A fleeting moment of light in the landscape, intimate animal and bird portraits, the flash of emotion on a person’s face, glimpses of majestic cultures across the world – some of the very best images entered in the Travel Photographer of the Year awards over the last 18 years, form the centre piece of the ‘100 Journeys’ exhibition unveiled at the fifth edition of Xposure International Photography Festival (Xposure 2021)running at Expo CentreSharjah until February 13.

Showcasing a remarkable selection of imagery in different photographic styles, ‘100 Journeys’ features the stories behind them told in the photographers’ own words to evoke an emotional connection between the viewer, subject and artist.

A female worker collecting bundles of incense is representative of Vietnamese storyteller Tran Tuan Viet’s works which depict a positive, beautiful and benevolent gaze on his home country, Vietnam. “Incense offering is a solemn ceremony of worship, symbolising the spiritual and cultural values in the minds of every Vietnamese,” says the photographer known for his humanist approach in telling stories.

Canadian photographer Larry Louie frames Dhaka’s Hazaribagh Tannery Area in a hauntingly beautiful black and white image that takes you back in time. “This tannery district -which produces high-quality ‘Bengali black’ leather for European leather goods makers– still operate as they did 100 years ago, with little technology or machinery,” he explains.

Polish photographer Jakob Rybicki who cycled across the frozen Baikal Lake in Russia over a 21-day period to capture its ethereal wintry magnificence, describes his experience as “one of the most epic journeys of my life.” Malaysia’s Pang Piow Kan, on the other hand, showcases his fascination for different cultures by eloquently capturing the innocence, curiosity and wonder of the young children belonging to the Bajau Laut tribe – also called the ‘Sea Nomads’ – in the islands of Eastern Borneo.

Belgian photojournalist Alain Schroeder highlights the perils of Indonesia’s Sumatran orangutans, who are forced out of their natural habitat by palm oil and rubber plantations, logging, road construction, mining and hunting, while France’s Florian Ledoux brings a new perspective to capturing wildlife with an aerial view of crabeater seals in Antarctica as they rest on slabs of broken sea ice.

Amongst the most stunning landscape images in the ‘100 Journeys’ gallery includes the sunrise in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert that was captured “during some pretty incredible light conditions that only lasted a few minutes”; the mysterious beauty of “The lost world”– site of the world’s highest single-drop waterfall; and an image captured from the twisted Storseisundet Bridge on Norway’s Atlantic Road that lies between the sea and rocky land, and shows the wind, waves, and forces of nature at play.

Travel Photographer of the Year (TPOTY) was established in 2003 and is now one of the world’s most prestigious photography competitions. Entries have been received from more than150 countries and 44 nationalities — including photographers from every continent — have featured amongst the winners.