Vietnamese wins honors in global contest for photo of cloud-covered Buddha statue

He shot it in October last year when he and his friends took a cable car at dawn to go cloud hunting up the mountain in Tay Ninh Province, the tallest in southern Vietnam at an altitude of 986 m.

On top is the 72-meter Buddha statue cast from more than 170 tons of bronze.

A photo taken by Tran Tuan Viet shows a Buddha statue stands amid clouds on Ba Den Mountain in Tay Ninh Province.

Dubbed the roof of southern Vietnam, the mountain is home to a slew of Buddhist pagodas and temples that are packed during the Lunar New Year when millions flock to pray for peace and luck.

Erico Hiller was the Monochrome Photographer of the Year, and received a US$2,000 award for her portrait of an acid attack survivor.

One of the world's most prestigious awards for black and white photography this year attracted thousands of entries in the abstract, architecture, street, portrait, landscape, beauty, nature, fine arts, and nude categories.