Traveler Photos Magazine

National Geographic Traveler Magazine: 2012 Photo Contest

The 24th annual National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest is in full swing. The entry deadline has been extended until July 11. The four categories include: Travel Portraits; Outdoor Scenes; Sense of Place and Spontaneous Moments. Last year's contest drew nearly 13,000 images from all over the world. The pictures are as diverse as their authors, capturing an assortment of people, places and wildlife - everything that makes traveling so memorable, evoking a sense of delight and discovery. The following post includes a small sampling of the entrant's work, taken from the editor's picks in each of the categories. (The captions are written by the entrants, some slightly corrected for readability.) And for fun, take a look back at the winners from 2011 at National Geographic Traveler. -- Paula Nelson (54 photos total)

SPONTANEOUS MOMENTS - Marrakech Traveler: It was mid-morning and he must have wanted to ride into the light. I was shooting for the ABC TV show Born to Explore when I snapped this photo. (John Barnhardt/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

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SPONTANEOUS MOMENTS - Curious: As a kid I was always curious to know where we were going. Always impatient to know the current location, and how much time it would take to get to the destination. Somehow knowing that would make me feel better. On a recent trip on a train early morning I was taking some photos and there was this kid. He was peeping back every now and then and every time the train stopped he was looking at the boards. Once he saw the camera in my hand, he got curious but was not waiting for me to click. It was worth the wait and tries. I love how it just reminds me of my childhood travels. (Gopal Patil/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest) #

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SPONTANEOUS MOMENTS – The Running Boy: A young boy is "flying" home. (Pietro Sferrino/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest) #

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SPONTANEOUS MOMENTS - Women’s Prayer: This was my first time seeing many women from the youngest to the oldest praying seriously with all of their heart and mind. (Lydia Isnanto/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest) #

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SPONTANEOUS MOMENTS - Innocence and Icon: The classic American car has become a symbol and staple throughout Cuba. In the back streets of Havana, one who has yet to learn of the country’s history, shows her innocence at play. (Eric Kruszewski/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest) #

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SPONTANEOUS MOMENTS – Deer Under Falling Cherry Blossom Petals: I sat down on a stump for rest after stroll in Nara Park, and watching deer. They were eating fallen cherry blossom petals, peacefully. Suddenly strong wind blew out and cherry blossom petals were started to fall on the deer. It is like a shower of falling cherry blossom petals. It is called "Hana Fubuki" in Japanese, literally means flower snowstorm. (Hisao Mogi/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest) #

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SPONTANEOUS MOMENTS - Chick Dropped in Soup: No, not chicken soup...It's a literal translation of a Chinese expression for being drenched. Caught this well-dressed lady trying to cross the street in a torrential downpour. (Brian Yen/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest) #

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SPONTANEOUS MOMENTS - Window Washers: All of the sudden I looked up and there were four window washers way high up on the adjacent skyscraper. I grabbed my camera and started shooting. To get an interesting angle, I went under the glass awning and shot upward. (Amy Sacka/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest) #

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SPONTANEOUS MOMENTS - Swirl: This was taken on 95th floor of John Hancock Building. I was fortunate to watch as fast moving low hanging clouds swept through the city buildings during late afternoon. A cloud swirled around the Trump Tower for a very brief moment for me to capture two frames. This is one of the two. (Jian Lou/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest) #

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SENSE OF PLACE – 4800 Above Sea Level: This shot was taken in Bolivia, close to Sucre city. On 4800 meters above sea level the mountain releases gas everyday from 5am till 7am. The gas is hot but not dangerous. It’s a beautiful view in the middle of a desert. There is always a lot of travelers stopping and checking out because the place is included on the Salar de Uyuni tour. (Stylianos Papardelas/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest) #

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SENSE OF PLACE - Split: The ancient Old Town of Split (Croatia) in February 2012 during the heaviest snowfall in its recorded history. (Nenad Saljic/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest) #

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SENSE OF PLACE - Alone: I felt the beautiful landscape of the Earth. (Takaki Watanabe/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest) #

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SENSE OF PLACE - Cruising in Cuba: The National Highway in Cuba has many stretches where you will not see another car for miles. Then when you do see one, it is an old classic like this 1950s Buick, which looks at home on the open road with the Cuban landscape of fields and mountains in the distance. (James Kao/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest) #

