Winners revealed: National Geographic Traveller (UK) Photography Competition 2025
Seeking to highlight the best in travel photography, this prestigious annual competition, celebrating its 12th year, was open to entrants from across the UK and Ireland. Photographers, both amateur and professional, submitted travel images taken during the past year in any of six categories: Landscape, People, Wildlife, Food, City life and Portfolio.
Pat Riddell, editor of National Geographic Traveller (UK), said: 'Our competition goes from strength to strength, with this year's easily one of the strongest yet. World-class photography remains at the heart of the National Geographic brand, and the winners happily sit in that category.
'Capturing everything from the dramatic landscapes of Iceland and Italy to incredible wildlife shots in Spain and Canada, the 18 finalists — who made the cut from thousands of entries — have really elevated the level of travel photography with their ingenuity and skill.'
The grand prize winner this year is Justin Cliffe for his entry in the 'People' category. The portrait of a woman and her great granddaughter in Lào Cai province, Vietnam was a firm favourite with the judging panel.
The judges said: 'This is such an intimate moment between generations that captures so much beauty and humanity. The colours, light and textures work really well.'
Here we reveal the winners and runners-up in each category.
It can be the people you encounter that make a trip — but to capture someone's character, you've got to earn their trust.
The winner: Justin Cliffe
The Red Dao minority people of Lao Cai Province are one of Vietnam's most distinctive ethnic groups, largely due to their headdresses. Here, a great grandmother sits at the door of her property working on some embroidery with her great granddaughter. Their intricate embroidery is a skill passed down from mother to daughter and further generations.
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What the judges said: "This is such an intimate moment between generations that captures so much beauty and humanity. The colours, light and textures work really well."
Runner-up: Jo Kearney
I took this photo at the Chilam Joshi Festival in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in northwestern Pakistan. The Kalash people are animistic — this spring festival is spiritual and social. The people pray for crops and animals, but it is also a means to search for potential marital partners.
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Runner-up: Bianca Goldman
The Suli Muli tribe, with their striking black face paint and headdresses made from moss, feathers and human hair, come from the rugged Enga Province in Papua New Guinea's Highlands. Their name originates from the chant 'suli muli', sung during traditional dances to the steady beat of kundu drums.
I photographed this member of the tribe at their National Independence Day Festival. It was part of a personal journey to capture the textures, expressions and the stillness of time in this community. My grandfather first visited the tribe many decades ago, and I am honoured to be the third generation in my family to continue this connection.
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Whether it's a local farmer bringing in the harvest or chefs hard at work in a street kitchen, this category celebrates every stage of the culinary journey from field to fork.
The winner: Prabir Kumar Mitra
There are multiple eateries in Barkhor Square, Lhasa, Tibet. However, there are only a handful of places that serve authentic Tibetan food reflecting the diverse flavours from the roof of the world. Our guide advised us to visit this family-run restaurant and we were impressed with the simple but extremely tasty food. Yak meat, noodles and cheese that they used were all locally produced, which added to the authenticity of the taste.
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What the judges said: "This photo feels warm and comforting, and like we've been invited to share this private moment with the chef. Crucially, it feels intimate and suggests there's a strong connection between the photographer and their subject matter."
Runner-up: Mark Carwardine
These Solomon Islanders came to our dive boat to sell fruit and vegetables from their dugout canoes. The children's blonde hair (on the right) is a result of a genetic variant distinct from the gene that leads to blonde hair in Europeans.
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Runner-up: James Maloney
In the vibrant district of Shimbashi in Tokyo, you can find an array of charming restaurants, each boasting unique flair and a menu filled with incredible food. The bustling streets are alive with the sizzle of fresh ingredients, the inviting aromas wafting through the air and tantalising the senses.
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Shooting a landscape requires a specialist eye. Can you identify intriguing contrasts, or show a level of detail that others can't see?
The winner: Pawel Zygmunt
An aerial view of the Hveravellir geothermal area, captured by a drone, reveals a stunning landscape where nature's raw power is on full display. The camera hovers over a geothermal pool that mimics the form of a dragon's eye, its deep, sapphire-blue centre acting as the 'pupil' of this mythical creature's gaze. The surrounding rings of the pool shimmer in hues of vibrant orange, yellow and earthy browns, a direct result of the mineral-rich deposits formed over centuries of geothermal activity. These concentric bands of colour give the illusion of an ancient and mystical eye embedded within the earth, further enhanced by the barren, rocky terrain around it.
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What the judges said: "How fun, a trick-of-the-eye landscape — is it an elephant's eye? A turtle's eye? We like it when a landscape can make you really think, and this is done particularly well here.."
Runner-up: Edward Hasler
This was shot at sunset on the edge of the vast glacier in Greenland — one of the fastest and most active glaciers in the world. A sharp noise from the ice cracking caused the resting birds to launch into the air, giving a sense of scale to this enormous piece of ice.
