British Photography Awards – Documentary Shortlist 2025!

I’m so excited to share that I have been shortlisted in this year’s prestigious British Photography Awards 2025!

I have three images that have made the final but in this blog, I will be sharing some background info on my Documentary category shortlisted image; ‘The Southernmost Post Office in the World‘.

The Southernmost Post Office in the World

This is one of my favourite images that I have ever taken. And it is so different for me. It is very minimalist – a little fine arty I guess – but I love the simplicity of it and what it represents to me.

In my previous blog I spoke about Antarctica and it being a lifelong dream to get to. For years, I would stare at images of Port Lockroy and even wanting to apply to work there for a season (I still do!!) but last year, I was incredibly fortunate to be able to go there in person.

But it wasn’t easy and I paid for it massively afterwards. I have a health condition called Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and it has completely changed my life in ways I could never have imagined. I was at peak fitness and all of a sudden in mid 2021, my world was flipped, to the point where I can rarely leave the house. Not ideal for a wildlife photographer!

My partner is a Captain on a boat and his boss wanted to travel to the White Continent to explore and do some diving. Apparently he found out through the grapevine that Antarctica was my dream destination and invited me to join them. So not only did I get to see my partner driving the boat in Antarctica – I got to travel on-board in a covid safe environment, where I didn’t have to worry – not even for a second- about catching any infection that could worsen my disease.

Dream.Come.True!

The travel out there was tough for me. Being there and trying to get out on zodiacs was even harder. I pushed my body well past its limits and unfortunately this meant that I stayed in the cabin a lot of the time, resting. I couldn’t attend the dinners because socialising completely wiped me out. One symptom of my disease is nausea and feeling like things are moving which can cause loss of balance, so you can only imagine how much harder all of this became, being on a boat -rocking around!

But, through all of the difficulty, I couldn’t believe my dream was being made real. Despite not being able to take part in everything, despite feeling like absolute death every second, I was in Antarctica. Looking out of the cabin window and seeing the vast ocean, the architecture of the icebergs, the sheer silence and the towering mountains. Unless there was a penguin or seal in the frame, it was so hard to gauge any sort of perspective. Antarctica felt small and gigantic at the same time.

And then, there it was. Port Lockroy!

A place I had seen and read about in the Antarctic Times, a magazine that you get if you adopt a penguin from the UKHAT UK Antarctic Heritage Trust – a gift my partner gave me!

We couldn’t land due to being in a covid bubble but we anchored nearby overnight and the following day the weather had turned creating this atmospheric fog, we drifted past and I noticed this one little gentoo walking up to the side of the building. He was looking right at his friends but I was willing him to turn to look left into the building, as though he wanted to go in. When he did, I was over the moon! I knew I had captured something special and knew that I had to enter it into the British Photography Awards 2025!

My wildlife journey has only just begun and although I know I can’t do as much as others due to my health restrictions, I will put everything I have, into the moments that I am able to witness our natural world.

The winners of the competition will be announced at the British Photography Awards Gala – Royal Lancaster in London on 3rd November 2025. There is also a People’s Choice Award, where the general public can vote for their favourite image – but you only get one vote per category, so vote wisely!!

If you would like to show your love and support, please do vote for ‘The Southernmost Post Office in the World’ here!

Next Time: Birdlife Category Shortlist: Chinstrap Mountain.