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SENSE OF PLACE - Lost in Time – An Ancient Forest: Near the city of Morondava, on the West coast of Madagascar lies an ancient forest of Baobab trees. Unique to Madagascar, the endemic species is sacred to the Malagasy people, and rightly so. Walking amongst these giants is like nothing else on this planet. Some of the trees here are over a thousand years old. It is a spiritual place, almost magical. (Ken Thorne/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest) #

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SENSE OF PLACE - Snowflakes: Frozen snowflakes on the side window of the car while driving towards the slopes for a great day of snowboarding. (Mark Timmermans/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest) #

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SENSE OF PLACE - Waterfall at the WTC Memorial: The World Trade Center Memorial in New York City seemed vast and somewhat sterile until I focused on just a part of the waterfall and was overwhelmed with the feeling of all those fleeting souls coursing down into the abyss. (Joan Stiehl/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest) #

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SENSE OF PLACE - Swimming in the Rain: My sister in the south of Chile. We are sitting at home next to the fireplace in our southern lake house when it suddenly began to pour uncontrollably. Had to rush into the lake to take this snapshot! (Camila Massu/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest) #

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SENSE OF PLACE - The Ice Cave Experience: Deep, blue and cold. The frightening experience of climbing inside an ice cave on the north face of alpine summit at 3800 meters above sea level is very difficult to describe in words; especially in summer, when all the glacial ice melts making place for completely new formations. You need to stay focused, pay attention to every single move and commit yourself entirely to this climb. The reward: an amazing experience of climbing something pure and truly unique. (Kamil Tamiola/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest) SENSE OF PLACE - Divine: When light pours over the Taj Mahal everything else clears your mind. The tour guides, the crowds, the construction statistics...all become moot. (Colin Roohan/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest) #

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SENSE OF PLACE - Divine: When light pours over the Taj Mahal everything else clears your mind. The tour guides, the crowds, the construction statistics...all become moot. (Colin Roohan/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest) #

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OUTDOOR SCENES - Lenticular Over Mt. Rainer: The wonder of the weather. (Rolland Hartstrom/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest) #

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OUTDOOR SCENES – The Village of Gasadalur: The village of Gasadalur and the island of Mykines in the background. Until a tunnel was built in 2004, the 16 residents living in Gasadalur had to take a strenuous hike or horseback over the steep 400 meters mountain in order to make it to the other villages. It was a rare sunny day in the Faroe Islands and I had to wait until the clouds rolled in to provide some softer light. I decided to go with a long exposure (1 minute 10 seconds) to illustrate the force of the wind and a serene sea among the isolated islands. (Ken Bower/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest) #

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OUTDOOR SCENES – Table Mountain’s Cloudy Tablecloth: This gorgeous phenomena of clouds pouring over the top of Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa, is what gave the mountain it's name. I was mesmerized by this stunning, slow motion, waterfall effect and had to capture it with my camera...which I think is impossible to ever truly capture. (Laura Grier/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest) #

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OUTDOOR SCENES – Giant Marbles: Like ancient giant marbles, the Moeraki Boulders are strewn across Koekohe Beach on New Zealand's South Island. The light of sunrise casts an other worldly hue on these rock formations. (Marcus Haid/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest) #

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OUTDOOR SCENES – Another World: This is the great Japanese maple tree in the Portland Japanese Gardens. I tried to bring a different perspective of this frequently photographed tree. (Fred An/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest) #

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OUTDOOR SCENES – New Years: Flying from Bozeman, MT to celebrate New Year's with my sister in Minnesota, I awoke from a nap to this incredible view of the sunrise. (Naomi Zatorowski/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest) #

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OUTDOOR SCENES – Frosted Vignette: An early morning drive along the Pullman Highway coupled with a pale grey sky revealed this beautiful scene. (Patrick Lipsker/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest) #

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OUTDOOR SCENES – Middle Americana: Common life for the fifty percent. (Jim Seiler/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest) #

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OUTDOOR SCENES – Beach Life Moments: Beach life moments in Sicily. (Angelo Cirrincione/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest) #

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OUTDOOR SCENES – My Balloon: H'Mong minority children were playing with their balloons on the foggy day in Moc Chau - Ha Giang province Viet Nam. (Vo Anh Kiet/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest) #

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TRAVEL PORTRAITS - Pipedreams: As the call from mosques sound throughout the city, men make their way to begin prayer at this time of Eid. They walk in clothes freshly dressed, through busy streets and building sites. These pipes are some of the obstacles, though also used as shade from the intense sun and as a place of social gathering once prayer has been completed. As for now, men and boys will soon repeatedly bow their heads, all the while strengthening their faith. And I wonder at times, do they ever ask Allah for particular blessings, or do their most intimate hopes remain nothing more than pipe dreams. (Maria de la Guardia/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest) #

