Earth Photo is a competition and exhibition developed jointly by Forestry England and the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG). This year, photographers and videographers from across the globe submitted their work in the following categories: People, Place, Nature, Changing Forests, and A Climate of Change
Winner: Overall and People
Mohammed Rakibul Hasan ‘The last savings at Bengal Delta’
Fatema Khatun and her husband, Ruhul Amin Seikh, are surviving against all odds on the coast of the Bay of Bengal. While Ruhul Amin goes fishing, Fatema waits for him by the river, where the water is saltier than ever. When he returns hours later, it is with a small number of fish, which the couple can hardly sell for 80 taka (1 USD). Scientists forecast that seawater will drown the whole coastal belt of Bangladesh around the Sundarbans by 2050.
Winner: Changing Forests
David Rippen ‘Destruction’
A collection of broken trees, snapped off at the trunk by the powerful winds of Storm Arwen, in the Lake District.
Winner: Nature
Pal Hermansen ‘Insect Diversity’
These insects were found in a lamp with an unintended opening during the summer in Ski, Norway. They were placed on a light table for the photograph. ‘I realised that this rich collection of insects had to be documented. These are creatures that are around without us realising their important existence.‘
Winner: A Climate of Change
Sandra Weller ‘Mamu selling drinks’
Mamu sells cool drinks and ice in Nymanarr, the first village in The Gambia to get access to a solar mini-grid in 2022. A local company, Unique Energy, was assigned to install the mini-grid and distribute the power it produces, providing villagers with access to electricity for the first time. Photographer Sandra Weller wanted to know why green energy isn’t already powering major parts of Africa. Two out of three people in sub-Saharan Africa lack access to electricity, but demand is growing. Access to electricity means boosting economies, reducing poverty and also reducing or eliminating migration. Weller started her project in The Gambia, where she learned that the maintenance of solar systems is a major problem. The landscape is dotted with broken solar systems and stationary windmills. The project at Nymanarr stood out as a success story. A solar expert from Tunisia, the Gambian government, USAID and Power Africa from the USA pulled strings and provided expertise to make it happen.
Winner: Place
Daniel Franc ‘Surfing in the spring’
The rolling hills of the agricultural counties in South Moravia, Czechia (sometimes called ‘Czech Tuscany’), promise an endless stream of surprises from every angle. These vistas aren’t always a sign of a good agriculture, however – many natural forests were cut to make space for fields.
Winner: Videos
Rosa Rodriguez, The White Line
The White Line speaks of the Arctic region as the place to return to the original serenity and simplicity of the human being, it describes the white immensity of the Arctic and the peoples that inhabit it in harmony with nature. Photographs taken in the Arctic Circle, in the regions of Kulusuk and Qaanaaq in Greenland, Yamalia in Siberia, and Norwegian and Finnish Lapland.
Shortlist: Nature
Barry Webb ‘Metatrichia floriformis‘
The mature fruiting bodies of the slime mould Metatrichia floriformis split open to release their orange spores. Their red stems and petal-shaped tops are identifying features. They are about three or four millimetres tall.
Shortlist: Nature
Leo Smith ‘Bird & moon’
‘Taken on an extremely cold night in January in Northumberland, not far from the Scottish border. I found the bird, a treecreeper, earlier in the day. It was the first time I’d ever knowingly seen a treecreeper and it was dead…’
Shortlist: People
Robin Scott ‘Stilt fisherman in Sri Lanka’
While the stilt fishermen have become something of a tourist attraction in recent years, many still go out fishing each day, working a plot that has been held by their family for generations.
Shortlist: Place
Yevhen Samuchenko ‘At the pink planet’
‘The first time you see the pink salt lakes of the Kherson region in Ukraine it feels as though you are looking at another planet. During the summer months, microscopic algae cause the water to turn pink and red. The view from above is literally out of this world.’
Shortlist: People
Subrata Dey ‘Red pepper picking’
Bogra red chillies are in high demand all over Bangladesh. Every year, spice companies collect peppers from the char (ephemeral landforms created from river sediment) areas of Bogra. Everyday, from 8am to 4pm, the workers here do the work of drying and sorting the peppers.
Shortlist: Place
Roland Williams ‘Pass of Drumochter’
The Pass of Drumochter is the main mountain pass between the northern and southern central Scottish Highlands. The A9 road, a railway line, the national grid and a cycle path all pass through the pass. On a February morning, the mist defiantly shrouded most of the unnatural additions, restoring the natural view.
Shortlist: Changing forests
Robin Dodd ‘Time to grow’
On Nettlebed Common, Oxfordshire, an older tree has been blown down or struck by lighting. The resulting gap in the canopy has resulted in a small sapling starting to grow rapidly, heading for the light. It’s now pausing as winter approaches. If it survives the winter, it will continue its upward journey.
A selection of images from Earth Photo will be shown on a national tour of Forestry England sites: indoors at Dalby Forest from 12 September 2022 to 1 January 2023, and Grizedale from 19 December 2022 to 23 April 2023; and outdoors at Moors Valley from 11 July to 19 September 2022, Haldon from 3 October 2022 to 4 January 2023, Bedgebury from 20 July to 10 October 2022, and Fineshade from November 2022 to March 2023.
