A lone penitent walks barefoot throughout Zamora’s Plaza de la Catedral, moments earlier than the brotherhood’s ultimate gathering. Behind him, the procession slowly involves relaxation, their candles swaying within the night time air. Soon, the silence will give option to the haunting chant of the Miserere, closing the “Yacente” procession with a second of collective sorrow and reflection, nicely previous midnight. Overall winner. | Athanasios Maloukos/tpoty.com
The profitable photographs from the 2025 Travel Photographer of the Year awards (TPOTY) have been revealed. Athanasios Maloukos’ atmospheric images of the Sema ceremony in Turkey and the Holy Week in Zamora, Spain, impressed the judges sufficient to see him topped total winner.
“Shot in low light, these images require immense skill to get right,” says TPOTY founder Chris Coe. “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.”
Maloukos’ prize features a £1,000 ($1,374) money bursary from TPOTY, a seven-day journey to Sri Lanka, courtesy of the Sri Lankan Tourist Board and Jetwing Hotels, Radiant Photo imaging software program, and a portfolio evaluation from high New York agent Frank Meo.
11 Other Winners
Jaffna bus station, Sri Lanka. As the bus ready to tug away from the bustling Jaffna bus station, a younger boy leaned towards the window, his gaze mounted someplace past the crowds. I questioned what hopes or questions have been stirring in his thoughts. The bus itself appeared worn by time – its chipped paint and dented panels telling their very own tales – but the boy’s expression carried a quiet power, as if he couldn’t wait to see what lay forward on the street. Winner, People’s Choice Vote | Mark Julian Edwards/tpoty.comChile’s Torres Del Paine is legendary for its beautiful landscapes, but it surely’s additionally dwelling to a fierce predator – the puma. These majestic creatures primarily feed on guanacos. However, the looking success price for pumas isn’t very excessive, particularly for feminine pumas. They primarily depend on the abundance of guanacos for his or her survival. It’s a uncommon deal with to see a puma looking proper in entrance of you. We adopted a feminine puma for just a few days, and he or she had two lovable cubs who trusted her to convey them meals. In this explicit early morning, she had been maintaining a guanaco shut by for some time, and eventually, she had the possibility to get shut sufficient to leap on it. She tried to tug down the guanaco just a few instances, and he or she was actually near biting into the neck and suffocating the guanaco .. But guess what? The guanaco was a troublesome cookie, and it managed to flee! Best Single Image in Wildlife, Sealife, Birdlife Portfolio | Kevin Yu Shi/tpoty.comFramed by streetlights reflecting off the ocean in Kuwait City, two Arabian pink fox kits discover the night time exterior their den. The colourful glow comes from automobile and avenue lights alongside Doha’s shoreline, whereas the rim mild is created by two small steady flashlights I positioned close to the spot the place their mom hides meals. For greater than two months, I visited the den 4 nights per week, staying hours after sundown. At first I saved a 20-meter distance, however slowly the kits grew comfy—two even licked my digital camera and toes. With 5 kits and their mom residing so near homes, I felt chargeable for them. In Kuwait, foxes are sometimes hunted, so my presence was as a lot safety as pictures. Winner – Wildlife, Sealife, Birdlife Portfolio | Mohammad Murad/tpoty.comA younger lady recites her verses with focus, her voice rising amongst her classmates. In many Mauritanian mahadaras, girls and boys examine collectively in early phases earlier than persevering with superior recitation and commentary. Winner – Cultures, Heritage, and Beliefs Portfolio. | Mitchell Kanashkevich/tpoty.comA lone company employee hurries throughout a big junction in Tokyo, the one human being within the body. This collection depicts the overwhelming loneliness and the hectic tempo of residing in a big metropolis. Winner – One Shot – Slow Travel | Teo Chin Leong/tpoty.comI captured this picture shortly after dawn in a quiet area of Thailand, whose identify fittingly interprets to “Dawn of Happiness.” I seen how completely the Buddha’s determine mirrored within the nonetheless water. To convey the spirit of the second, I inverted the {photograph}, turning the reflection into an phantasm the place the sky above the Buddha turns into a tapestry of floating flowers and drifting crops. My intention was to create a picture that mirrors the peaceable, dreamlike feeling of this sacred location, the place the inexperienced textures and delightful flowers of our world might be reworked into a brand new and surprising actuality. Winner – One Shot – Green Planet | John Edwards/tpoty.comNgorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania. A large bull elephant showers himself in mud. Winner – One Shot – Travel in Monochrome | Dana Allen/tpoty.comIn per week of touring North Iceland there had been no high quality mild for panorama pictures in any respect. The day began as all of the others had, with a bland blue sky and sunshine. However inside 10 miles we drove right into a financial institution of sea fog and a session with such lovely mild filtering by the fog onto the calm sea. The fog thinning and thickening to disclose after which disguise components of the panorama. Winner – Landscape, Weather, and Climate Portfolio | Paul Sansome/tpoty.comI took this photograph throughout an air present in France, at La Ferté-Alais. A funnel cloud shaped in the course of the present; some planes continued to fly, though there was nonetheless a long way between the planes and the funnel. Shortly afterwards, the climate cleared up. Best Single Image in Landscape, Weather, and Climate Portfolio. | Laetitia Guichard/tpoty.comCloudbreak Reef, Tavarua Island, Fiji.Every time a surfer dodges a wave, an distinctive new world is created, this picture brings this world to stay, displaying what is going on down there. Best Single Image in Adventures and Experiences Portfolio. | Frederico Figueiredo Cerdeira/tpoty.comPhoto of a person sitting on the foreground, misplaced in thought, whereas retired colonel’s play desk tennis behind him. Winner – One Shot – Travel Portraits | Rahsan Firtina/tpoty.com
Amateur {and professional} photographers from 160 nations submitted greater than 20,000 photographs in TPOTY 2025. The profitable and positioned entries mix to kind a really excellent assortment of up to date journey pictures. The profitable photographs – which may all be considered within the Winners’ Gallery on tpoty.com – will go on exhibition, with dates and particulars of the venues to be confirmed quickly.
