Hello fellow Steemians I am excited to bring to you Round 2's theme and Round 1's winners! I have been inspired to curate this competition through all the outstanding photography on display through Steemit. The notion is to help promote fantastic photographers, providing them with exposure, sharing photos in the community and offering SBD prizes for the top 3 photos. First prize will receive 1 SBD, second 0.750 SBD and third 0.500 SBD. Now this is just a starter, the more upvotes I receive for the post the bigger the prize I will be able to reward.

May I make it clear that all photos posted must be Your Own Original Work, Round 1 already had a member trying to plagiarise work! I gave them a warning, someone had upvoted their photo by 9 SBD, but they were found by @Steemcleaners, who do great work! So please fellow Steemians, Post Your Own Work Only, it is only fair.

Each week I will post a new theme on Monday and you will be able to post your entries all week until the post reaches 7 days old. I shall pick the winners and they will be announced and rewarded the following day. Hopefully if there is enough interest I shall be able to add more themes to the competition and have 2 or 3 themes running each week.

Round 2 Theme - Religious Iconography

A temple I caught peeping through the foliage on the outskirts of Bangkok

What can you post? Anything linked to religion, so temples, mosques, churches, monks, etc. Anything that has a link to religion. I was browsing through some photos, thinking about hoe intricate and unique religious buildings and objects are, making fantastic portraits to photograph! I hope this is a bit broader this week, these buildings ad items can be from any country. I remember coming across so many gems when travelling! I look forward to your entries and how creative you can be!

Round 1 Winners

First Place - @jpphotography

This stunning photo by @jphpotography paints a beautiful picture of Thailand with the classic Thai Longboat, rock formations and stunning azure ocean. Please go over to @jpphotography's blog, there are so many fantastic photos. Well done and we will all look forward to your next entry!

Second Place - @worldtravelbug

Second place goes to @worldtravelbug with the three tones of the ocean on Koh Poda island. If you come to visit Thailand you can't go wrong making a visit to Krabi province, if beaches are your thing! Please swing by @worldtravelbug's blog, to check out some delightful destinations and eye-capturing photography.

Third Place - @thinkit

Third place goes to @thinkit with his misty shot of the 300 peaks. This location is about 4 hours south of Bangkok and is a little less known than your average tourist destination. Please go check out @thinkit's blog, he has some amazing drone video and photography!

Other Entrants

I would also like to leave a special mention to @randypike, please go check out his blog, he has stunning photos from across South East Asia, especially his shots in Singapore! Please go check out @jny.untraveled they are a couple of travellers with some awesome travel blogs. Their adventures always make me envious! Also a mention for @phipotg for his not so 'natural' power cables, but certainly a sight you will remember!

How to Enter

• Follow @theexplorer
• Upvote this post
• Create a post with your entry using the #tepchallenge tag (The Explorer's Photo Challenge)
• Write about 50-100 words explaining your photo, it is always fascinating to hear the stories behind the photos

The Rules

• Make sure you have completed all the steps of how to enter, or you will not be eligible to win
• Don't try to pass off work of other's as your own, you'll be flagged and you ruin it for others
• Follow the weekly theme
• One entry per person
• You will only be eligible if you post your entry within the seven days

Make Yourselves Bigger Prizes!

• Invite fellow Steemians to enter the contest, sharing and showcasing their fantastic work
• Resteem the the weekly theme, more exposure, bigger prizes, a bigger community, more opportunities for views on your own pages, as the contest grows I'll be able to support more people with upvotes, mentions and resteems
• Donations towards the prize funds would be hugely appreciated to get this photo series popping! There are so many fantastic photographers that deserve more exposure and I hope that this project will be able to help them out

Good luck everyone, I can't wait to see your fantastic entries and award some of you prizes for your awesome work!