Winners of the 2014 National Geographic Photo Conest have been announced. More than 9,000 entries were submitted from 150 countries. The grand prize, which went to Ben Yen for his photo depicting a commuter consumed by her smartphone, was $10,000 and a trip to the National Geographic headquarters in Washington, D.C., to participate in the annual National Geographic Photography Seminar in January 2015. (MORE:) Other winning images showcase the beauty, diversity and unpredictability of the world—from waves crashing into a...

Serving as temporary shelters to mountaineers, hikers and alpinists, mountain huts range from basic, rustic lodges in Alaska to high-tech, high-altitude havens in the Swiss Alps. Many of them, however, are also notable for being precarioulsy perched on vertigo-inducing locations. Here, we look at 20 of the most incredible mountain huts and refuges in spectacular settings. (MORE: ) France's , a mountain refuge for climbers summiting Mont Blanc, is a pioneering hut in approach and design.The four-story, all-wooden, steel-encased, egg-shaped...

Winner of the Alumni Choice Award at the SCAD Sand Arts Festival 2015 held in North Beach on Tybee Island, Georgia. The annual festival features competitions for sand castle, sand sculpture, sand relief and wind sculpture. (SCAD Sand Arts Festival) North Beach in Georgia's picturesque Tybee Island was transformed into an art canvas for hundred of spectacular sand sculptures and castles created by students of the Savannah College of Art and Design for the in May. Presented by the School...