Travel Photo Competition Finalists 2025 – Landscape Category

Proudly presenting the shortlist

From majestic mountains to surreal deserts, landscape photography captures the raw beauty of our planet in ways that inspire wanderlust. This year, our Travel Photography Competition saw a flood of stunning entries, with our judges carefully selecting the best from thousands. We’re pleased to share the shortlisted images here – each one a masterclass in composition and timing. Congrats to the finalists; your work reminds us why we chase those perfect shots. Take a look at the Wildlife and People & Cultures shortlists too, and watch for the winners soon.

Title: Color Contrast
Photographer: Anna Sadowski
Location: USA
Description:
“This photograph was taken in Utah’s badlands in the middle of the day, when the high sun fully illuminated the autumn foliage and intensified the natural color contrast in the landscape. What drew me to this scene was the striking opposition between the cool, blue tones of the eroded badlands and the warm, golden leaves of a thriving cottonwood tree standing in the foreground.

The image is built around contrasts: warm versus cold, fertility versus barrenness, life versus erosion, soft delicate shapes versus hard angular patterns. While the surrounding terrain appears dry and inhospitable, the presence of cottonwoods is a sign of moisture, vitality and life beneath the surface. Cottonwoods are riparian artists that grow only where water is present – on barren land like this they rely on flood events for sustenance. They provide shade, shelter and food for wildlife, transforming desolate floodplains into vibrant, diverse ecosystems.”

Title: Here Comes the Sun
Photographer: Frederic Dumortier
Location: Italy
Description:
“I spent eight days in the Dolomites taking photos. It’s a beautiful mountainous region. We went in June because that’s when the azaleas are in bloom and there aren’t too many tourists yet. We slept under the stars right here, and captured this  sunset.

I really liked this pine tree that hugs the shape of the rock. The trunk seems to be a continuation of the road in the valley. The greenery of the foliage is central to the photo and acts as a balancing point between the minerals of the mountains in the background and the rock in the foreground. The tree also catches the last rays of the sun, which brings a touch of light to the center and balances with the sun. I used both multiple exposures and panning so as not to lose any detail in the shadows or highlights and to convey the magical dimension of this place.”

Title: Bozzhira
Photographer: Galip Cetiner
Location: Kazakhstan
Description:
“One of the most impressive aspects of our trip to Kazakhstan was the Bozzhira region. An unforgettable night spent on the edge of the cliff, followed by the view we witnessed at sunrise, our struggle against the wind in the tent, my distant encounter with wolves, and nature revealing itself in all its magnificence and harshness. It was all unforgettable.”

Title: Money Tree
Photographer: Xu Zhang
Location: China
Description:
“The Qiantang River tide is a famous natural landscape and phenomenon. When the tide recedes, it leaves many traces in the waterway. These tidal patterns, combined with the dry and yellow plants on the shore, resemble a huge money tree. I used UAV aerial photography.”

Title: Sparkling Diamond
Photographer: Kevin Kistermann
Location: Iceland
Description:
“This image contains a natural ice cave inside the Vatnajökull glacier. The shot was taken one hour after sunrise to capture the golden sunlight in combination with the blue ice of the glacier.”

Title: Waterways
Photographer: Pawel Zygmunt
Location: Iceland
Description:
“This photograph was taken from the air just moments before the weather fully closed in. Low cloud was already pressing down on the landscape, and the light was fading quickly as a storm moved across the highlands. For a short time, a break opened in the cloud cover, allowing sunlight to pass through and briefly illuminate the braided river system below. From above, the glacial water appeared unusually pale, almost white, as it split, rejoined, and spread across the dark volcanic plain. 

These lakes felt still and contained, shaped by past volcanic activity rather than ongoing flow. The timing was critical. Within minutes, the light disappeared and the cloud thickened, flattening the scene. What drew me to press the shutter was the realisation that nothing in this frame is static.”

Title: Kaleidoscope Auroral Display at South Stack Lighthouse
Photographer: Don Cardy
Location: Wales
Description:
“On the 10th May 2024, an unusually strong Aurora occurred that could be seen all over the UK. This very rare capture of this Aurora producing a kaleidoscope of colours was captured over South Stack Lighthouse on Anglesey, North Wales.”

Title: Birth of a New Universe
Photographer: Yevhen Samuchenko
Location: Iceland
Description:
“Kirkjufell Mountain in stormy weather. I waited for several hours to capture this shot, as the sky was completely overcast and it was snowing. Then, for just a couple of minutes, the clouds opened a small window through which the Northern Lights became visible.”

Title: Colors of the Sayan Night
Photographer: Kseniia Kudashkina
Location: Russia
Description:
“It has been my long-time dream to capture the arc of the Milky Way over Parabola Rock in the Sayan Mountains, but it is a rather remote corner of the Earth, and getting there with a heavy backpack full of equipment is not easy.”

Title: Veil over Mountain
Photographer: Marie Arnal
Location: Unknown