Thanks to the lovely Kat of Travel with Kat who hosted Travel Photo Roulette round 117 with the theme light. My photo of Lake Serene at Boshack Outback (farm stay in Western Australia) was selected as the winning entry.

The key responsibility of the winner is to host the next round of Photo Roulette.

Travel Photo Roulette #118: Traditions

It is that time of year when so many of us are getting ready to celebrate Christmas and preparing traditions that have been passed down from generation to generation.

You don’t need to share a christmas tradition it can be anything from a traditional ceremony to a traditional dance.

Entries for Travel Photo Roulette #118: Traditions

Tom from Anita’s Feast

The alphorn is the Swiss national instrument and symbol of dairy farming. The Swiss farmers first used the alphorns to signal each other across the alpine valleys.

Carole from Berkeley and Beyond

Based on a 16th-century story, the Barong and Kris Dance is performed daily in Bali. The barong in this traditional performance looks like a lion or tiger, and drives away evil spirits. Atonal music accompanies.

Travel n Lass

“Thanaka” is a most ubiquitous tradition in Myanmar – the pale yellow paste graces the cheeks of most every woman and child. This image was quite the sweet bit of serendipity. While trekking among the hill tribe villages between Kalaw and Inle Lake, I slept in local homes. One morning, as I lay on my bamboo mat on the floor of my homestay – a faint creak of the flooring (luckily) prompted me to open my eyes… There in the corner knelt this young lad, carefully applying “thanaka” to his cheeks by the dim light from the window.

Juergen from Dare2go

“In Pátzcuaro, Michoacán province of Mexico, you can see the regional “Danza de los Viejitos (Old Man’s Dance), which dates back to times before the conquest. It is performed by young boys wearing crude masks of old people along with their typical campesino clothing and straw hats decorated with colorful ribbons. Wooden sandals on their feet accompany the rhythm of the Mariachi band. The dance sets off slowly, old men bend on their sticks and holding their backs as if in pain. As the tempo of the music increases the dancers clack their sandal soles loudly and energetically on the ground and pound their canes, which miraculously no longer seem to be needed to hold them up. Finally the dance winds down when they all are overcome again by their ages, and they shuffle unsteadily away to the dying music. Quite a spectacle!”

Travel Photo Roulette Guidelines

• One submission per blog, so sites that have 2+ authors only get one entry.
• Post processing is permitted, but photo altering (i.e. using Photoshop to remove elements) is not.
• Abstract submissions welcomed as long as it fits within the interpretation of the chosen phrase – and the connection is comprehensible!
• Keep your images medium-sized and web-optimized (800 pixels wide is good)
• If you win, you will host the next round (runs for 7 days) and so choose the next theme: Keep phrases general so that all bloggers can participate. Specific items like “Eiffel Tower” should be avoided but rather made open-ended like “monuments” or with a dash of focus such as “monuments at night”, which most of us have pictures of. Phrases can be generic ‘signs’, or abstract ‘religion’, but keep it within the realm that all readers will understand. No “Kafka-esque,” or “Overlooking Creation.”
• Themes can be reused after 1 year, however new photos must be submitted.
• No obscene pictures or phrases allowed. Suggestive phrases and photography can be accepted, but please keep it within reason.
• Keep the ideas and photos fresh!
• Pictures from your entire portfolio are fair to submit. You do not have to take the photo within the week of the contest period to submit it.
• Most importantly, all photographs must be your own.
• One last rule, since this is a competition for travel and photography bloggers, you must have a travel/photography blog to enter. Sorry!

How to Enter

It’s so easy! To enter the Travel Photo Roulette competition simply leave a comment below with:

• a link to the image (whether Flickr, 500px, Trover, Smugmug, etc. or your own site) and
• a short description as to why this image represents this round’s theme of light.

As photos are submitted, I will add them to the post. Check back to see your entry! Submissions will close on Saturday 26th December 2015 at midnight GMT. I will select the winner and notify him/her shortly thereafter. He/she will then host the next round of Travel Photo Roulette #119. Please share the contest across social media using the hashtag #photoroulette – the more entries the better.

Previous Winners of Travel Photo Roulette

Check out some of the previous rounds to see some really fabulous photography collections.

The winners and themes in 2015. Click the link to go directly to that entry to see some fab photographs.

93. Jan 2015 Adventures of a GoodMan: WOW!
94. Jan 2015 ZigZag On Earth: Roads and Tracks
95. Feb 2015 Where’s The Gos?: Street Art
96. Mar 2015 Ice Cream and Perma Frost: Frozen
97. Mar 2015 Journey Jottings: Detail
98. April 2015 House Sitting Travel: What’s your Angle?
99. April 2015 JetWayz: Spiritual Beauty
100. April 2015 The Trading Travelers: Celebrate
101. May 2015 Street Food World Tour: Epic
102. May 2015 Next Stop Who Knows: Landscape
103. May 2015 We Travel Together: Wildlife
104. May 2015 Vagabond Way: Festival
105. June 2015 Travel Addicts: Landmarks
106. June 2015 TravelnLass: Wrinkles
107. July 2015 Anita’s Feast: Food Markets
108. July 2015 Dare2Go: Dry
109. August 2015 Travel Past 50: Home
110. August 2015 Barefoot Nomad: Door
111. September 2015 House Sitting Travel: Shapes
112. September 2015 Berkeley and Beyond: Cemeteries
113. October 2015 Dare2Go: Reflections
114. October 2015 Journey Jottings: Thirst Quenching
115. November 2015 Not A Ballerina: Home Away From Home
116. November 2015 Nibble, Sip, Wander: Holiday
117. December 2015 Travel with Kat: Light

The winning entry of round #118 is: 

Congratulations to Travel n Lass!

Thank you to everyone who entered.