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TRAVEL PORTRAITS - Amazon Boatman: This indigenous Kichwa boatman was our taxi on a recent trip to the Amazon region of Ecuador. It was amazing the control he had over his dugout canoe, which was probably 30 feet long. At one point we had all given up hope when we were caught in the jungle during a flash flood, but he got us out. All without changing facial expressions. (Howard Stanton/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest) #

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TRAVEL PORTRAITS - All Smiles: Our surgical team spent 2 weeks in the Western Highlands of Ethiopia performing obstetric fistula and uterine prolapse surgeries last November. I've never seen so many smiling ladies in a hospital before. The love and gratitude was overwhelming. This little girl was an orphan living on the hospital grounds and would come hang out with us on our breaks. Her smile and infectious laugh were an unbelievable gift. I look at this picture often and can't wait to go back next year. (Kathryn Quenneville/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest) #

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TRAVEL PORTRAITS - Eyes: At the hospital of Dadaab's Refugee Camp a weak little girl is hold by her mother. (Lucas Mello/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest) #

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TRAVEL PORTRAITS - Motherhood: Calm Silence shared between a mother and daughter amongst the frenzied traffic along the road to Agra. (Darrell Lew/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest) #

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TRAVEL PORTRAITS - Wet: A swollen creek bed in the desert near Broken Hill in Australia, a local cools off. (Miles Rowland, National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest) #

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TRAVEL PORTRAITS - Miss Confidence: Ruth stands in her newly won sash and tiara in her one room apartment that she shares with two other people. Ruth is three feet tall. She entered an able-bodied beauty pageant “Miss Fabulous Kenya” competing against hundreds of women. After three intense rounds she walked away with one of the top three prizes “Miss Confidence”. The pageant awarded her 5,000 Kenya Shillings, which paid for one months rent. (Mia Collis/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest) #

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TRAVEL PORTRAITS - Looking Back in Time: While walking down the street in Old Havana, I was invited into this elderly woman's home. She was lying in bed and told me she wasn't feeling well. She asked if I had any Aspirin, which I did have in my purse. As I bent over to give it to her, I noticed this photograph on the nightstand beside her bed. It was taken of her many years before lying in the very same bed. I thought this was very cool. (Terri Gross/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest) #

Daily life: June 2012

ภาพชีวิตประจำวัน มิถุนายน 2555

In the post that follows for the month of June, I've collected images from many places. Single images from Guatemala, Lisbon, California, Israel, Australia, Nepal and Pakistan. Small "picture groupings" from Greece (a country in the news for the challenges it faces economically), from Pakistan (attending classes at a madrasah and outside a brick factory), from China (fun in the sand and eclectic street scenes), from Spain (the Corpus Christi procession and an intimate moment on the street), from Thailand (life in a refugee camp on the Thai-Burma border and lessons in an Islamic school). Visual slices of life around the world. -- Paula Nelson (54 photos total)

A Chinese couple bury their children in the sand on a manmade beach in a Beijing park, June 16, 2012. (Andy Wong/Associated Press)

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An Israeli man digs a hole in the sand at Tel Aviv's beach, Israel, June 4, 2012. (Oded Balilty/Associated Press) #

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A security guard stands near a painted wall on a hazy day in Beijing, June 18, 2012. (Alexander F. Yuan/Associated Press) #

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Chefs move a food cart outside a new car dealership for its opening celebrations in Beijing, June 18, 2012. (Alexander F. Yuan/Associated Press) #

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A pedestrian runs across Bay Street in Toronto's financial district, June 14, 2012. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press) #

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A young woman, a member of Lisbon's Alfama neighborhood association, practices before taking part in Lisbon's popular parade during the Popular Saints festivities, June 12, 2012. During these celebrations, old Lisbon's neighborhood associations parade during Saint Anthony's Day to compete for the best overall parade, music, costume and choreography. (Francisco Seco/Associated Press) #

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A Pakistani girl sits on a merry-go-round, hoping to have a free ride, at an entertainment park in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, June 13, 2012. (Muhammed Muheisen/Associated Press) #

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A couple dance in a public park in Guatemala City, June 13, 2012. (Rodrigo Abd/Associated Press) #

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Ceramic statues of Mao Zedong, founder of the People's Republic of China, are displayed for sale at a street antique shop, June 13, 2012 in Shanghai, China. (Eugene Hoshiko/Associated Press) #

