A panel has announced the results of RFE/RL's internal photo competition. Out of 81 entries, three winners and nine other finalists made the final selection. The winning pictures were chosen for the quality of their content, aesthetic appeal, and technical skill. The theme of the competition was to show the interaction between technology and the environment. The contest featured pictures taken in various locations around the world, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Kosovo, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, the United States, and the Czech Republic. (12 PHOTOS)
Winners Of RFE/RL 'Technology & The Environment' Photo Contest
1
WINNER: "Competing with the Stars": The lights of a gold mine light up the night at an altitude of 4,200 meters in Kyrgyzstan. (Ulanbek Asanaliev, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service)
2
WINNER: "Krafla Volcano -- Where Mankind Has Tamed the Earth's Geothermal Power": The sulfurous landscape near Iceland's largest geothermal power station, which draws heat from 33 boreholes. (Jarda Lhotak, RFE/RL's Internet Technology Department)
3
WINNER: A boy plays with abandoned Russian weaponry on the outskirts of Kabul. (Sabawoon, Kabul bureau of RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan)
4
FINALIST: "Sole Survivor": A 30-meter-high palm tree was the only tree to survive the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Takata Matsubara Forest, Japan. Before the natural disaster, the forest had boasted some 70,000 pine trees. (Photo: Gul Ayaz, RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal)
5
FINALIST: "Phone in Aluminum Pan": This is Pashakan Zhapanova. She lives in the village of Alaykuu on the northwestern border of Kyrgyzstan. Since the village is located below sea level, there is no mobile-phone signal. The villagers know when the connection will be excellent: in winter when there is no wind. (Muhammedali Toktakunov, Bishkek bureau of RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service)
6
FINALIST: "Building a Church in Kyiv" (Andriy Bashtovyi, Kyiv bureau of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service)
7
FINALIST: "Destroying the Glacier": The machine of a gold-mining company breaks up the glacier to make it easier to move for getting the gold under the glacier. (Janarbek Joldoshbaev, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service)
8
FINALIST: "Four in One: Football, Basketball, Energy Substation, and Power Transmitter": Millosheva, central Kosovo. (Fatmir Aliu, Pristina bureau of RFE/RL's Balkan Service)
9
FINALIST: Afghan laborers at a brick factory outside of Kabul. (Sabawoon, Kabul bureau of RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan)
10
FINALIST: "Where Energy Comes From": Dawn on March 3, 2013, in Prague. A little more climate change goes into the air. (Robert Coalson, RFE/RL's Central Newsroom)
11
FINALIST: "Leave Me Alone in My Hospital": A stray cat living in a former hospital in the center of Minsk peers into the lens of the photographer. (Yahor Mayorchyk, Minsk bureau of RFE/RL's Belarus Service)
12
FINALIST: "Alps and Airplane": A view of the Alps on a sunny day from an airplane. (Arkadiy Pildes, RFE/RL's Internet Technology Department)