Readers' travel photograph competition: November – sunlight

Chris Norrie: This was captured with a point and shoot (DSLRs are a terrible burden in the Scottish Highlands in winter) near the summit of Carn Mairg looking south to an inversion on the Ben Lawers range in Perthshire. There is something otherworldly about my companion gazing towards the sun, his walking pole sticking out of his backpack like an antenna. There were some other good photos taken that day, but this is probably the best. Anyway, my contribution was really just being there, the highland landscape in winter took care of the rest. Photograph: Chris Norrie /GuardianWitness

Nora DeAngelli: The moment I entered the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem, I noticed a beam of light entering through the upper windows, falling right on the Sepulchre, the place where Jesus was buried, according to the writings. The site is venerated as Golgotha or the Hill of Calvary, where Jesus was crucified, and is important Christian pilgrimage destination as the purported site of the resurrection of Jesus. Photograph: Nora DeAngelli/GuardianWitness

Simon Smith: My friends brace themselves against the motion of the Golden Fleece as, after five long days of crossing one of the roughest stretches of ocean in the world, we are greeted by the light at the end of the passage. A huge plateau iceberg sits waiting for us ahead of Clarence Island, our first sighting of land since leaving South Georgia. Photograph: Simon Smith/GuardianWitness

Jamie Furlong: The Duke's Jiwan in Amman used to be the post office. Now it's a private house open to the public when the owner is out of town. There are seven rooms filled with photos, paintings and knick-knacks which have found their way here over the last century. Each morning the sun throws light through the floor-to-ceiling windows, creating complex shadows across the tiled floor. The caretaker is pictured here taking a break from his duties. Photograph: Jamie Furlong/GuardianWitness

Guy Carpenter: I was wandering around the Galata bridge area in Istanbul and had walked through the subway that runs underneath the bridge when just by chance I turned around and saw everything behind me silhouetted by the setting sun. I took this one shot, and ever since it has been a favourite. Photograph: Guy Carpenter/GuardianWitness

Kim Gordon-Bates: Early morning, at sun break, monks from the many monasteries in Luang Prabang circle the town collecting alms in food form. Women must give sitting down, men can stand. Tourists are discouraged from giving food as it gives the monks stomach aches, say the abbots. Photograph: Kim Gordon-Bates/GuardianWitness

Liam Arthur: I took this shot of my son Elliot on a weekend away at Shambala festival in the summer. The theme for the carnival this year was tribes, so the whole family dressed up as animals. Elliot was insistent on being a dinosaur, and once there he wouldn't take off his dinosaur tail. The image was taken on the first evening when we had a beautiful sunset, I love the effect of the sun flare combined with the carnival tent behind, it reminds me of nostalgic memories of childhood. Photograph: Liam Arthur /GuardianWitness

Richard Fitzwater: This picture of Stonehenge was taken after a long night of star gazing. The morning was misty and sunny, and getting this picture, taken at 6.20am, made up for the long damp night. Photograph: Richard Fitzwater/GuardianWitness

Kieran Maartens: This was taken on the Ganges at Varanasi. We had left in the dark of early morning for a boat trip to the ghats, but this shot was taken as we were returning to our hotel. I turned away from the bustle of the nearby riverbank to capture a rowing boat gliding past quietly against the rising sun. The morning mist meant the horizon and the river melted into one, leaving the opposite bank invisible. Photograph: Kieran Maartens/GuardianWitness

Gill Stafford, runner-up: The tower of the Roman Catholic Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral pierces the early morning mist as the sun rises. I've photographed the iconic cathedral many times but this shot epitomises the phrase 'Let there be Light.' The inside of the tower is full of colourful stained glass windows in an abstract design with colours arranged in shades as though a rainbow.

Natalie Mayer, judge: I had to google the Roman Catholic Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral to check out what it looked like in 'real life', as this image looks like something from a science fiction movie. Interesting perspective and very good light and weather captured. There is a slight wonkiness to the image which is distracting and straightening this out (by having photographed from a slightly different angle) would have improved the capture. Photograph: Gill Stafford/GuardianWitness

Dale Morris, runner-up: This shot was taken in the Namib desert. The sun was harsh. I wanted to convey a story with the shot so I used a super wide angle and got the dune, the scorpion and the sun in the background.

Natalie Mayer, judge: What awesome light. With a harsh sun in the background of the shot, we normally expect some silhouetting, which hasn't occurred in this case. Either the photographer used a flash to light the scene, or something is reflecting back at the scorpion, lighting him up and bringing the scene to life. Either way, it's an exciting and punchy image and the scorpion's colours are great. The tiny bit of flare bottom left is distracting. It wouldn't have been considered cheating to edit this out in Photoshop. In some cases, more 'ethereal' images for example, the flare lends atmosphere. But here, I feel it unnecessary and it takes away from the cleaness of the image. Photograph: Dale Morris/GuardianWitness

Super Jolly, winner: Jellyfish Lake is secluded behind the tranquility of white sandy beaches and gentle waves on one of the paradise islands of Palau in the western Pacific. I saw a dense mass of golden spheres glistening in the sun’s rays and I was quickly plunged into a spooky alien world.

Natalie Mayer, judge: While there were many gorgeous entries this month, I feel this image has the best combination of stunning light, as well as a beautiful balance to the composition. It's difficult to quantify what makes a balanced composition, but when your gaze lands on an image, it should know instantly where the intended focal point is (in this case the sunlight and the biggest jellyfish leading to it) and then be able to follow around the image, picking out all the other important elements (in this case, the other jellyfish and then the colours and water). This would look stunning as a huge print. Photograph: Super Jolly /GuardianWitness