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A child plays between two cartoon military statues on display outside a shopping mall in Beijing, June 14, 2012. (Andy Wong/Associated Press) #

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Pakistani girl Saima Hashim, 5, whose family was displaced by 2010 floods from a village in Pakistan's Sindh province, lives in a slum on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan, June 18, 2012. (Muhammed Muheisen/Associated Press) #

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A family begs on the street, June 13, 2012 in Athens, Greece. The Greek electorate went to the polls in a re-run of the general election, June 17, 2012 after no combination of political parties were able to form a coalition government. The general election could determine whether Greece retains the Euro as its currency. (Oli Scarff/Getty Images) #

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A woman begs for money outside a church in Omonoia, June 12, 2012 in Athens, Greece. (Oli Scarff/Getty Images) #

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A woman and child rest in their shelter in the converted back of a pickup truck in Psyrri, June 12, 2012 in Athens, Greece. (Oli Scarff/Getty Images) #

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Members of the public buy fruit and vegetables from a street market in Omonoia, June 12, 2012 in Athens, Greece. (Oli Scarff/Getty Images) #

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Members of the public peruse items for sale in a discount '1 Euro' shop, June 13, 2012 in Athens, Greece. (Oli Scarff/Getty Images) #

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The Dafni district of Athens at sunset, June 11, 2012 in Athens, Greece. (Oli Scarff/Getty Images) #

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A man begs on the street in Syntagma Square near Parliament, June 11, 2012 in Athens, Greece. (Oli Scarff/Getty Images) #

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A man cycles along an empty street, June 11, 2012 in Athens, Greece. (Oli Scarff/Getty Images) #

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A man runs onto a bridge over a canal in Santos, Brazil, June 5, 2012. (Yasuyoshi Chibayasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/GettyImages) #

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A woman is soaked by a wave at Bronte Beach, June 6, 2012 in Sydney, Australia. Wind speeds of up to 127km/h were recorded as Sydney was lashed by wild weather caused by the arrival of a low pressure system. A high tide and a large swell heightened the risk of sand erosion at local beaches on the NSW coast. (Ryan Pierse/Getty Images) #

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A couple kisses in downtown Madrid, June 9, 2012. (Daniel Ochoa de Olza/Associated Press) #

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Women take part in a Corpus Christi procession in Calle Mayor, Madrid, Spain, June 10, 2012. (Daniel Ochoa de Olza/Associated Press) #

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A young girl prays during a Corpus Christi procession in Sol square, Madrid, June 10, 2012. (Daniel Ochoa de Olza/Associated Press) #

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Jewelry repair specialist, Ramses Said, examines a heart pendant after he reaffixed the top loop in his booth in New York's Diamond District. Said, 51, from Cairo, Egypt, has been working in his family's business since he was 14 years old. (Richard Drew/Associated Press) #

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Anthony Smith, 7, gets a close-up view of a Monarch butterfly inside a butterfly tent at the annual "Bugs & Butterflies at Riley" at Riley Wilderness Park in Coto De Caza, Calif., June 3, 2012. (Ana Venegas/The Orange County Register) #

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Nepalese children play in front of a closed store near Durbar Square in Katmandu, Nepal, June 12, 2012. (Niranjan Shrestha/Associated Press) #

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A child talks on his mobile phone as he looks after a street jewelry vender, June 11, 2012 in Shanghai, China. (Eugene Hoshiko/Associated Press) #

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A kindergartner buys a drink from a vending machine in Tokyo, June 25, 2012. (Shizuo Kambayashi/Associated Press) #

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Several Polish children play outside of an old wagon in the small Baltic sea coastal town of Hel, north of Gdansk, Poland, June 24, 2012. The discarded train wagons have become home for several families there. (Alvaro Barrientos/Associated Press) #

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Israeli Arabs enjoy the beach in Jaffa, a mixed Jewish and Arab part of Tel Aviv, Israel, June 24, 2012. (Oded Balilty/Associated Press) #

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North Korean military band members leave after a performance for peasants working in a field in Hwanggumpyong, near the border town of Sinuiju in North Korea seen from across the border with China in Dandong, northeastern China's Liaoning province. (Associated Press) #

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Burmese medical staff examine a child at the SMRU hospital inside the Mae La refugee camp, June 6, 2012 in Tak province, Thailand. The camp is situated along the Burma-Thailand border and is home to around 50,000 refugees. Mae La is the largest of nine camps along the Thai border where the Burmese live in a stateless limbo for many years. (Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images) #

