1^st Prize

The Perito Moreno Glacier

by Kristin Bresnahan

Location : El Calafate, Argentina
Program : Universidad de Buenos Aires, API Spring 2006
Description : The neon blue that appears in this glacier is the most beautiful color I have seen in nature. The red and green trees surrounding the cold and hard structure of the ice add even more color and contrast to this shot.

Runner Up

Suspendido en las Nubes

by Lauren Fitte

Location : Montserrat, Spain
Program : Universidad of Barcelona, ISA Fall 2006
Description : This photo was taken from a hiking trail overlooking the monastery at Montserrat, an hour train ride into the mountains from Barcelona. The clouds hang low during the cold mornings, By the time we hiked up to the top of the cliff at mid-afternoon the clouds lifted and the entire valley appeared with the Mediterranean visible on the horizon. We arrived at the monastery via gondola, sliding upwards through the clouds to the church carved into the side of the cliffs. The clouds surrounded us walking around the edge of the monastery walls and it felt like we were suspended in time at the ancient monastery hugh above the land with clouds below us.

Honorable Mentions

Memories

by Jackson Wu

Location : Venice, Italy
Program : University of Bristol, England. Year 2005-2006
Description : Piazza San Marco or St. Mark's Square. During the day swarms of tourists fight with legions of pigeons for control of the Square, but at night the Square truly comes alive. Restaurants in the buildings surrounding the Square would compete for customers not with food but with music. Pavilions where orchestras played Vivaldi's Four Seasons would catch the attention of some customers who would sit down for a glass of wine while they bathed in the atmosphere. But as soon as the soprano across the Square cried out her heart with Puccini's Madame Butterfly, they would flock there to reflect in her sorrow. While the square frenzied on with brilliant masterpieces, the majestic St. Mark's Basilica and the Campanile watched on. For the nine hundred year old Basilica, empires rise and decay and people come and go; today will be tomorrow's memory.

Portland Sunset

by Dane Powell

Location : Portland, England
Program : Queen Mary, University of London, Fall 2006
Description : This is an example of the kind of amazing sunset we witnessed in Portland, England. In the distance you can see the rain moving in which, alongside the perpetual twilight and biting cold, is a mainstay of English weather (doubly so here, around Christmas time). Days in Portland were spent scaling the cliffs along the coast, and nights were spent either in the pub meeting the locals of huddled around a warm fire drinking mulled wine.

The Rather Hungry "Wildlife"

by Kristin Repsher

Location : Queenstown, New Zealand
Program : University of Queensland, Study Australia Spring 2005
Description : On the afternoon section of the one Lord of the Rings tour that I splurged on whilst in New Zealand, we were told we would see Deer Park Heights, where they shot the portions of The Two Towers where the people of Edoras are making theirs trek to Rohan. We were also told that, true to its name, Deer Park was full of deer and other non-native animals that would make it difficult to drive to the top—for instance, buffalo do not like to get out of the way, regardless of the size of the tour bus waiting for it.
However, these were one form of “wildlife” that I did not expect to see. The donkeys shared a small pen on the side of the mountain with a bunch of snorting pot-bellied pigs. The air was thick with the smells of the two hygienic animals, so of course, we jumped straight into it, armed with food given to us by the tour guide. Apparently, the donkeys could smell the food from about as far away as we could smell them!

Santorinian Afternoon

by Danielle Orsagh-Yentis

Location : Santorini, Greece
Program : Franklin College, Switzerland Fall 2006
Description : After a long day of swimming in Grecian hot baths, riding mules up a mountain, hiking on a volcano, and eating at a cliffside restaurant overlooking the Aegean, this photograph was taken as the sun was setting on the Santorinian coast. I love how these white and blue (and some tan) houses are so tightly packed together. I was fortunate enough to chat with and observe some locals during my time abroad, and I noticed that the Greeks are so happy and open with one another. I can only imagine that the closeness of their homes reinforces that openness. I cannot imagine being fortunate enough to live in one of these homes, with my windows facing the Aegean Sea, watching the sun set into the night, waiting for that moment when the sky and the sea become one—waiting for that moment when the horizon disappears and all seems right with the world.