[imagesource: @jp.photoart/Agora]

While we’re trapped inside unable to explore all the corners of the globe, I’ve often felt extreme gratitude for the videographers and photographers out there sharing images from their travels.

Many of these images are accessible through competitions that bring together the best of the best, the latest of which comes to us from Agora.

Professional and amateur photographers submitted a total of 13 600 images in answer to the mobile app’s invitation to celebrate world travel by answering “What does travel mean to you?”.

The competition judges narrowed that down to 50 finalists, following which Agora users were asked to vote for the one they believed should take home the accolades and the top prize.

Via Forbes, you can see the photo that came out on top, below, along with nine more of our favourites from the final round:

Overall winning image: a view from 8,264ft (2,519 meters) at Seceda mountain – @RAKIA10 (SPAIN) – AGORA

From the opening of a tent looking at a breathtaking mountain sunset in the Dolomites, the snapshot above by Spanish photographer @rakia10 gathered the most votes from the apps’s global community to be chosen as the ‘World’s Best Travel Photo’ and to take the online #Travel2020 contest’s $1,000 top prize.

The rest of the finalists provided some stiff competition:

Image: @ALVAROVALIENTE, (SPAIN) – AGORA

Image: @ALVAROVALIENTE, (SPAIN) – AGORA

Image: @DANROSE (UK) – AGORA

Image: @OBRA19 (PHILIPPINES) – AGORA

Image: @ARTEMPIKALOV (RUSSIA) – AGORA

Image: @MICHAELFOOTE (UK) – AGORA

Image: @JAMESXTHEO (UK) – AGORA

Image: @FILIPPOBELLISOLA (IT) – AGORA

Image: @JANREYEM (AUSTRALIA) – AGORA

Agora is an app that invites photographers to participate in a range of competitions with prizes valued at anything $1 000 to $25 000.

“The app’s global audience plays an important part in the selection of the winning image in each contest,” the organization explains. “All Agora users have the power to vote for the photo that struck them the most during the final voting rounds, making the process democratic where everyone can participate, vote, and win.”

The international exposure is also a massive plus.

The results, as you can see above, are stunning.

Maybe give it a download and try your hand, when we can hop a plane and explore again.

Even better – take some pics of our local tourist destinations.

The Cableway is up and running again, and Lion’s Head is open for hikes, if you’re looking for somewhere to start.

[source:forbes]