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Pah Taw sits on a chair smoking a cigarette at the Karen Handicapped Welfare Association dormitory inside the Mae La refugee camp, June 5, 2012 in Tak province, Thailand. Pah Taw lost his sight and his hands in a land mine explosion while he was a soldier with the KNU. Mae La is the largest of nine camps along the Thai border. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images) #

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Burmese girls take a break from their studies at the Haydayatul Uloom Islamic school inside the Mae La refugee camp, June 4, 2012. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images) #

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Burmese students sit in class at the Haydayatul Uloom Islamic school inside the Mae La refugee camp, June 4, 2012 . (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images) #

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A Burmese student studies at the Haydayatul Uloom Islamic school inside the Mae La refugee camp, June 4, 2012 in Tak province, Thailand. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images) #

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Burmese boys hold religious studies books at the Haydayatul Uloom Islamic school inside the Mae La refugee camp, June 4, 2012 in Tak province, Thailand. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images) #

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Ethnic Karen Burmese students study at a middle school inside the Mae La refugee camp, June 7, 2012 in Tak province, Thailand. The camp is situated along the Burma-Thailand border and is home to around 50,000 refugees. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images) #

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A Pakistani girl stands in the line with other women and children to receive a ration of rice during a donated food distribution at the Beri Imam shrine, dedicated to the Sufi saint, in Islamabad, Pakistan, June 8, 2012. (Muhammed Muheisen/Associated Press) #

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Pakistani Layla Hazrat, 5, whose family fled their village due to fighting between security forces and militants in Pakistan's tribal area of Bajur, attends a class to learn how to read verses of the Quran, during her daily madrassa (Islamic school) set up in a local mosque on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan, June 7, 2012. (Muhammed Muheisen/Associated Press) #

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A Pakistani boy who lives near by a brick factory, covers his face with a scarf to avoid a sand storm, on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan, June 6, 2012. (Muhammed Muheisen/Associated Press) #

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Pakistani children covered with a mosquito net, sleep in the back of a vehicle parked close to their home, on a roadside on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan, June 25, 2012. Many Pakistanis sleep outdoors to escape the heat trapped in their homes during the summer months. (Muhammed Muheisen/Associated Press) #

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Pakistanis work in a brick factory as rain falls in Islamabad, Pakistan, June 6, 2012. (B.K. Bangash/Associated Press) #

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Pakistani children play during a light rain that brings relief from hot weather in Islamabad, Pakistan, June 6, 2012. (B.K. Bangash/Associated Press) #

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Pakistani Zareeba Afzal, 27, collects water with other women, on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan, June 6, 2012. Pakistanis are facing shortages of water due to the low level of water in the country's dams, according to Pakistani Meteorological Department. (Muhammed Muheisen/Associated Press) #

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Jordanian farmers, Khalefa al Abbadi, 69, and Falah al Abbadi, 50, harvest wheat on the outskirts of Amman, Jordan, June 16, 2012. (Mohammad Hannon/Associated Press) #

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A man sits in front of mannequins on display at a shop in Shanghai, China, June 8, 2012. (Eugene Hoshiko/Associated Press) #

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Tourists take photos near a panoramic photo of the Houses of Parliament in London, exhibited inside China's National Aquatic Center, also known as the "Water Cube", in Beijing, China, June 7, 2012. The "Water Cube" was the 2008 Beijing Olympic venue for swimming, diving, synchronized swimming, and water-polo. (Alexander F. Yuan/Associated Press) #

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Tourists are silhouetted as they look out of the observation deck of the Willis Tower in Chicago. (Sitthixay Ditthavong/Associated Press) #

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An honor guard soldier stands in a doorway as a Quechua Indians attend a ceremony at the government palace in La Paz, Bolivia, June 1, 2012. (Juan Karita/Associated Press) #

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A Nepalese man prays as he is reflected in a window at Boudhanath Stupa, a World Heritage site, in Katmandu, Nepal, June 6, 2012. (Niranjan Shrestha/Associated Press) #

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Nomad women milk buffaloes on the outskirts of Amritsar, India, June 4, 2012. (Altaf Qadri/Associated Press) #

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The International Space Station appears as a streak of light as it passes over the area at 8:51 p.m. providing a 6 minute long viewing opportunity, June 7, 2012 in Birmingham, Ala. (Hal Yeager/The Birmingham News) #

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A Chinese man rides a bicycle across Tiananmen Square before the customary ceremony of lowering the flag, June 9, 2012, in Beijing, China. (Feng Li/Getty Images) #