The photo by Nguyen Tan Kuan shows a man and his daughter riding an elephant home at sunset and his wife coming out of their house with a child to welcome them back. It was shot near the Central Highlands province's Lak Lake.

 

It garnered the most votes from Agora users to earn Kuan, a Dak Lak photographer, the $1,000 top prize, Agoda, the world’s largest free-to-use photo app, announced Sunday.

 

The 500-ha Lak Lake, about 60 km south of Buon Ma Thuot Town, is the largest natural freshwater lake in Dak Lak. The area around is home to M’Nong ethnic minority people, who raise elephants and offer rides on them to tourists.

 

The competition had received 8,405 entries with 50 making the final round of voting.

 

Kuan said: "I witnessed such a sweet family moment. Through the picture, I wanted to emphasize the importance of a united family to live a happy life."

 

Another entry from a Vietnamese photographer, Nguyen Vu Phuoc, showing a man and his son paying homage to a deceased family member at a cemetery in Ho Chi Minh City also made it to the top 50.

 

In March an aerial shot of Da Nang’s famous Golden Bridge, which is held up by two giant hands, won Tran Tuan Viet Agora’s world’s best architecture photo of 2020 award.

 

Last month a photo of water lilies in the Yen Stream outside Hanoi taken by Tran Quang Quy took the $1,000 top prize in Agora’s Spring 2020 photo contest.