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Runner-up: Christopher West
I had a vision of a night photo with a strong torch lighting up the peak, under a starry sky, with car lights illuminating the snaking road beneath. Many things come together to make the image: a hike up to the viewpoint on a cold -14C winter's night, waiting for cars to cross the pass and having to walk through deep snow to get close enough to light up the mountain.
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The portfolio category celebrates photographers who present a cohesive story with depth and multiple layers in a set of 10 images, whether they fit into one of the other categories or encompass them all.
The winner: Joshua Mallett
From the dense jungles of Nepal to the tidal landscapes of Normandy's Mont Saint-Michel and the quiet streets of a historic town, these photographs capture moments where time seems to pause. Each scene reflects a different facet of existence: wildlife navigating its changing environment; ancient architecture enduring the test of time; and individuals whose daily lives are woven into their surroundings. Together, they form a visual narrative of places shaped by nature and history, where past and present meet in striking harmony.
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What the judges said: "We were intrigued by this collection. The similarities in composition across the photos gave us pause at first, but as we reviewed them, we liked the focal point that tied them all together. It was lovely to see these glimpses of everyday moments with such intention and purpose."
Runner-up: Dylan McBurney
The 10 images within this portfolio convey my experience travelling to Changsha and Zhangjiajie in Hunan, Southern China. With five photos by day and five by night, the portfolio portrays the evolution of culture, people and landscapes throughout the day. This portfolio encapsulates everything China has to offer for travellers.
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Runner-up: Lauren Winslow-Llewellyn
Reaching this turquoise, glacial-fed lake was an adventure, as we drove past free-roaming animals, green pastures and forded rivers. But it was our driver's family's yurt camp that really left an impression — we watched the family corralling livestock via horseback, milking cows and horses, then feeding us the produce made from them.
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Labyrinthine souks, striking architecture, edgy street art — life in cities takes on many forms. Capturing its soul and finding unique perspectives are the keys to urban photography.
The winner: Scott Antcliffe
Having explored Singapore's Gardens by the Bay and the modern marvels, I was keen to capture the city's more unassuming areas of natural beauty. I found this spot and was struck by the sheer density of the foliage — vines had completely enveloped the supporting walls, but the view of the Yellow Rain Tree at the top was simply stunning and utterly mesmerising. I had to wait a little while for someone to add a human element — I wanted this to show the sheer scale of the tunnel. A lady dressed in yellow and with a sunhat paused mid-step, unaware of my presence.
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What the judges said: 'A superb composition that combines different geometrical forms in one image… It's a striking photograph with a cool, architectural perspective and an unexpected intersection with the natural world."
Runner-up: Jordan Banks
I had just arrived in Nantes on assignment and it was pouring with rain, putting a complete stop to my shoot plan. These stairs were right outside my hotel so I grabbed an umbrella and a 70-200mm lens and this scene presented itself to me.
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Runner-up: Andrew Nelson
In the foreground, a couple hold hands framing the road, which leads to a vehicle in the middle of the street, separated by a busy crowd. As the image moves up from the abstract lower part, the busy city lights — often associated with Tokyo — lead further upward to a blue-hour sky. The abstraction is intended, and there is a lot of subject in the scene, depicting the chaos, beauty and complexity of Tokyo city life. The image is a single exposure and I had a pretty unique filter attached to the lens; it essentially adds a motion blur light trail effect to half of the image. To get this filter to work on the street you need to go for a less conventional shutter speed, so I went for 1/45s to let enough light in for the effect to work.
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Wildlife is one of the great wonders of travel. Spotting creatures in their natural habitat can be about luck but capturing them with your camera takes skill and patience.
The winner: Victoria Andrews
I took this image in August 2023 during one of the hottest summers in Toledo, Spain. The area is well known for its raptors and I decided to make the trip after being tempted by the chance of photographing the beautiful Bonelli's eagle. Arriving at the location at first light, I didn't have to wait more than an hour or so before the Bonelli's eagle flew in and perched on an old tree stump. After firing off hundreds of shots as the bird preened and posed for me, it then raised its wings in a defensive stance. That's when I saw the fox approaching. The fox came closer and closer still, until they were almost nose to beak. I was clicking like crazy, while all the time praying I had got all my camera settings correct.
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What the judges said: 'Incredible moment, composition and expression in this interaction — this is someone who understands the behaviour of these animals… Nice light as well as the ability to capture the movement."
Runner-up: Jo Noon
On a trip to Alberta, I got my first interaction with snow bunting birds in their preferred environment. Upwards of 300 bunting were congregating on this patch of snowy hillside. These birds breed in the high Arctic and migrate south during the winter months.
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Runner-up: Hari Kumar Prasannakumar
During a peaceful summer moment, I witnessed a female lynx drinking water from a pond, her attention focused on the refreshing sip. As she leaned in, a curious honey bee, attracted by the warmth and the stillness of the day, attempted to fly inside her ear.
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Published in the July/August 2025 issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK).To subscribe to National Geographic Traveller (UK) magazine click here. (Available in select countries only).
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