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 photography and film contest, initiated by the UK’s Royal Geographical Society, Forestry England, and visual arts consultancy Parker Harris back in 2018, saw more than 1,500 entries from approximately 250 ‘visual creators’ during its seventh annual run.
Forty photographers and videographers were chosen by a panel of specialists, who now face the challenging duty of selecting a champion from within the 203 compelling, lyrical, and frequently surprising narratives.
These tales not only underscore the critical concerns of
climate change
, including vanishing ecosystems, contaminated waterways, and displacements caused by climate change, while also highlighting human innovation, perseverance, and the strong bonds between individuals and their surroundings,” stated the competition organizers.
Below are seven of our top picks, prior to choosing a winner for The Earth Photo 2025 exhibition, which will open at the Royal Geographical Society from June 17th through August 20th.
7. ‘Pandamonium’ in China
Wearing a panda costume at the Wolong’s Hetaoping center in Sichuan Province is merely one example of how Ami Vitase lives out her philosophy of “being part of the narrative.”
The National Geographic photographer, author, and documentarian has journeyed to over 100 nations, documenting the narratives of people at the forefront of climate shifts and conflicts, “individuals who decline to allow disaster to dictate their destinies.”
At the Chinese
panda
At the center, cubs are brought up with limited human interaction, including infrequent direct examinations, aiming to develop abilities necessary for surviving in their natural habitat.
In ‘A Hopeful Sign,’ as mentioned earlier, Vitale captured an image of a tranquil black rhino named Bruno lounging under a rainbow at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya.
6. Spotlight on olive tree cultivation
Over more than ten years, Spanish-born artist Berta De La Rosa has committed herself to a project titled ‘Getsemaní,’ aiming to safeguard Mediterranean customs by concentrating on the olive tree.
“My objective for this ongoing lifetime endeavor, focused on environmental sustainability, is to use the symbol of the olive tree — being a universally recognized tree and one filled with hope — to advocate for all our trees,” she explains.
And through this action, I aim to protect our natural environments and restore the respect owed to farm work.
5. The final inhabitants of the Cursed Mountains
Chiara Fabbro is an Italian documentary photographer located in London, concentrating her work on themes of migration, displacement, and human connections.
In this series, she focuses her camera on what might be the last generation of shepherds residing in the isolated uplands of the Accursed Mountains, an impressive chain that stretches across the region.
Albania
, Kosovo, and Montenegro.
Their age-old lifestyle is being challenged by droughts caused by climate change, which makes herds venture farther for grazing, along with young people moving away from isolated mountain living.
4. ‘Heartaly’: Italy Amid Climate Change
A cross-country skiing 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 inhabitants with water.
This is just one example of how global warming is showing up in Italy, which Italian documentary photographer Filippo Ferraro investigates with his ‘Heitaly’ project.
3. Aquatic Routes within the Amazon
In an image captured by Colombian photographer and engineer Mateo Borrero, a Ticuna man appears small next to a massive 500-year-old Ceiba tree within the Peruvian Amazon rainforest.
On the face of it, the image seems simply to illustrate the smallness of man beside a natural giant. But a horizontal shadow, at eye-level with the man, tells a deeper story.
The tree features a watermark indicating the usual level of the river during the wet season, typically reaching its peak between April and May. Captured in May 2024, this photograph illustrates the high point from the previous year’s flooding.
drought
due to climate change.
2. A thermal view of Iceland’s shrinking woodlands
Once covered with forests that accounted for approximately 40 percent of its land, Iceland now retains just around 1.5 percent woodland coverage. The nation aims to attain carbon neutrality by 2040 through restoration initiatives; however, these endeavors encounter numerous obstacles—among them, the escalating pressures exerted by an expanding 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 included in national inventories according to the Kyoto Protocol, making it difficult for the country to advance its climate initiatives.
“Starting from 2021, I have been recording the overlap between tourism and reforestation efforts in Iceland through digital infrared photography, which is often utilized to evaluate forest health,” he clarifies.
The method uncovers concealed features of the terrain,” he explains. As seen in this image, it also underscores the crucial part played by volunteers. Each year, millions of saplings are cultivated at facilities such as the Kvistari nursery, which is shown here.
1. Discarded plastic appearing on the shores of Bali’s beaches
In January 2025, Bali’s shores were overwhelmed by waves of plastic contamination. Annually, during the wet season, Indonesia’s contaminated waterways discharge millions of tons of plastic refuse into the seas, whereupon this debris makes landfall along the nation’s waterfronts.
Despite this being an annual event, 2025 has been dubbed “the most severe year so far” by residents.
The Beijing-based British photographer and filmmaker Sean Gallagher journeyed to Indonesia to capture this developing story.
plastic crisis
His work showcases local Indonesians participating in communal initiatives to cleanse their nation’s contaminated shores, waterways, and tidal forests.
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