First-Ever Greek Photographer Wins Travel Photographer Of The Year 2025

The winners of the Travel Photographer of the Year 2025 (TPOTY) awards have been revealed. And the timing is perfect. January has lasted 97 days already, so buckle up and let’s take a trip around the world through these amazing images.

With more than 20,000 photos submitted by photographers from 160 countries, I believe judges had a hard time choosing the final selection. But as always, they brought us photos that bring together cultures, beliefs, and environments with empathy and clarity. In today’s divided world, I feel this is more important than ever.

Overall Winner: Athanasios Maloukos From Greece

For the first time, the overall winner title goes to a photographer from Greece. Athanasios Maloukos impressed the judges with two atmospheric portfolios capturing spiritual devotion in low light, including whirling Sufi rituals in Konya, Turkey, and the Night of Sorrows “Yacente” procession in Zamora, Spain.

TPOTY founder Chris Coe highlighted the technical mastery behind the work, saying:

“Shot in low light, these images require immense skill to get right. 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.”

Maloukos, an amateur photographer with a passion for documenting people and culture, shared his reaction to the win:

“Winning the prestigious Travel Photographer of the Year award is both an immense honour and a deeply humbling experience. TPOTY is one of the few platforms that not only celebrates visual storytelling at the highest level but also offers artists meaningful international exposure.”

He added that intentional motion blur became “a visual metaphor for the inner intensity of devotion,” reflecting patience, presence, and emotional restraint.

Young Travel Photographer Of The Year 2025 Winners

Like every year, the Travel Photographer of the Year 2025 awards shine a light on emerging talent as well. They celebrate young photographers Young Travel Photographer Of The Year.

Jamie Smart from the United Kingdom, aged just 10, is crowned Young Travel Photographer of the Year 2025. After finishing runner-up in the 14 Years & Under category in 2024, she enters the ontest again this year. Her awarded portfolio shows fruit bats, also known as flying foxes. She photographed them both in care at a zoo hospital in Queensland, Australia, and flying freely in the wild.

In the Young TPOTY 15–18 Years category, 15-year-old Matei Mărăcineanu from Romania takes top honours with beautifully observed birdlife images photographed at Morii Lake in Bucharest.

The Young TPOTY 14 Years & Under title goes to Naomi Cech from the Czech Republic, aged 11, for her delicate and creative images of forest fungi photographed near her hometown of Králíky and during a trip to Africa.

Travel Image Of The Year 2025: Dana Allen

A brand-new award is introduced this year, and it goes to Dana Allen from the United States, who wins Travel Image of the Year 2025. The striking black-and-white photo shows an elephant covered in dust, with a single eye peering through. Dana’s image also won in the One Shot: Travel in Monochrome category, underlining the power of timing and restraint.

Portfolio And Category Winners

The 2025 portfolio winners demonstrate just how broad travel photography can be. These are the awarded photographers:

• Adventures & Experiences – Sara Bardotti from Italy
• Culture, Heritage & Beliefs – Mitchell Kanashkevich from Australia
• Landscape, Weather & Climate – Paul Sansome from the United Kingdom
• Wildlife, Sealife, Birdlife – Mohammad Murad from Kuwait

One Shot Winners 2025

The One Shot categories challenge photographers to capture an entire story in a single frame. These are the 2025 winners:

• Green Planet – John Edwards from the United States
• Slow Travel – Teo Chin Leong from Singapore
• Travel in Monochrome – Dana Allen from the United States (the sme elephant photo that won the Travel Image Of The Year)
• Travel Portraits – Rahsan Firtina from Turkey

Rising Talent And People’s Choice Awards

We also have the Rising Talent winners for 2025. They are Maruša Uranjek from Slovenia, Silke Hullmann from Germany, Christopher Harrison from the United Kingdom, Liesel Geertsema from New Zealand, and Sue O’Connell from the United Kingdom. The five photographers will travel to Sri Lanka for a week of mentoring with TPOTY judges and professional photographers.

And last but definitely not least, the Travel Photographer of the Year 2025’s People’s Choice Award. It’s decided by public vote, and the winner is Mark Julian Edwards from the United Kingdom for his photo of a young boy on a bus in Jaffna, Sri Lanka.

The Travel Photographer of the Year 2025 winners remind us that the strongest travel photography goes beyond destinations. It is about observation, respect, and connection. From young photographers just starting out to experienced storytellers working quietly in low light, this year’s images form a compelling portrait of our world today.

We brought you just a selection, and you can view the full gallery on TPOTY’s website. Exhibition dates and venues will be announced soon, and we’ll update the article when we know more.

More from Travel Photographer of the Year

• 2019 Travel Photographer of the Year brings breathtaking photos from all over the world
• Take a trip around the world with Travel Photography of the Year 2020 winners
• Moving photos of the world’s last Northern White rhino and her keeper win 2022 Travel Photographer of the Year
• Dreamy landscapes in Tuscany wins 2023 Travel Photographer of the Year
• Intricate infrared portraits of African women win Travel Photographer of the Year 2024
• First-Ever Greek Photographer Wins Travel Photographer Of The Year 2025

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