Nevin was not dreaming of an African safari when he spied this mud-caked, grand prize-winning scene: “I was soaking with my wife in an outdoor sulfur pool that smelled like rotten eggs!” he laughs. “We were at the Ein Gedi spa and hot springs on the Dead Sea in Israel with a tour group. The spa was crowded with Israelis and Palestinians and also with tourists. When I saw these nuns approach a gaggle of muddy German tourists, I jumped out of the water and snapped this photo in my dripping-wet bathing suit. It was a moment in the making!” Nevin is a program manager for HIV patients in Rockville, Maryland.

Camera: Sigma SA300; lens: Sigma 28-200mm zoom; film: Fujichrome Provia 100

Trip courtesy of Geographic Expeditions.