Vincent Deng won last year's contest with his stunning picture of a traditional community of wooden houses in the mountain village of He Mu in Xinjiang, China which featured on the 2008 calendar cover.

"The golden forest, the small wooden houses, the mixture of smoke and fog - all of these showed a traditional and peaceful village that was separated from the outside, modern world," says Vincent. "I was impressed by the beautiful view, but I was also afraid that it would disappear some day, particularly if traffic was allowed to enter the area. More and more travellers, like me, visit the place and could spoil it for others."

Vincent took about 30 shots of the village before he knew he had a potential winner. He used a Sony FZ1Z digital camera with a tripod, but no special lenses or filters. Vincent expertly caught the early morning light and the radiant autumn colours of September 2006.