Cuiping Hill, or Wuzhi Hill in Yangshuo county, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, and the surrounding area is portrayed in this Jord Hammond photo. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The other side of his glamour

Talent is the key to Hammond's marvelous photos, but there is much more to it than meets the eye; hard work is another major ingredient that makes him stand out in the arena of travel photography.

Before visiting most of the places he shoots, Hammond has to research intensively to get an idea of the location, the angles of the photos, the weather and other aspects. If visiting a place for the first time, he often gets up early to scout the location and figure out what or how he wants to shoot, he said.

The rising Instagram star also reveals in his FAQ page that he works 365 days a year and sometimes up to 16 hours a day. When traveling, he has to stay in cheap hotels to minimize spending.

In addition, he warns those who want to pursue a fruitful career in photography that they need to have the ability to function on four hours of sleep to make the most of the sunrise and sunset, as these times have the best light to shoot in.