Durham Geography Photographic Competition

Welcome to the Durham Geography undergraduate photo competition 2024 entries. 

The winner of the 2024 competition was Zoe Upcraft with a photograph of hot air balloons over Cappadocia, Turkey. The runner-up was Maria Allison with her tourist invasion piece taken in the Jomblang cave, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

#1. Heather Searle.

Description: The Piscina Municipal de Montjuïc, Barcelona with the city expanding behind and Pyrenees the mountains bordering the city in the distance. To me, the photograph captures what it means to be in an urban space and the constantly reimagined dynamic between public space, the city, and the natural world. Note Gaudí’s unfinished Sagrada Família still towering over the city in the background, even as it competes with modern high-rises. Currently, Barcelona is experiencing rapid change to ‘green the city’ which fits into wider and long-standing narratives of urban spaces as places of movement - in the broadest sense.

Location: Barcelona, Spain. 

#2. Zoe Upcraft.

Description: Taken at 5 am, July 2023, capturing the ascent of hot air balloons over Cappadocia, Turkey, a region of extraordinary geological and historical significance. Formed 60 million years ago by the erosion of lava and ash from Mount Erciyes, Mount Hasan, and Mount Güllü, Cappadocia's landscape features limestone caves and fairy chimneys. Human settlement dates back to the Paleolithic era, with the region later becoming a haven for Christians escaping Roman persecution. The balloons against this ancient backdrop highlight Cappadocia’s significance as a center of early Christianity and a key junction of the Silk Road.

Location: Cappadocia, Turkey.

#3. Cameron Powell.

Description:  Travelling on the Iceland ring road looking out at Lómagnúpur mountain with the retreating glaciers of Vatnajökull ice cap emerging in the distance.

Location: Iceland.

#4. Nathan Carter

Description: The photograph captures a line of elephants navigating the parched Amboseli landscape, with Kilimanjaro majestically rising in the distance. This striking scene powerfully underscores the dire impacts of the climate emergency, evident in the barren land left by prolonged drought. The elephants' journey poignantly symbolises the struggle for survival amidst rapidly shifting environmental conditions, underscoring the pressing need for sustainable conservation efforts. Against the backdrop of Kilimanjaro's receding glaciers, the mountain serves as an ominous reminder of the profound and far-reaching consequences of climate change, threatening not only local ecosystems but also global biodiversity and the survival of species worldwide.

Location: Amboseli national park, Kenya

#5. Sophie Holcroft

Description: This image radiates unity because of its symmetry and peaceful movement. Giraffes shape acacia trees by pruning; the tree is a testament to the symbiotic networks within nature. These giraffes are vulnerable on the open plane as they are constant players in the game of survival of the fittest, but this is part of Nature’s ability to juggle spinning plates and find equilibrium. This has wider geographical significance because it shows what the world could be like without human intervention causing the climate crisis - a snapshot of a world if humans worked with nature rather than against it.

Location: Maasai Mara, Kenya.

#6. Ben Smith

Description: 'Liminality': Transcending the border between Finland and Sweden. A liminal wasteland accessed only by this bridge in the summer months when ice is absent. Taken on the Norway 2023 Arctic Fieldtrip.  

Location: Footbridge over Peerasuvanto River looking from Keinovuopio, Sweden to Ulkuniemi, Finland.

#7. Rosie Adams

Description: This photograph illustrates the juxtaposition of perceived vs actual risks on the Araniko Highway, Nepal. Despite the road being built through a landslide, and subsiding into a steep gorge, continuously narrowing the road, officials feel the danger they need to highlight is the narrowing of the ‘highway’. This scene highlights how the acceptability of risk is entirely subjective. Walking this road, we were more concerned about the road collapsing further or the landslide deposits moving. Nepali people living in these dynamic landscapes don’t even consider these hazards to be worthy of a sign, they are just daily occurrences. 

Location: Araniko highway, Nepal.

#8. Joe Buss

Description: This picture was taken on the fourth floor of the Chinese American Museum of Chicago, during our weeklong field trip as part of the ‘Chicago – Sites of Global Change’ module. In the foreground is the Chinatown neighbourhood, and the skyline of the Loop is also very visible on an exceptionally clear day. Not only does this highlight the diverse nature of Chicago, and its reputation as city of neighbourhoods, but I believe this encapsulates my research whilst in Chicago, namely that it is a city of  great contrasts.

Location: Chicago. 

