Competition 2025

Serena Dzenis is an Australian lens-based artist based in Iceland, celebrated for her compelling imagery that merges natural landscapes with human architecture. Her work delves into the intricate relationship between humanity and the environment, offering thought-provoking perspectives on our place within the natural world. Serena’s photography has reached audiences worldwide, with exhibitions at the Lancashire Photography Festival (UK), Head On Photo Festival (Australia), and galleries in countries including Hungary, France, Japan, China, Spain, Germany, Canada, and Lithuania. Her achievements include 1st place in the professional architecture category at the 2022 Tokyo International Foto Awards, being named ND Architectural Photographer of the Year 2022, and earning 1st place in the same category at the 2022 International Photography Awards and the 8th Fine Art Photography Awards. Through her evocative and thought-provoking photography, Serena seeks to inspire a profound connection with nature while fostering critical reflection on humanity’s impact on the environment.

Aaron Gekoski is an internationally-acclaimed photojournalist and film-maker, specialising in human-animal conflict. For more than 15 years he has travelled the globe to report on our complex relationship with wildlife. Covering issues from the illegal wildlife and pet trade, to deforestation, marine conservation and wildlife tourism, his images have appeared in dozens of international publications and books. His work has also featured in most of the top photographic competitions. He was recently awarded the 2024 Environmental Photographer of the Year award by Prince Albert II of Monaco. Aaron has produced or featured in over 100 short- and long-form documentaries. His films have been acquired by Al Jazeera, Smithsonian, Apple TV, Sky, Amazon, and National Geographic. He also fronted several online series for ScubazooTV. He has just finished work on a feature film about mankind's relationship with big cats (co-produced by Terra Mater). Dethroned will premiere this summer.

Agorastos Papatsanis is a nature photographer specializing in mushroom photography. Born in 1977 in a small village in the Grevena region surrounded by various forests in northern Greece, he is living in Pieria today, nestled in the embrace of the mythical Mt. Olympus, where he works as a photographer. He recorded and identified mushrooms until 2008 when he began photographing them with an artistic approach.  He has won numerous awards in some of the world’s biggest competitions, including Wildlife Photographer of the Year in 2013, 2016, and as a winner for two consecutive years, 2022 and 2023.  Agorastos has contributed to many magazines with numerous articles. A significant highlight of his photographic career was the selection of his photo by National Geographic Magazine (America) for the cover of the April 2024 issue. This marked the first mushroom-themed cover in the magazine’s 136-year history, featuring a rich 10-page article on mushrooms adorned with his photos.

Laurien Holtjer

As the Head of Communications at Rewilding Europe, Laurien Holtjer is responsible for Rewilding Europe’s communications and marketing strategies and operations, both at a central level and across all rewilding areas. She is an experienced communications professional within the field of nature conservation. In 2005, Laurien graduated with an MSc in Tropical Nature Conservation from Wageningen University in the Netherlands, after which she decided to specialise in the field of communications to inspire audiences and connect people with wild nature. Before Rewilding Europe, she worked as a journalist and communication manager in the field of nature conservation. Rewilding Europe fulfils her personal desire to work towards wilder nature, and a wish to make more people aware of nature’s beauty and innate resilience.