2019 Great Outdoors Photo Contest First Place: Napali Storm

The grand prize in the 2019 Great Outdoors Photo Contest goes to Richard Langer for the image, “Napali Storm.”

“This photograph was taken from a small helicopter over the Napali cliffs on the island of Kauai, Hawaii,” explains Langer. “To avoid the distortions that would result from photographing through the helicopter’s dome, I selected one that had no doors. This was fine for photography, but it let the rain and wind in on my wife and me. Though the weather had been stormy and rainy throughout the flight, it lifted a little as we flew over the ocean. By the end of the trip, we were drenched and shaken, but knew that we had witnessed an amazing sight.”

Sony a7R II, Sony FE 24-240mm f3.5-6.3 OSS at 24mm. Exposure: 1/1000 sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 320.

Check out the 2nd place and 3rd place winners, along with all of the finalists.