Vietnamese photo scores honorable mention at int'l contest

The photo taken by Vu Manh Cuong in the water category depicts a woman rowing her boat amid green lotus leaves on a pond in Dong Lam Commune, Ha Hoa District.

The competition grand prize was awarded to Anup Shah from the U.K. for his photograph of a female western lowland gorilla walking through a cloud of butterflies.

This year’s contest received entries from a record-breaking 158 countries to compete in four categories: Landscape, People and Nature, Water, and Wildlife.

Organized by Nature Conservancy, a global organization that works in 72 countries to conserve land and water on which all life depends, the annual photo contest aims to "inspire both wonder and exploration of the amazing and incredible world around us."

Born in the northern province of Vinh Phuc, Cuong, 62, has won many international prizes such as the 2018 International Monochrome Photography Awards and 2019 Orhan Holding International Contest during his photography career.