deemed the best in the category.

“I took this image early one morning in a warehouse behind Veracruz market – it’s where meat is prepared and deliveries are unloaded, so it’s a hectic place to shoot," Crilly-Hargrave said. "It’s a race against time to get everything ready before shoppers arrive, so everyone’s pretty focused – but I spotted this moment of companionship between two men as they gutted fish. When they saw I’d taken their picture, one pointed to the other, uttering one word: ‘brother'.”

It is perhaps the people we meet on our travels who have the biggest impact on our experiences of the world, and the winning image in the People category depicts a lonely ice fisherman sheltering from the elements. Called Ice fishing on the frozen sea in Hokkaido, Japan, it was captured by Claire Waring.

“The angle is also fantastic, as it shows not just him fishing but the tools of his trade,” said the judges.

Other winning images include Clara Dip Wan Cheung's The Veles e Vents building in Valencia, Spain, in the Urban category, and Ozgun Ozdemir's Marble Hill Beach in Donegal, Ireland, which took the top spot in the Landscape category.