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By Dianne Apen-Sadler
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While the advent of mobile phones has turned us all into budding photographers – particularly on holiday – it takes real talent to truly capture a destination.
In the right hands, a camera can offer a snapshot into a particular place and time, and over the years, travel photography has no doubt inspired many to book a flight to far-flung destinations.
Following more than 20,000 image submissions from photographers in 160 countries, this year’s winning images from the Travel Photographer of the Year competition have taken us from Holy Week in Zamora to sunrise in Sukhothai, Thailand.
Having been judged anonymously by an international panel of experts, you can keep scrolling for a selection of the award-winning snaps.
Travel Photographer of the Year 2025’s overall winner
Athanasios Maloukos was named the Travel Photographer of the Year 2025, having submitted a series of photos from Holy Week in Zamora and of whirling dervishes in Konya, Turkey.
The former was captured on Holy Thursday, where the Yacente brotherhood, dressed in white robes, walks through the streets in silence, while the latter shows the various stages of the Sema ceremony.
Travel Photographer of the Year founder Chris Coe said of the entry, “Shot in low light, these images require immense skill to get right. Shooting on the edge like this requires very careful use of shutter speed to selectively freeze and blur the movements in these two ceremonies.
“Here, the hints of movement alongside the frozen elements enhance the atmosphere and drama in Athanasios’s photographs. This is all achieved in camera without over-processing, and conveys the depth and intensity of each moment.”
Monochrome magic: The Travel Image of the Year
Dana Allen took home two top prizes for her black-and-white photo of a bull elephant.
Captured in Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Conservation Area, the incredible shot shows the moment an elephant showers himself in dust, which is typically done to cool down and to create a barrier protecting against sun damage and pests.
A professional wildlife photographer, Allen lives in Zimbabwe and has been working across southern, central and eastern Africa for the past 30 years.
One shot to capture our Green Planet
Captured in the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Sukhothai Historical Park, John Edwards’ shot of a Buddha reflected in still water took home the top prize in the single image Green Planet category.
Inverting the photo, Edwards said he intended “to create an image that mirrors the peaceful, dreamlike feeling of this sacred location, where the green textures and beautiful flowers of our world can be transformed into a new and unexpected reality”.
While many of the photographers handed gongs as part of this year’s competition are snappers by trade, Edwards’ day job involves developing treatments for cancer and rare diseases.
Slow travel in the frame
Shot from above, Teo Chin Leong’s striking image, which won in the single image Slow Travel category, shows a solitary corporate worker crossing a junction in Tokyo.
Framed by the road markings, the snapshot is part of a series meant to “depict the overwhelming loneliness and the hectic pace of living in a large city”.
Given Tokyo is perhaps best known for the bustling Shibuya Crossing, the photo is even more memorable than it seems at first glance.
Chin Leong has more than a decade’s worth of experience as a photographer, and has worked across destinations including the United States, Saudi Arabia, China, Indonesia and Japan as well as his home country, Singapore.
A striking portrait in Hanoi
Everyday life takes centre stage in Rahsan Firtina’s winning Travel Portrait image.
Captured in Hanoi, Vietnam, the photo shows a man lost in thought while two retirees play table tennis in the background.
Firtina first picked up a camera as a hobby in 2019, and has begun to focus more intently on photography in recent years.
The People’s Choice Winner
While a panel of judges picked the winners for almost every category, the People’s Choice Winner was chosen following more than 4,000 public votes.
Mark Julian Edwards’ snap, taken in a bus station in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, captured the general public’s eye.
The close-up shot features a young boy staring out of the window as the bus pulls away.
Speaking about the photo, Edwards said, “The bus itself seemed worn by time – its chipped paint and dented panels telling their own stories – yet the boy’s expression carried a quiet energy, as if he couldn’t wait to see what lay ahead on the road.”
How are the Travel Photographer of the Year winners chosen?
Now in its 23rd edition, the Travel Photographer of the Year entries are judged by a 16-strong panel of international experts.
These experts, who included travel and documentary photographer Mark Edward Harris and photographer Krystal Chryssomallis for the first time this year, assess the images without knowing the identity or nationality of the snapper.
Those shortlisted will then need to provide the RAW and original image files so that their entries can be validated, and to ensure that AI was not used in their creation.
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