My good friend, professional photographer Ken Kaminesky, nominated me for the Thomas Cook Explore The Elements Photo Contest, in which I share my own travel photography that best represents the four elements of nature: Earth, Water, Fire, and Air.

It’s been a while since I’ve entered into a travel photography contest, so I’m very excited to be able to share my entry!

I’ve been to so many photogenic places around the world, which made it very hard to narrow down my top 4. I had a lot of fun going back through my travel photos that represent the elements, so I hope you like my final decisions!

– Earth –

Earth, to me, represents foundation and the heart of life. While I am personally known for often times “having my head in the clouds,” I think of earth as a representation of returning to home. The expansive Wadi Rum desert at sunset was a moment of true connection to my surroundings.

The Earth category will be judged by Dave Bouskill

– Water –

Water is my favorite element. Can one really have a favorite element? Maybe that’s ridiculous, but it’s true. Water symbolizes so much to me. It is life and it is constant and ever-flowing. As a So Cal girl born and raised, I’ve had a connectedness to the ocean my entire life. When I began traveling, I discovered my passion for scuba diving and that there was an entire new world to discover “unda da sea.”

The Water category will be judged by Ken Kaminesky

– Fire –

Fire is an element that makes me imagine wildness and fury. And while it’s the most hostile element in my eyes, it’s also one that can be harnessed. While traveling through Jordan, I had an incredible opportunity to travel to the Wadi Rum desert and share a hot cup of tea with the native Bedouin people.

The Fire category will be judged by Elia Locardi

– Air –

Air is one of the most symbolic elements to me. As someone incredibly afraid of heights, it represents fear. Yet as someone whose life has been entirely transformed by travel (most of it by air), it also represents freedom. I shot this while cycling the Death Road in Bolivia and feel it captures my personal emotions towards air perfectly being both “beautiful” and “terrifying.”

The Air category will be judged by Nicole Young

My Nominations…

Last, but not least, it’s my turn to nominate 5 other bloggers & photographers to submit their best photo representations of Earth, Water, Fire, and Ice!

Alex from Alex in Wanderland

Kristen from Bearfoot Theory

Lauren from How Beautiful It Is

Liz from Young Adventuress

Juno from Runaway Juno

What do you have to do to enter?

You don’t have to be nominated, any blogger can enter to win!

1. Publish an Explore the Elements post on your blog with images for all 4 elements. If you don’t have photos for all 4 elements, post images for the elements that you do have images for. Those who don’t have photos for all 4 elements will still be in with a chance of winning the category winner prizes but won’t be in the running for the main £5,000 travel fund prize.

2. Nominate and notify 5 other bloggers to take part in Explore the Elements at the end of your post to spread the word about the contest!

3. Notify Thomas Cook of your entry before the closing date of the 16^th March 2015 by either:

• Tweeting @thomascookuk including #exploretheelements and a link to your blog post in your tweet or;
• Emailing [email protected], including a link to your post, your name and your email address.

4. Thomas Cook and the competition judges will share and retweet some of our favourite Explore the Elements posts throughout the contest’s 8 week duration so be sure to follow our Facebook and Twitter accounts closely!

5. Every Explore the Elements blog entry will be judged by our 4 judges with each judge selecting an element category winner to receive either a Fujifilm camera, an Apple MacBook Air, or an Apple iPhone 6 with Bose noise cancelling headphones depending on their choice. The judges will then work together to select the overall winner of the £5,000 travel fund. For further information about the judging and the prizes see the Terms & Conditions by clicking the link below.

6. Terms and Conditions

Which element is your favorite photo entry?