Meet the Judges

The TPOTY judges are people of the highest integrity and we would like to thank them for giving their time and experience to ensuring that the awards set and maintain the highest of standards. Both Travel Photographer of the Year and you, the entrant, benefit from their invaluable input, expertise and impartiality, sustaining the quality and credibility of the awards.

None of the judges has a vested interest in the results, beyond using their considerable knowledge and experience of photography to choose the winning images on merit.

There are usually between 12 and 17 judges on the TPOTY judging panel. Below, you can read about each 2026 judge, and what they look for in an award-winning image.

The 2026 Judges are:

Linda Barberic – producer & art director

Linda is a creative producer and visual storyteller with over four decades of experience in the advertising and fine art worlds. Throughout her career, she has produced award-winning imagery and collaborated with leading photographers to bring complex creative concepts to life.

Her expertise spans concept development, visual execution, and the nuances that define a powerful image. With a deep understanding of both the artistic and commercial value of photography, Linda brings a discerning eye to the judging process—evaluating work not only for technical excellence, but for its ability to communicate, evoke emotion, and tell a compelling story.

As a judge, Linda looks beyond aesthetics, seeking images that spark curiosity, provoke thought, and leave a lasting impression.

“What strikes me first about a strong image is its ability to convey a mood that helps viewers find a meaning in what the photographer is trying to say. The image must instantly draw me into the moment when it was captured, so I can see and feel the story without words.  I often look deeper into the technical ability, the lighting, the composition – but none of that matters if it is not inspirational to me.”.”

LB

Keith Berr – advertising & charity project photographer

Keith Berr is an international advertising, portrait and fine art photographer. He has developed a unique live/work compound in Cleveland’s Asia Town, where he holds frequent events, fundraisers and educational gatherings, helping people and organisations connect and share their strongest assets towards promoting the arts. 

His journeys take him on assignments, where he creates memorable photographs of people in steel mills, corporate leaders, brain surgeons at work, chefs, food and native flair around the world.

Current projects have included branding campaigns for AT&T, Verizon, Newell Rubbermaid, Key Bank Corp., Aldi, Invacare, McDonalds, Kay and Zale’s Jewelers, Timken Steel, Republic Steel, University Hospitals and Liberty Mutual Insurance.

He also makes it a point to work on several pro bono projects every year and in the past decade he has been presented with numerous National ADDY awards, for his personal work, “Save The Salt” project, regarding the preservation of the Bonneville Salt Flats, a National Monument that’s in need of assistance in preventing its further destruction by man.

Another of his interesting pro bono endeavors was with “The Kids Film It Festival”, where he created an award winning print campaign for encouraging young filmmakers, with proceeds going to Michael J. Fox’s Parkinson’s efforts.

Keith continues to bring people together to help enable a better networking of like-minded individuals, sharing information that can empower artists locally, nationally and internationally.

“I picked up my first camera when I was 16 and knew immediately that this was my passion and my career. Throughout my life I’ve continued my photographic education, studied, taught, exhibited and created images everyday.  

We are all constantly bombarded with imagery and very few photos can make me stop and go Whoa!  When an image, or a body of work, causes me react strongly it has told a story and captured a moment in time with its freshness, composition, tonality, technique and the absolute most important thing, light.

If a photographer is able to see the light and uses it either through nature, or plans it with created light, a great photograph is born. I don’t care what tool is used to create the image; it has to have these major elements that separate it from being just a snapshot.

Great photographs create a road to inspire others to do the same.“

KB

Daria Bonera – photographers’ agent, mentor & picture editor

Daria was born in Milan, Italy. After graduating in Fashion Marketing from St Martins School in London, she started working for Grazia Neri Photo Agency, where she represented several international agencies and photographers and I selected new talents for the Agency.

In 2008 Daria went to New York to work as the agent of documentary photographer Donna Ferrato and representing Grazia Neri’s photographers all through the US, while collaborating with the major publications. She returned to Milan in 2009 and started her own Agency, DB, where she represents a few selected photographers and film directors for fashion, advertising and digital campaigns.

