The August Editors' photo challenge

The theme for our August Editors' photo challenge was "Road Trip," and we asked you to share your favorite moments on the open highway or road trip adventure.

You took us on a wild ride, with photos from across the globe, ranging from the vast expanse of the Arabian Peninsula to a frozen Mongolian lake. Each image is a testament to the spirit of adventure that fueled your journeys. As usual, we were overwhelmed with great photos – many more than we can present here. Our favorites, showcasing a diverse range of vision and talent, are presented in random order.

Thanks to everyone who participated in this photo challenge. If you want to participate in other photo challenges, visit our Challenges page to see currently open or upcoming challenges, or to vote in a recently closed challenge.

Avenue de Baobab in Madagascar

Photographer: Kjeld Olesen

Photographer's statement: Traveling around Madagascar, most people make a stop at Avenue de Baobab to take in the scenery of majestic baobabs lining the dirt road between Morondava and Tsingy De Bemaraha National Park.

Going in 2001, this was our first trip with a digital SLR camera, the Canon D30, with its 3 megapixel sensor, which was considered fantastic at the time, along with a voluminous IBM 340 MB Micro CF drive and a Minds@Work 6 GB DigitalWallet, allowing for some 2000 images to be stored – comparable to the usual 1800 images from 50 rolls of Kodachome. It is fun to see how much more detail and clarity can be extracted from those old Raw files using modern software.

Equipment: Canon EOS D30 + Canon EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 II USM

Heading into the storm

Photographer: LokeshS

Photographer's statement: Storm clouds brew overhead as the straight road to Leh, India, stretches across the wind-swept, barren land and disappears into the horizon. This picture was taken a few kilometers before the confluence of the Indus and Zanskar rivers. Rain had stopped, though angry clouds gathered overhead for another assault on the land. Having seen numerous pictures of the Leh highway with an empty road stretching into the horizon, I too was inclined to take one. I purposely kept the BRO tents in the frame to highlight their presence amidst the tough conditions and desolation of the landscape.

Equipment: Canon PowerShot G1 X Mark II

Making his own road

Photographer: Nilesh Trivedi

Photographer's statement: An intrepid explorer gamely finding his way through the majestic dunes of the Rub Al Khali (or The Empty Quarter), one of the most desolate places on the planet.

Equipment: Canon EOS 70D + Sigma 18-250mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM

Driving on frozen Lake Khovsgol

Photographer: SemK

Photographer's statement: In 2012, I traveled to the Northern part of Mongolia, to Khovsgol Lake, to see the Mongolia Winter festival. Crossing the lake was very strange because it was a very silent drive, and wherever we looked, all we saw was ice, snow and no signs or anything to read. This picture was taken when we stopped for a break while crossing the lake.

Equipment: Pentax K-5 + Pentax smc DA 18-250mm F3.5-6.3

Driving the S-bend

Photographer: Jill Hancock

Photographer's statement: We were on a road and rail trip through China and visited the Rainbow Mountains, where you get around by bus. Here we were looking down on the road as it wound its way around the mountains as a bus drove along.

Road dogs, Hot Springs, SD

Photographer: jaberg

Photographer's statement: Gigi and I waiting for pack member JP. She’s provisioning. Dinner will be thick steaks cooked over the fire, but we have another hour to our destination and camp yet to make. Day ten or so of this trip. I’m loving it, but it’s taking its toll.

Equipment: Apple iPhone 5s

Equipment: Canon EOS R6 Mark II

High Atlas road trip

Photographer: Mark B Willey

Photographer's statement: The windy road up and over the High Atlas Mountains in Morocco, this stitch panorama was taken on the day of the disastrous 2023 earthquake and near its epicenter. Fortunately, we were out in the Sahara Desert when it hit just before midnight!

Equipment: Nikon D500 + Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-300mm F3.5-6.3G ED VR

The storm

Photographer: Andreas Glindemann

Photographer's statement: On a road trip close to Jasper Forest National Park in Arizona, we saw this pick-up perfectly fitting the landscape. Will the road guide it away from the storm? Probably.

Equipment: Olympus OM-D E-M1 + Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12mm 1:2

Togwotee Pass highway

Photographer: McFrost69

Photographer's statement: A mid-October 2023 morning view of the Grand Teton as seen from just below the Togwotee Pass Lodge on US Highway 26-287 between Dubois and Moran, Wyoming. It was the beginning of my road trip down to Utah to see the annular eclipse of the Sun that month.

Equipment: Canon EOS 90D + Canon EF 70-200mm F4L USM

Scotland backroads

Photographer: poppyjk

Photographer's statement: My wife and I did a 24-day road trip through Ireland, Scotland and England. Poignant because her ancestors immigrated to the US from Scotland, and mine from Ireland. Both of us felt deep-rooted emotional connections. Close to Glencoe in Scotland, this flock of Scottish Blackface sheep delayed our driving for 45 minutes. Two Border Collies were tending the flock, but had no urgency to herd them off the road.

