Well these are not my vacation pictures, but they are the top photographs in the National Geographic Photo Contest. Enjoy!
This image by Marko Korošec took the top prize. "While on storm chasing expeditions in Tornado Alley in the U.S. I have encountered many photogenic supercell storms," he said. "This photograph was taken while we were approaching a storm near Julesburg, Colorado, on May 28, 2013. The storm was tornado warned for more than one hour, but it stayed an LP [low precipitation] storm through all its cycles and never produced a tornado, just occasional brief funnels, large hail, and some rain."
"Green Lake (Grüner See) is located in Tragöss Austria. In spring snowmelt raises the lake level about 10 meters. This phenomenon, which lasts only a few weeks, covers hiking trails, meadows, and trees. The result is a magical diving landscape."
Picture: Marc Henauer/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest
"A young monk finds a perfect light source to read his book inside of his pagoda in Old Bagan, Burma."
Picture: Marcelo Castro/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest
"This photo, taken at the 'end of the world' swing in Banos, Ecuador, captures a man on the swing overlooking an erupting Mt. Tungurahua. The eruption took place on February 1st, 2014. Minutes after the photo was taken, we had to evacuate the area because of an incoming ash cloud."
Picture: Sean Hacker Teper/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest
"This photo was captured at noon on December 25, 2013, from the castle which is located on the edge of the small town and is the perfect viewpoint for the panorama of the almost intact historical town. The fog and mist suffused and gave the town a sense of mystery."
Picture: Duowen Chen/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest
I will now get back to bottling my Malbec