The world is changing at a very fast rate. Although people could not see any change in real-time a decade ago, now they can. People get to face a lot of natural disasters caused by climate change. Rising sea levels, wild fires, floods, pollution, global warming, and all sorts of other natural disaster is becoming a constant element in nature.
Everyone is to be blamed for this, the mass consumerism fueled by big companies which are allowed by governments. Everybody took and still takes part in this act of destruction. So, the aim of choosing ‘The Environmental Photographer of the Year’ or ‘EPOTY’ is to provoke the world and send a message through a visual medium of how the world has changed. Just like they did 13 times before, EPOTY.org held their competition for the year of 2021.
This year, the winners got a special chance that their previous winners didn’t. The winners of this competition got their winning photos, announced at one of the most prestigious and important events for mankind in the present day. UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) which was held in Glasgow, Scotland was the event that the winners of the EPOTY 2021 were revealed.
The title was earned by Antonio Argon Renuncio, a photographer from Spain. He presented a picture of a baby sleeping in a house in ruins in Ghana due to coastal erosion. During this very fateful decade on this planet, we should seriously make changes ourselves and urge our own governments that we need this planet for ourselves and our future generations to come. Let’s all rise above hate and greed to create a world that cultivates love and positivity.
With that light of hope in our hearts, we listed down the winners of this competition below. Scroll down to have a look and let us know what you think about these photos. Visit their website and social media accounts to know more about their work and to check out more photos.
More info & Photo courtesy: epoty.org | Instagram | twitter.com | Facebook
#1 Amaan Ali, 2021 – Inferno.
#2 Antonio Aragon Renuncio, 2019 – The Rising Tide Sons.
#3 Ashraful Islam, 2020 – Dry Fish Harvesting.
#4 Ashraful Islam, 2021 – Fishing In River.
#5 Ashraful Islam, 2021 – Survive For Alive.
#6 Azim Khan Ronnie, 2019 – Drying Incense.
"Workers sit surrounded by bundles of incense sticks in Quang Phu Cau village in Hanoi, Vietnam. Incense has been made using traditional methods here for hundreds of years and plays an important role in the spiritual lives of Vietnamese people."
Location: Hanoi, Vietnam
Camera: DJI Mavic 2 Pro
#7 Azim Khan Ronnie, 2021 – Polluted Buriganga River.
#8 Celia Kujala, 2020 – Hooked Pup.
#9 Nnguyen Linh Vinh Quoc, 2020 – Raw Salt Production.
#10 Pedro De Oliveira Simões Esteves, 2021 – Clean Energy.
#11 Riben Dhar, 2021 – Working Mother.
#12 Roberto Bueno, 2019 – The Life: A Narrow Strip.
#13 Sandipani Chattopadhyay, 2021 – Green Barrier.
"Irregular monsoon seasons and droughts cause algal bloom on the Damodar river. Algal blooms prevent light from penetrating the surface and prevent oxygen absorption by the organisms beneath, impacting human health and habitats in the area."
Location: West Bengal, India
Camera: Canon 5D Mark IV
#14 Sandipani Chattopadhyay, 2021 – Journey For Sustainability.
#15 Simone Tramonte, 2020 – Net-Zero Transition: Photobioreactor.
#16 Subrata Dey, 2021 – Environment Confined In Plastic.
#17 Roberto Bueno, 2019 – The Polygonal Forest.
#18 Michele Lapini, 2020 – Flood.
#19 Sultan Ahmed Niloy, 2021 – Seeking Pure Drinking Water.
"Women search for water in Shora-9 of Gabura union in Satkhira. Over a decade after cyclone Aila, freshwater ponds and wells have become increasingly saline. Women are traditionally responsible for collecting water and make multiple trips over long distances to supply their families."
Location: Khulna, Bangladesh
Camera: DJI Mavic Pro 2
#20 Nguyen Duy Sinh, 2020 – Marine Pollution From Aquaculture.
#21 Ziaul Huque, 2019 – Risky Journey.
#22 Elena Pakhalyuk, 2020 – Surya.
#23 Grigorov Gavriil, 2021 – Umka 2021 Expedition.
"Researchers weigh an anesthetized Polar bear on Franz Joseph Land in the Arctic Ocean. The expedition, organized by the Russian Geographical Society, aims to monitor the local polar bear population and assess the impact of climate change."
Location: Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia
Camera: Canon EOS-1D X Mark II
#24 Giacomo D’orlando, 2021 – The Nemo’s Garden.
#25 Jay Huang, 2021 – Cathedral In The Desert.
"Originally named for its natural resemblance to a cathedral, the monument has been buried nearly 100 feet under the flood-waters of the Lake Powell reservoir since 1963. Droughts reduced the water level in 2021 enabling this image of Reflection Canyon."
Location: Lake Powell, Utah, USA
Camera: Nikon D850