AirAsia and Nikon award the Best Travel Photographer 2015!

Four Filipino contenders traveled around Asia with award-winning photographers; Grand Winner received 100,000 AirAsia BIG Points and a Nikon D5500!

And then there was one. From the four office workers chosen to participate in AirAsia Travel Photographer 2015, including a car salesman and a barista, the online votes have been tallied and 36-year old Velvet Lagman takes home the grand prize! Mentored by Malaysian photojournalist Adam Lee, Velvet will be receiving the coveted title of AirAsia’s Best Travel Photographer of 2015 along with 100,000 AirAsia BIG Points and a Nikon D5500 with a 18mm-55mm lens kit.

The photo contest is jointly organized by AirAsia and ThinkDharma Inc. (the exclusive distributor of Nikon Digital Cameras) in partnership with AirAsia BIG, the airline’s global loyalty programme. Lucky Voter Grand Prize Winner Mia Celindro also received 100,000 AirAsia BIG Points and a Nikon 1 J5, while ten other lucky voting contestants were awarded with AirAsia BIG Points plus other goodies from Nikon.

Assisted by acclaimed photographers from the Philippines and Malaysia as their personal coaches, four pre-selected contestants traveled across Asia for one week, which started on July 21. Contestants were tasked to capture unforgettable moments in categories: landscape, food, portrait, architecture and travel. Online voting via www.airasiatravelphotographer.com was opened to the public on August 20 and concluded on September 5.

AirAsia Philippines Head of Commercial Gerard Penaflor opened the ceremony and joined in the ribbon-cutting of the photojournalists’ exhibit featuring pictures taken on the contest leg. ThinkDharma Inc., meanwhile, was represented by Lady Dianne Abarintos who also closed the program.

Keep updated with the next leg of the AirAsia Travel Photography contest by using #IamAirAsiaTravelPhotographer and receive the latest updates via Twiiter (twitter.com/AirAsiaPh) or Facebook (facebook.com/AirAsiaPhilippines).

SEE ALSO: 4 Contenders, 4 Professional Coaches, and 4 Cities Across Asia! Be Part of the First-ever Search for the AirAsia Best Travel Photographer 2015!