From Cursed Peaks to Bali's Beaches: Photos Capture a World in Transition
From a rhino at the end of a rainbow to the molten front line of a wildfire, the shortlist for Earth Photo 2025 is full of riveting environmental stories that demand to be told.
The global photo and film contest initiated by the United Kingdom’s Royal Geographical Society, Forestry England, and visual arts firm Parker Harris in 2018 saw more than 1,500 entries from around 250 'image creators' during its seventh annual run.
40 photographers and filmmakers were selected by a jury of experts, who now have the unenviable task of choosing a winner from the 203-strong collection of “urgent, poetic and often unexpected stories”.
These tales not only underscore the critical concerns of climate change , including vanishing ecosystems, contaminated waterways, and displacement caused by climate change, yet also highlighting human innovation, perseverance, and strong bonds with natural surroundings," stated the organizers of the contest.
Below are seven of our top picks, prior to choosing a winner for the Earth Photo 2025 exhibit, which will open at the Royal Geographical Society from June 17th until August 20th.
7. ‘Pandamonium’ in China
Wearing a panda costume at the Wolong’s Hetaoping center in Sichuan Province is merely one example of what Ami Vitase has undertaken to truly "live the story," as per her philosophy.
The National Geographic photographer, author, and movie producer has visited over 100 nations, documenting the tales of people at the forefront of climate change and conflict, "individuals who choose not to allow disaster to shape their destinies."
At the Chinese panda At the center, cubs are brought up with limited human interaction, featuring infrequent hands-on examinations, aiming to develop abilities necessary for survival in their natural habitat.
In ‘A Hopeful Sign’, above, Vitale snapped a black rhino named Bruno, peacefully resting beneath a rainbow at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya.
6. Olive tree farming in the limelight
For over a decade, Spanish-born artist Berta De La Rosa has dedicated herself to a project called ‘Getsemaní’, which advocates for the protection of Mediterranean traditions through a focus on the olive tree.
"My aim for this ongoing lifetime endeavor focused on environmental sustainability is to use the symbol of the olive tree — being a universal and hopeful tree — to advocate for all our trees," she explains.
And through this action, I aim to protect our environments and restore the respect owed to farm work.
5. The final inhabitants of the Cursed Mountains
Chiara Fabbro is an Italian documentary photographer residing in London, concentrating her work on themes of migration, displacement, and human connections.
In this series, she focuses her camera on what could be the last generation of shepherds residing in the isolated uplands of the Accursed Mountains, an impressive chain extending across the region. Albania , Kosovo, and Montenegro.
Their age-old lifestyle is under threat due to climate-induced droughts, which make herds venture farther for grazing, along with young people moving away from isolated highland living.
4. 'Heartburn': Italy Facing Climate Change
A cross-country ski path meanders through a forest devoid of snow. Currently, about ninety percent of Italy’s ski runs depend on man-made snow machines, using approximately 96,840,000 cubic meters of water each year—enough to supply a population of one million residents.
That’s one aspect of the way global heating is manifesting in Italy, a subject Italian documentary photographer Filippo Ferraro explores through his ‘Heataly’ project.
3. Aquatic Routes within the Amazon
In an image captured by Colombian photographer and engineer Mateo Borrero in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest, a Ticuna man appears small beside a massive 500-year-old Ceiba tree.
At first glance, the picture appears to merely showcase humanity’s insignificance compared to nature’s colossal presence. However, a horizontal shadow level with the figure reveals a more intricate narrative.
The tree features a watermark indicating the usual level of the river during the wet season, typically reaching its peak from April to May. The photograph taken in May 2024 illustrates the scale of the previous year’s flooding. drought due to climate change.
2. A thermal view of Iceland’s shrinking woodlands
Iceland, which was previously around 40 percent covered in forests, now retains just approximately 1.5 percent woodland coverage. These restoration initiatives are crucial for the nation’s aim to attain carbon neutrality by 2040; however, they encounter numerous obstacles — among them being the escalating needs of the tourist industry.
Photographer and director Jussi Hellsten notes that tourism in Iceland has dramatically increased over the last ten years, but emissions from travel are not counted in national inventories under the Kyoto Protocol, complicating the country’s climate efforts.
“Since 2021, I have documented the intersection of tourism and reforestation in Iceland using digital infrared photography, a tool commonly employed to assess forest health,” he explains.
“The technique reveals hidden aspects of the landscape,” he says. And, as in this photo, also highlights the essential role of volunteers. Millions of tree seedlings are grown annually at nurseries like Kvistari, pictured here.
1. Discarded plastic appearing on Bali's shorelines
In January 2025, Bali's shores were overwhelmed by waves of plastic contamination. Annually, during the wet season, Indonesia's contaminated waterways pour millions of tons of plastic debris into the seas, where it subsequently makes landfall along the nation's waterfronts.
Even though these plastic waves happen every year, 2025 has been dubbed "the worst year yet" by people living nearby.
The Beijing-based British photographer and filmmaker Sean Gallagher journeyed to Indonesia with the aim of documenting this developing situation. plastic crisis His series depicts local Indonesians participating in communal initiatives to cleanse their nation's contaminated shores, waterways, and mangrove forests.
Post a Comment for "From Cursed Peaks to Bali's Beaches: Photos Capture a World in Transition"