The snowy north, a crafty goat, a Spanish funfair … this month’s entries were as varied as they were strong. Scroll to see the winner – chosen by Mick Ryan of fotoVUE – who receives a £200 voucher for an i-escape holiday property. The overall 2018 prize is a nine-night West Greenland trip with Wild Photography Holidays
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Hamish Scott-Brown
A fisherman paddling to check his nets against the blue light of a winter’s dawn on Tharzi pond, near Nyaungshwe in Myanmar.
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Katy Bridgestock
All the pantomime and showmanship of bartering for silver in Istanbul … the vendor’s theatric offence at every price offered, followed by big smiles and hand shakes when an agreement is reached.
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John Anderson
Quiet reflection on the banks of the Somme. I took this in St Valery, Normandy, where the Somme canal flows into the sea. Behind me was the town and its tourist bustle, but the image of the building, the just-visible woman and the trees just fell into place.
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Michael Truman
The ferris wheel in Málaga, seen side on through a long zoom against the moon, reminded me of a space station. Fortunately the occupants of the cabin added some human interest to the picture when they stood up and became visible.
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Tom Sweetman
I took this photo over a farm in northern Thailand, as the locals were starting to plant rice for the new cycle. Thailand is one of the largest exporters of rice in the world.
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Thomas Curtis
An Afgan bride in Los Angeles applying the finishing touches to her outfit and makeup for her traditional wedding. She and I were alone in the room as I took this, capturing an intimate moment.
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Ernestas Bilvinas
I took this in Norway while on a Scandinavian road trip that involved 10 ferry crossings, countless tunnels (including one of the longest in the world), fishing, mushroom-picking, sunshine and rain on all 10 days of the 3,100km drive.
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David Young
This statue of King Haakon VII of Norway was silhouetted by a street light and it was snowing as I came out of the 18th-century Vardøhus fortress on the north coast of Norway. The fortress saw action in the second world war, when Haakon led the Norwegians in their resistance to the German invasion.
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Warren Price, runner-up
An eagle owl in a Slovakian forest. I wanted to capture the bird’s intense stare and found that the picture worked more effectively with the owl half hidden by its natural camouflage. It’s one of those rare moments where everything came together.
MICK RYAN, JUDGE: The conventional wisdom for wildlife photography is to try and get your subject showing two eyes. When this isn’t possible, there are various ways you can make an image work and this is one way. A beguiling image made even more powerful by the narrow depth of field.
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Coltrane Koh, runner-up
A goat was trying to steal veg from this street stall in Varanasi, India. The keeper spots him – and judging by the look on his face and the barrier of crates in place, it looks like this wasn’t a one off.
MICK RYAN, JUDGE: Many travel photographs of this nature look set up, and I recoil instinctively against such images. Although saying that it can sometimes be hard to tell — that can be genius in itself. I hope this image is authentic as it has a strong element of magic and mystery.
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Michael Sutherland, winner
The Beast from the East whipping through the beautiful red-brick Holborn Bars building on Chancery Lane, London. Gives me the chills just looking back at this.
MICK RYAN, JUDGE: There were some very strong entries this month, but for me this image was a shoulder above the runners-up. It’s a dynamic image – it looks like the photographer saw his chance and took the shot, and despite the weather and moving people it is perfectly composed and exposed. The geometry of the reflected arch, windows, and trees contrasts with the dynamism of the people and falling snow.
