Walter Monticelli, a UK-based photographer, was recently honored by the National Geographic Traveler Photography Competition 2021 for a photo taken during a trip to the central city of Hue in Vietnam.

Monticelli’s shot, which captured a Vietnamese woman wearing a traditional costume in the Imperial City of Hue, won a runner-up award in the contest’s People category.

“While walking between temples in the Imperial City, I heard a faint melody playing in the distance,” Monticelli told National Geographic.

“Following the sound, I reached a room in which a group of women wearing traditional clothing were playing music with traditional Vietnamese instruments.

“I’d been standing there for a while, taking in the sound, when I noticed this lady sitting next to the entrance enjoying the music her friends were playing.”

Monticelli’s photo was not the only work from Asia honored in the category.

Photographer Rajiv Joshi won a runner-up award for a photo depicting “a local boatman in northern Myanmar, tackling a challenging water channel," and Claire Waring placed atop the category with a photo capturing “ice fishing on the frozen sea in Hokkaido, Japan.”

The contest, which is in its tenth year, seeks “to highlight the best in travel photography,” its organizer said while announcing the winners on the National Geographic website on Tuesday.

Open to photographers of all levels to submit their travel images in up to six categories, this year's competition started to receive entries in March 2021 and saw thousands of submissions.

"We might have spent 18 months in a global pandemic, but that hasn’t diminished the consistent quality in our annual competition,” Pat Riddell, editor of National Geographic Traveller (UK) insisted.

“Whether shot in the UK or abroad during windows in which people could travel, this year’s winners remind us how photographers see the world around us and the magic of capturing a once-in-a-lifetime moment."

Besides announcing winners in each category, the contest’s jury also selected the winner for a grand prize, which includes a state-of-the-art Nikon Z 6II mirrorless camera and 24-70 f/4 lens, worth £2,549 (US$3,462).

Nordic tour opperator Discover the World is offering the grand prize winner a four-night Northern Lights trip for two people in Swedish Lapland, worth around £4,500 ($6,112).

Photographer Andro Loria took home the grand with a photo selection titled 'Iceland' taken in Iceland from a small airplane on the photographer’s trips last summer and autumn.

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