This month, Steven Martin's photo of snowmen at the Sapporo Snow Festival in Hokkaido, Japan, came out champion in our November winter-themed competition. Our judge, Guardian Travel assistant picture editor Karin Andreasson, says: "I love this photo of the snowmen in Sapporo, it's just so funny and immediate. It may only show a fragment of the festival but it tells all we need and want to know - fun and snow in Japan."

Congratulations to Steven who bags himself a blown-up canvas print of his winning image, courtesy of Point 101. Take a look around our gallery of this month's best entries and, if you fancy seeing your own work on your wall and on the web, get sending us in your all-time best travel photographs.

Entering the photo of the month competition

For December we felt like giving you free rein with your creativity and have ditched a theme, leaving you with the sole rule that it has to be travel related. So give your imagination wings and send us your snaps of anything and everything - office Christmas parties not included. To be in with a chance of winning take a look at our guidelines, then forward your snaps to been.there.photos@guardian.co.uk.

You don't have to be an expert to enter the competition - all travel photos are accepted as long as they're at least 435 pixels wide (for landscape shots) or 455 pixels high (for portrait format). A shortlist of the Been there team's favourite entries will be published as a gallery each month on the Travel site.

Photo of the month hall of fame: see previous winners