Human-Powered Travel: May Editor's Challenge Winners
In this month's Editor's photo challenge, we asked you to share your photos fearing human-powered travel. Our community biked, skated, trekked and kayaked to submit some amazing photos of people moving under their own power.
Our top picks on the following pages are presented in random order. You can see all the photos submitted here.
Celestial Crossing
Photographer: rshoub
Photographer's description: My telephoto lens isolates a cyclist on a path in the park below. The surrounding world falls away and leaves only her, suspended in motion. The aggregate in the asphalt glitters like a constellation, and makes it seem as if she is pedaling across the stars. She is both part of the earth and, at the same time, above it.
Equipment: Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 III
Carrying Water
Photographer: 75RobinH
Photographer's description: 1994. Karakorum Highway, traveling along a stretch of the ancient Silk Road from Islamabad (Pakistan) to Kashgar (China). In this photo taken in Tashkurgan (Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region) we have an example of "human-powered transport" typical of those areas in those days...the young boy and the two women were laboriously carrying drinking water from the well to their homes. They still took the time to say hello and give us a smile.
Equipment: Minolta 505 si DINAX + Minolta AF Apo zoom 100-300
Overlooking the Laramie Plains
Photographer: Turbguy1
Photographer's description: Captured during a weekly hike with Laramie's "Seniors on the GO," this un-posed photograph offers a view of the Laramie Plains from the slopes of Sheep Mountain, west of the city. From this vantage point at approximately 8000 feet, the plains unfold, featuring scattered lakes, reservoirs, wildlife refuges, and roaming herds of pronghorn antelope.
Equipment: Canon PowerShot A590 IS
Cooling Off
Photographer: funnybeingmg
Photographer's description: It's already spring in Alaska and time to go on one more "winter adventure" with friends before the frozen river melts. It is a very surreal experience to fat tire bike on a frozen river to the face of a glacier, with gigantic icebergs surrounding ice. There is just nothing like it.
Equipment: Sony a7 IV + Tamron 28-200mm F2.8-5.6 Di III RXD
SloMoe- Life in the Slow Lane
Photographer: JeffryzPhoto
Photographer's description: Former doctor- all the fancy cars and houses to go with it. Started losing sight- sold everything, got a studio apartment near the beach and a pair of rollerblades and skates slowly (more glides on one leg) along the boardwalk every day. He can no longer recognize faces so everybody is a friend- greeted with a smile and a wave. San Diego legend.
Equipment: Fujifilm X-T4 + Fujifilm XF 16-55mm F2.8 R LM WR
San Francisco Grand Prix
Photographer: more cow bell
Photographer's description: Taken during the San Francisco Grand Prix cycling race, that was held from 2001 through 2005. This shot was scanned from a 35mm slide, so I do not have digital EXIF info, but my guess is that it is from Sept 2003 or Sept 2004. I’m not a cycling aficionado, but I was living close to the race course so I enjoyed watching and taking photos of the event. Scanned from a 35mm slide, either Velvia or Ektachrome E100VS.
Equipment: Canon EOS 3
Kyoto Rickshaw
Photographer: N4865G
Photographer's description: Rickshaws are commonly believed to have been invented in Japan in the 1860s, at the beginning of a rapid period of technical advancement. In the 19th century, rickshaw pulling became an inexpensive, popular mode of transportation across Asia. A pulled rickshaw (or ricksha, 力車, りきしゃ) is a mode of human-powered transport by which a runner draws a two-wheeled cart which seats one or two people.
Equipment: Sony a9 + Sony FE 24-105mm F4 G OSS
Sunrise at the 2023 Backyard Ultra World Championship
Photographer: Knipling
Photographer's description: Italy’s Antonio di Manno, Singapore’s Joshua Toh, the Philippines’ Jivee Tolentino, the United States’ Harvey Lewis and Jon Noll, and Belgium’s Ivo Steyaert and Matthias Pelgrims run together at sunrise on day four of the 2023 Backyard Ultra World Championship in Bell Buckle, Tennessee. A Backyard Ultra is a last-person-standing race where runners must complete a 4.167-mile loop every hour on the hour until only one runner remains. Harvey Lewis (center) ultimately prevailed, completing 450 miles over the course of 108 hours.
