Michal Venera won Grand Prize in the portrait category of our 3rd annual Global Travel Photo Contest. He was born in Prague (formerly communist Czechoslovakia). After defecting to New York City at the age of 19, he made his way across the United States, taking on a variety of odd jobs including fisherman, security guard, janitor and dishwasher. He later studied photography, assisted a number of photographers and eventually started his own photo business.

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