The Environmental Photography Award winners have officially been unveiled by the Prince Albert II Foundation. A selection of 36 photographs, 7 award-winning images and 5 category winners were announced. Photographer Angel Fitor won the Environmental Photographer prize for the image “Unseen Unsung Heroes,” which also won in the “Marine Worlds” category. The image shows worms expelling sand from their burrows under the sea.
“This photograph depicts the silent action of humble creatures that, however, exert a decisive influence on the entire Mediterranean marine ecosystem, on which we in turn depend,” said Angel Fitor.
Categories included: “Polar Wonders,” “In the Heart of the Forest,” “Marine Worlds,” “Humanity versus Nature,” and “Agents of Change, Bearers of Hope,” which included prizes of €1,000. The Environmental Photographer Prize came with a €5,000 grant.
Trained in photography and marine biology, Angel Fitor has dedicated his life to giving a voice to aquatic ecosystems. His work has been recognized in the most influential photography competitions, including World Press Photo, Wildlife Photographer of the Year, American Photography, and Sony World Photography.
“We environmental photographers have a simple but colossal task: to translate the language of nature. The natural world is, of course, an inexhaustible source of beauty and fascination, but the mission of visual storytelling goes further, revealing the hidden threads that weave the complex and fragile relationships that bind our own existence to that of the planet,” says Angel Fitor.
In addition to this distinction, Angel Fitor won the “Agents of Change, Bearers of Hope” category with his photo “Training Day,” which features a baby loggerhead turtle in a care centre in Spain. Two more of his images were selected in the “Marine Worlds” category: Night Stalker (Spotted Octopus, Spain, 2024) and Beauty Languages (Mediterranean Fried Egg Jellyfish, Spain, 2024).
Honoured by multiple recognitions, Angel Fitor says he is “proud to be one of the ambassadors of this photo competition, which embodies the historic and lasting commitment of the Principality of Monaco, particularly to the Mediterranean Sea, which has inspired his career since early childhood.”
This year, the Public Prize went to Fernando Faciole’s “After the Flames, Hope”. SEK International University, a long-standing partner of the competition, offered the winner the opportunity to explore the university’s research base in the Amazon rainforest in Ecuador. A €500 scholarship was also awarded. “Forest Guard” by Bambang Wirawan was the winner of the High School Students’ Prize and received a €500 scholarship.
“We have just lost 73% of the world’s flora and fauna in 50 years; a harsh reality that confronts us with the urgency of the biodiversity crisis we are experiencing. The future of the planet is in our hands. We cannot afford to let events overtake us or simply hope that someone else will tackle the problem,” says President of the jury, Ami Vitale (United States), a National Geographic photographer and documentary filmmaker.
