What makes a great travel photograph? Every year since 2003, the U.K.-based Travel Photographer of the Year competition has sought to define just that, recognizing international photographers whose images capture a fascinating glimpse of far-flung peoples and places. The works of the latest round of winners, which will be exhibited in the galleries of London’s Royal Geographical Society from July 24 to September 5, range from Ansel Adams–esque landscapes of Indonesia to gritty street photography in the Democratic Republic of Congo, from black-and-white portraits of a rural Chinese elderly community to color-saturated shots of cave diving in Mexico, each an example of the rare eye it takes to document a subject with a style. To see the full gallery of 2014’s award-winning images online, visit tpoty.com. —Gabrielle Lipton
This article originally appeared in the April/May print issue of DestinAsian magazine (“Pictures Perfect”)