Whale Whisperers. © Anuar Patjane
When National Geographic announced the winners of its Traveler Photo Contest, all anyone could talk about was the first place image: a magnificent underwater image replete with whales, fish, divers and bursts of water. The divers, in various stages of descent, are minuscule compared to the enormous creatures. People often misuse the word “epic” to describe things that don’t nearly meet the requirements of that word, but in this case, I feel fully comfortable saying that it is an epic photograph. Perhaps one of the most remarkable things about it was that the photographer, Anuar Patjane, shot it with a point-and-shoot, the Sony RX100. Of course, it’s only a part of what makes the image, but it’s an aspect that says a great deal.