Equipment: Canon EOS 30D + Canon RF 24-105mm F4L IS USM

Where the pavement ends

Photographer: Star Geezer

Photographer's statement: One of a dozen glacial lakes my wife and I canoed and tent camped during a 5700-mile road trip covering over 20 states. This lake, about 10 miles from the Canadian Border, was one of over 30 lakes and a dozen rivers we paddled. This road trip celebrated our 43rd wedding anniversary in 2014. At the time, we were both in our late 60s, and one of dozens we took together over 50 years. Life's too short, go out and do something!

Equipment: Nikon D800 + Nikon AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G ED

Box of rain

Photographer: MCHammer

Photographer's statement: I was heading home across the Snake River Plain in Idaho when this rainbow appeared across the road. I couldn't get the entire scene into one frame, so I took six shots and merged them as a panorama in Photoshop. I also corrected the perspective as much as I was able.

Equipment: Canon PowerShot G7

Heading home after a long day

Photographer: WSmith_798

Photographer's statement: My husband and I were visiting Yellowstone National Park. At the end of one day, we were heading back to our campsite in stop-and-go traffic when a bison cut in line in front of us with such ease we wondered if it was his routine. Captured through the windshield with my first DSLR, a Canon 70D, and a Canon EF-S 15-85mm lens.

Equipment: Canon EOS 70D + Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

Mongolia

Photographer: JeffryzPhoto

Photographer's statement: While stopping to hit the outhouse, we saw this car out of gas at a tiny gas station in the middle of nowhere in Western Mongolia. (Everything seems to be in the middle of nowhere outside the capital city of Ulanbaatar, where half the population resides.) They were waiting to fill up, and the car wouldn't start when the one in front of it pulled away.

Equipment: iPhone 15 Pro Max

Driving through the highlands

Photographer: JohnnyBE

Photographer's statement: This photograph was taken around 1:00 AM during an all-night road trip through the Highlands of Iceland. Experiencing and photographing such a remote place with no one else around was truly unforgettable.

This photo was taken from a drone, with the main challenge being to find the right composition to capture this epic location, while at the same time including my car for scale and perspective. The blue light worked beautifully with my exposure settings, allowing me to convey the mood of the moment, from the dark volcanoes to the distant blue sky.

Equipment: Hasselblad L3D-100C

On our way to Monument Valley

Photographer: IFRPilot

Photographer's statement: This is the first time we visited Monument Valley. Even before arriving at the park, we saw impressive formations of rocks. It was also nice to meet some of the local people there.

Equipment: Sony a7R + Sony FE 24-70mm F4 ZA OSS Carl Zeiss Vario Tessar T*

On Iceland's ring road

Photographer: Phantogram

Photographer's statement: In spring this year, I was chasing the northern lights in Iceland. When the weather was not promising, I was hitting the road for a better location. However, bad weather often gives the nicest shots. This picture was made close to Djupivogur, a small town in the east fjords, with blistering winds and between rainstorms.

Equipment: Sony a7 III + Sony FE 24-105mm F4 G OSS

Way up to the Col du Lautaret

Photographer: alexolph

Photographer's statement: Beautiful scenery in the French Alps with the majestic Ecrins massif in the background. Bicycle trip with a dear friend heading to Col du Galibier. Panorama composed of six single images using ptGUI and Lightroom post-processing.

Equipment: Ricoh GR III

Nepal van Java

Photographer: Myles Baker

Photographer's statement: Every year, my wife's extended family goes on a road trip somewhere in Indonesia. I hadn't been able to go for the last two years due to work, but I was able to make this trip. We rented a bus (complete with mini-bar & karaoke, because, why not) and headed from Jakarta to Yogyakarta, taking in sites like Borobudur & Prambanan. This photo of a few of the cousins was taken on a side trip to Nepal van Java, a small mountain village near Magelang, Jawa Timur.

Equipment: Canon EOS R8 + Canon RF 24-105mm F4L IS USM

On cue, a red convertible

Photographer: Ranger 9

Photographer's statement: It was a hot, hazy August day, and I had driven up the old Lincoln Highway route through Harrison County, Iowa, to climb the steep, grassy trail up the bluffs to the Murray Hill Scenic Overlook. At the top, it was quiet except for the wind; I was possibly the only human within half a mile. The panorama of the Missouri River valley spread out at my feet, fields dappled by clouds, a winding asphalt road directly below me.

Looking down at the scene, I thought: "This is almost too perfect. All it needs is a red convertible." I was pondering the scene when I heard the hum of tires, looked down, and saw... a red convertible. The brake lights blinked on for an instant as it slowed for the sharp left-hand curve. I had just enough time to drag the camera to my eye and make one shot.

Equipment: Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 + Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 45mm F1.8