Entries open for the 5th edition of the Environmental Photography Award
The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, in partnership with SEK International University, is pleased to announce the launch of the 2025 edition of its Environmental Photography Award.
Global registration opens today, 3 September and goes through 3 November 2024 on the Environmental Photography Award website: www.fpa2photoaward.org (for a two-month duration). Registration is free and open to both professional and amateur photographers.
Five categories are available, with the aim of celebrating the incredible beauty of our planet and illustrating the different relationships that humans have with nature:
· Polar Wonders
· Ocean Worlds
· Into the Forest
· Humanity versus Nature
· Change Makers: Reasons for Hope
Since 2021, the Environmental Photography Award rewards annually photographers who promote conservation and raise awareness of environmental protection.
From all the images entered in the competition (11,000 images in 2024), 36 photographs will be selected and 7 of them will be awarded prizes.
The 5 category winners will each receive a €1,000 grant, and one of them will be chosen as the Environmental Photographer 2025, who will also win a €5,000 prize and a trip to Monaco for the opening of the exhibition. The winners of the Public Award and the Students’ Choice Award will each receive a €500 grant.
New this year, the winner of the Public Award will be invited by SEK International University to visit its research station in the heart of the Ecuadorian jungle.
The winners will be announced on 15 April 2025 and an exhibition will be held in the Principality of Monaco over the summer before travelling internationally (since 2021, exhibitions have been shown in Rome, San Marino, Madrid, Paris and Washington D.C.).
According to the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation's mission to raise awareness, the aim of the competition is to ‘showcase the work of photojournalists and conservation photographers who are committed on a daily basis to bearing witness to the relationship between man and nature around the world, from the most critical situations to the most inspiring examples’, as Vice-Chairman and CEO Olivier Wenden sums up, ‘thus echoing the field projects supported by the Foundation to preserve endangered species and protect ecosystems’.
For the 2025 edition, the presidency of the jury has been entrusted to Ami Vitale, National Geographic photographer and documentary filmmaker, whose world-renowned work focuses on the interconnection of the human and natural worlds, with a singular ability to always highlight beauty and humanity, even in the most difficult conditions. This approach, nurtured by resilience and hope, will also guide the jury's selection: ‘The photographs must not only capture the beauty of our planet but also highlight the urgent need for conservation and sustainability. Photography has the power to inspire action and foster a deeper understanding of the challenges facing our natural world today. From this perspective, the Environmental Photography Award not only recognizes artistic excellence but also amplifies the crucial message of environmental stewardship through visual storytelling, says Ami Vitale. I look forward to working with fellow jurors and the Foundation to honor photographers who are making a difference and to showcase their work on a global stage.’
The 2025 Judges
- Ami Vitale, President of the jury, National Geographic photographer and documentary filmmaker (USA)
- Emanuele Biggi, naturalist and conservation photographer specializing in small vertebrates and arthropods (Italy)
- Aaron Gekoski, photojournalist and filmmaker, specialising in human-animal conflict (UK and USA)
- Tom Gilks, picture and Video editor at BBC Wildlife Magazine (UK)
- Ralph Pace, underwater and environmental photojournalist (USA)
- Audun Rikardsen, nature photographer and professor in biology, specialising in the Arctic regions (Norway)
- Jaime Rojo, conservation photographer (Spain)
Biographies of the jury members are available here.
Conservation and wildlife photographer Sergio Pitamitz has once again been appointed by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation as Contest Chairman to help the organising team oversee the various stages of the competition, in keeping with the values promoted by the Foundation and the ethical requirements of environmental photography.