Jayden Thomson, Morning mist in Lakhawali Lake (LANDSCAPE 2024)

I took this photo early in the morning of Lake Lakhawali, one of the many lakes in Udaipur, Rajasthan India. As it was late December, the early morning mist, combined with the heavy pollution of the winter months in India, gave the landscape an otherworldly feeling. As many cities in India have the deadliest and highest air quality index in the world, here, the pollution was able to create something so beautiful instead- a paradox. I wanted the photo to show that beauty can come out of something toxic and deadly.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.