#9. Bobby Puddicombe

Description: This photograph was captured during the Rockies wildfires in August 2022, attributable to an above average temperature increase since 1950. Layers of smoke cloak the parallel slopes creating a strikingly sharp depth effect that emphasises the already vast sense scale. As you progress through the vivid layers within this image, tens of thousands of pines and firs disappear into granular silhouettes, a poignant reminder of our insignificance against such a backdrop. The paradox this image presents is testament to its geographical significance. At first glance the landscape seems indestructible however, the context depicts a near miss and an ecosystem nearing its demise.

Location: Sulphur Mountain Cosmic Ray Station, Banff National Park, 51.14699310833454, -115.57956061508385

#10. Maria Allison

Description: This photograph portrays the invasion of tourism in places of outstanding natural beauty. Selfie sticks, cameras and handrails are visible in front of a unique shaft of light permeating from the opening, disrupting the cave untouched for centuries. The image also depicts the grandeur of nature by contrasting the size difference between the humans and cave. Surrounded by over thousand-year-old stalactites and stalagmites, these tourists do not understand the fragility and remarkable nature of the surrounding geographical landscape. This image represents and acknowledges the importance of limiting the negative impacts of globalisation to prevent human disruption to the natural world.

Location: Jomblang Cave, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. 

#11. Finn Knight.

Description: I took this photo in Crete on holiday, and I think it holds a lens up to human behaviour during a climate crisis. The local area has already seen increased temperatures as a result of climate change and is starting to see sea level rise, so this temporary lifeguard structure has been installed on what is essentially a temporary part of the coastline. Eventually, this structure could end up in the sea, demonstrating the disregard humans have for the environment, and raising the idea that we may even be treating the planet as if it is temporary.

Location: Crete. 

#12. Connor Gooch

Description: Here, in the heart of the Port of Rotterdam, the contrast between industry and sustainability comes alive. A towering wind turbine stands tall against the grey sky, symbolising the shift towards renewable energy, but beside it, a smoke-emitting power plant reminds viewers of Europe’s ongoing reliance on traditional energy sources. The bustling activity on the water, with a cargo ship loaded with containers, reinforces the port's role as a global trade hub. This photograph captures the intersection between old and new energy paradigms, making it a compelling snapshot of modern industrial geography and current energy transitions.

Location: Port of Rotterdam. 

#13. Hollie Corfield

Description: Diatoms. They embody the pinnacle of Geography in understanding how the world changes temporally. They are capable of providing insight into that past environmental conditions given their susceptibility to alterations in salinity, temperature, etc (Kolbe, 1927; Hustedt, 1953; Kjemperud, 1981; Fan et al, 2023). Understanding previous environments allows Geographers to comprehend future conditions. This poses a greater significance in the present, whereby climate change one of the most pressing matters in Geography due to increased anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions (IPCC, 2022). This image narrates that such a small, seemingly insignificant algae, can harbour a wider significance both environmentally and socioeconomically.

#14. Karma Kabbani

Description: Situated in a corner of Nishiki Market, a chef gracefully drops tempura into oil. The act is performed meticulously, demonstrating a master at work. There is a constant queue of people, some local some not, both eagerly waiting for their turn to try the crispy delight. Within the batter years of passion and history intertwine creating a seemingly simple dish, yet encapsulating traditions and family secrets. Through this small shop, people, flavours, and history converge to create a Portuguese-influenced Japanese popular delicacy.

Location: Nishiki market, Kyoto, Japan.

#15. Gabrielle Hebrank

Description: These are students in a rural Ugandan school I visited in 2023. The school has seven classrooms, over 600 pupils, no drinking water, no lunch and only five teachers. Education offers hope for a future beyond subsistence fishing. Still, it has taken years to instil the aspiration and eventually demands of family or a new baby pull most from school. This year, just 23 young people enrolled in P7 and less than half will take the primary leavers exam for secondary school. This photo portrays unequal human development and the struggle for basic human rights facing much of sub-Saharan Africa. 

Location: Fundo Primary School, Fundo, Uganda. 

#16. Benan Mawdsley

Description: The Breiðamerkurjökull Blues was captured on film in September 2023, portraying the state of Icelandic glaciers. The utilisation of film enhances the natural colour profiles of the environment and provides an ethereal and timeless quality. The photograph highlights the significance of glaciers and the cryosphere in the face of climate change, prompting reflection of the impacts on these fragile, pristine landscapes and their vulnerability. 

Location:  Breiðamerkurjökull, Iceland.