Hampta Pass - 2013 Photo Contest

The contest results are out ! The top three winning photos are below. Our Judge Srinivasa Prasath shares with you why the pictures turned up winners. Post your comments below.

First Prize: Abhineet

Trekker mesmerized by vast yet beautiful valley

“This photograph captures the landscape of the Hampta pass trek beautifully! A clear and beautiful sunny day with clouds starting to pour in. By placing the lone trekker amdist the vast landscape, photographer conveys that strong feeling of ‘long way to go before I rest!’. Patch of rocks in the foreground and converging mountains in the background slowly transfer the viewer’s attention from foreground to background. The red shirt of the trekker provides a nice contrast to the green patch and makes the trekker stand out in the frame. Apart from this, the exposure is good, retaining the details across the frame and the depth is perfect to define the vastness. All in all a beautiful scene from the trek captured perfectly through a photograph. Clearly number ONE in this contest!” says LSP

Second Prize: Lorraine

A Glimpse of Heaven on Earth – snowcapped mountains viewed from the Sheagoru Valley

LSP says “A beautiful postcard from Hampta pass trek! What a gorgeous landscape! Beautiful transformation from foreground rocks to snowy peak in the background. The layers are clearly defined. The dark black mountain in the midground is an immediate eye-catcher. It is a proper anchoring point for viewer’s attention and slowly scan around the frame freely. Details on the snow is lost a bit. Overall scene could have been underexposed by a third of a stop to get more details on the snow. The foreground details are slightly softer compared to focus on the mountains. But irrespective of these small shortcomings this picture deserves to be SECOND for bringing the beautiful landscape live in front of us!”

Third Prize: Neeta

Silhouetted in the wondrous mountains

“This is a story telling shot and it is nicely executed by the photographer. Everyone who comes to the mountains feel humbled looking at its majestic beauty and the trekkers are no exception! The trekker who is looking up at the mountain forms a nice foreground subject and goes very well with the story being conveyed. The towering mountains behind them form a majestic background. Black and white highlights the form and texture available in the scene beautifully. Everything from foreground to background is in crisp focus and blends well in conveying the story together. Only the exposure could have been handled better by slightly underexposing the scene by a stop. The foreground subjects would have been perfect silhouetted in that case and that should be perfectly fine. Stands THIRD for conveying the story properly!” says Lsp

Here are the shortlisted 10 best photos of the Hampta Pass trek. Trekkers were asked to submit their best photos from the trek for the contest.

Our Judges will now run through these photos and choose one among them as the winner. Before the judge chooses, tell us which of these photos deserve the best photo award (use the comments box below).

The photographs selected here are in random order. The numbers attributed to the photos are to identify the photographer and does not denote any ranking by Indiahikes. Use the number and the name of the person to make your comments. Please click on the photo to view the enlarged image.

A note from Indiahikes:

The winners get the following awards from Indiahikes.

The winner of the photo contest gets a Rs 5,000 Trek Voucher from Indiahikes.

Rs 2,500

Rs 1,000

About our Judge:

Trekker mesmerized by vast yet beautiful valley

1- Photographer: Abhineet

Place : Balu ka Ghera Day 3 morning of the trek, 1st Oct around 10 am

” I had stopped for a short break. Was appalled by the rocks, green-red patches of vegetation separated by the stream, sandwiched by the mountains. says Abhineet on why and how he took this photograph.

Camera Settings : Nikon 50D, wide angle lens, focal length 12mm, aperture f/10, exposure = 1/320 sec

The Three Musketeers

2-Photographer: Bharath N A

The Place Beyond the Pines

3-Photographer: Bharath N A

Even the strongest storms pass by, unveiling different shades of life.

4-Photographer: Harpreet

Place : Campsite before balu ka ghera

Harpreet says “After quiet a strong snow storm when the weather finally calmed down, colors in the sky brought some excitement and cheers back to the disappointed group for not being able to summit to the pass.

Camera Settings : F Stop – f/11, Exposure – 1/4000, ISO – 200, FocalLength – 24 mm, No Flash

Slow, Steady & Safe to Hampta Pass – the final climb.

5-Photographer: Lorraine

Place : Final climb to Hampta Pass on July 22nd 2013 at around 14:53hrs

“A capture of the final climb to reach Hampta Pass at 14,500 ft. The best way to hold on to this memory was by capturing those who had been a part of this incredible journey along with me, inching step by step to reach our destination. Thakhur Ji our guide taking care to ensure no one slipped throughJ.”. says Lorraine on why and how she took this photograph….

Camera Settings : Canon Powershot A810, F-Stop: f/5.6, Exposure Time: 1/400sec, ISO Speed- ISO-100, Focal length – 17mm, Max aperture 4.96875

A Glimpse of Heaven on Earth – snowcapped mountains viewed from the Sheagoru Valley

6-Photographer: Lorraine

Place : View from Sheagoru Valley en route Chatru – on July 23rd 2013 around 09:30am

“Truly a glorious triumph after conquering the Hampta Pass, we woke up to the splendor of God’s creation, to the beautiful snowcapped mountains all around us. A true heaven on earth feeling – an unforgettable experience.”. says Lorraine on why and how she took this photograph….

Camera Settings : Canon EOS 600D, F-Stop: f/7.1, Exposure Time:1/640sec, ISO Speed- ISO-100, Focal length – 130mm

Silhouetted in the wondrous mountains

7-Photographer: Neeta

Place : Way down from Sheagoru to Chatru, 2 Oct 2013,10:30 am

“This was the very last leg of the trek, the complete team had conquered the Hampta pass the previous day. This frame captured the people in the foreground against the towering mountains and summarized the thought on most minds, that Nature’s manifestation – the magnificent Himalayas are the mightiest and an attempt at scaling the peaks is indeed humbling., says Neeta on why and how she took this photograph….

Camera Settings : Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS mode: AV (aperture priority), monochrome, f-stop: f/3.5, ISO -200, exposure: 1/800 sec,focal length: 35mm

8-Photographer: Parijat

Blue moon lake: Serenity at its height

9-Photographer: Prachi

Place : Chandrataal lake, lahul spiti valley, Evening 5pm

“Was amazed to see such a beautiful lake in a the middle of high altitude desert”. says Prachi on why she took this photograph..

Camera Settings : Canon d600, ISo 100, f/7, exposure: 1/15 sec

10-Photographer: Sandra