Equipment: Sony a7 IV + Tamron 35-150mm F2-2.8 Di III VXD
Pretty Big Jump
Photographer: Gbeeston
Photographer's description: Built this jump with my friend over a week, turned out a little larger than we had imagined. The day we tried hitting it was a little muddy, so getting up to speed was a challenge. After a few run ups, he pulled the trigger. Neither of us were expecting to get that much height of the lip!
Equipment: Canon EOS R8 + Canon EF 50mm F1.8 STM
Evening Commute
Photographer: Raptor142
Photographer's description: After an afternoon of hard surfing in the chilly waters on Cape Town's West Coast, you could take a bus home .... but what fun would that be?
Equipment: Nikon D90 + Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-105mm F3.5-5.6G ED VR
Persistence pays off
Photographer: eg51
Photographer's description: Several children were practicing in an improvised skateboarding course next to the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, when I entered the museum. As I came out, about two hours later, this boy was still working hard, trying to perfect his skills.
Equipment: Leica Q2
Cambie Bridge Rush Hour
Photographer: Minev
Photographer's description: I used to bike every day to work when I lived in Vancouver rain or shine. Going downtown always involves crossing a bridge and I love the mood that morning fogs created transforming the entire cityscape in a fun and mysterious journey. What was mundane became interesting and object in motion seemed to project an aura with the glow of lights appearing from the fog and disappearing back into it.
Equipment: Nikon D3200 + Nikon AF-S Nikkor 24-70mm F2.8E ED VR
Parra City Roller
Photographer: lennitheox
Photographer's description: Australia, Parramatta city early morning Wednesday trek into work while Jacob gets his morning workout on a brisk cold winter day. Three times a week every week Jacob makes the trip into the city via Parramatta Park.
Equipment: Canon EOS 5D + Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM
The Great Wave off Mallorca
Photographer: Paul-K
Photographer's description: Kayakers making their way down the rugged west coast of Mallorca. The dark wave-like form is shadow cast by the cliffs from which I was shooting.
Equipment: Canon EOS 5D Mark III + Canon EF 70-200mm F2.8L IS II USM
Ski Touring Moroccan High Atlas
Photographer: skitraveler
Photographer's description: I had skied six of the seven continents before heading to Morocco in February 2023 to complete the set so to speak. We had great conditions with more snow than normal and bluebird days making this a truly unforgettable trip. On this day we were at Tarkeddit Pass and went up to just over 11,000'.
Equipment: Sony a7R IV + Sony FE 24-105mm F4 G OSS
Mom-Powered Travel
Photographer: Hooyat
Photographer's description: It's a popular bicycle path that people take for leisure or to commute to work and school. Took this picture of a mom rounding a curve with kids in the back seat.
Equipment: Canon EOS M200 + Canon EF-M 22mm f/2 STM
Fighting The Flow
Photographer: Nilesh Trivedi
Photographer's description: A kayaker faces up to the ultimate challenge - riding the Grade 5 rapids at the Zambezi River, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. These are some of the most intense rapids known to Man.
Equipment: Canon EOS 70D + Sigma 18-250mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM
Riding on UFOs
Photographer: Dan da Lanci
Photographer's description: "Close Encounters of the Third Kind": the two Bikers in their "spacy" Vehicles meet in the middle of nowhere, and I found that the Scene has something of the famous Film directed by Steven Spielberg.
Equipment: Sony SLT-A55 + Tamron SP AF 17-50mm F/2.8 XR Di II LD Aspherical (IF)
One of these must be mine
Photographer: Actionphotoie
Photographer's description: A competitor looking a bit confused among a sea of bikes at the end of a GealForce adventure race in the west of Ireland. The competitors have to propel themselves around a 50km course using bikes kayaks and their legs.
Equipment: Canon EOS-1D Mark II N + Canon EF 70-200mm F4L USM
Looking for more?
We're hard at work on our next Editor's challenge, but until then, consider checking out some of the other community challenges on the site. REHS is hosting a "Texture" challenge that starts taking submissions today, and you can submit photos to DRLex's "Fortnight 52: My Best Non-bird Photo Shot after 2025-05-12" challenge starting Monday.