She has been a portfolio reviewer at several festivals and a judge on many International Photography Awards, a nominator for the Prix Pictet and a mentor and teacher of visual communication. From 2009 to 2019 she was the photo editor of the magazine “Touring National Geographic Traveler Italia”. She is now the visual editor of Cesura photo collective for editorial and commercial projects.

“Usually I am not attracted to sensational or just news photos, I am attracted by in-depth themes, topics such as gender equality, the freedom of thought that can change things and give a better future to the new generations. With portfolios I look for the choice of the subject, how it fit the theme as has been documented, the emotionality but also the ethics and integrity.“

DB

Cheryl Brophy Chan – former picture editor at Corbis

We live in a world of imagery. Most of us are photographed from every angle the moment we are born. Instinctively as children we learn to glance, pose and smile and offer the lens our most flattering expression. In my own family, my father was the avid photographer who captured our childhood on slide, developed his own negatives and documented us on cine film. In fact, he was the influencer who led me to a life of photography.

Then, at degree level, I learnt to evaluate imagery on a myriad of levels from composition, pictorial language, message and memorability.  That education led me onto becoming a Picture Editor for the Bruce Coleman Agency where I was immersed in a wealth of wildlife and travel images. Subsequently I edited and marketed stills for an acclaimed wildlife filmmaker in Bristol. Thereafter I edited diverse and extensive photo collections for Corbis. Fundamentally, I have witnessed photography transition from stills to digitisation. 

Photography remains an intrinsic part of my life today. Even whilst living in Cameroon for two years and now living in Malaysia for the past ten years, I continue to document my travels and many cultures. Consequently I have developed a more global view of photography and am conscious of new trends of expression too. 

From a family snap to an exceptional award winning photograph, it’s remarkable how the camera records the moment and in an instant we can share it with the world for a lifetime.

“To get my attention, a winning photograph should immediately jolt my senses and reveal something quite: extraordinary, remarkable, unique or peculiar. 

A photo that conveys a sense of scale, mesmerises me with complexity, punches me with colour or coaxes me with a simplistic line, immediately impresses me.

Whether it’s breathtaking, devastating or celebratory I’m curious to see it. I want to chuckle at a photographer’s wit and originality, and be envious of the world through the lens of their eyes.”

CBC

Krystal Chryssomallis – Fine Art Photographer, Storyteller & Speaker

Krystal is a fine art photographer and visual storyteller devoted to amplifying the good – in people, in cultures, and in the world. With a career spanning more than 60 countries, she uses photography to explore human connection, meaning, and the shared experiences that unite us.

For Krystal, photography is more than capturing a moment – it is a way of understanding it. A photograph moves people when it reaches something true – what matters, and what is being revealed. Her work focuses not only on technical excellence, but on the message and authenticity behind the image – the collaboration between photographer and subject that allows something deeper to emerge.

That perspective was shaped over two decades producing thousands of live events and cultural initiatives globally – including productions at six UNESCO World Heritage sites and major international landmarks – alongside organisations including Disney, NASA, PBS, Boeing, IMAX, FIFA, UNICEF, William Morris Endeavor, and the World Wildlife Fund. Across those experiences, the same human truths surfaced everywhere: people want to belong, to be seen, to feel safe, and to live with meaning. Those truths have shaped everything she has made, taught, and built since.

Her fine art work seeks not to document the world, but to reveal it. Exhibited internationally including at Xposure in Sharjah, UAE, her images have found their way into private collections and palaces, onto album covers and billboards, and into the pages of international media – each one a different kind of evidence that a photograph, when it reaches something true, travels.

She also judges for The Drum Awards, serves as a WWF Panda Ambassador, speaks on human connection, perception, and storytelling, and is a long-standing supporter of UNICEF’s education initiatives – in the field and through her fine art practice.

As a judge, the same standard applies. She looks for images that carry depth, intention, and emotional resonance – photographs that disclose something true about the world within them.

“I look for images that evoke a feeling – something that stays with you long after you’ve looked away. A great photograph doesn’t just capture a moment. It inspires reflection, emotion, and a deeper appreciation for the world around us.”

KC

Chris Coe – photographer, speaker, mentor & tutor, author & TPOTY founder

Chris has been a professional photographer for over 30 years. During that time he has illustrated more than 50 books and lectured at many international exhibitions and for some of the leading companies in both photography and travel. The author of several ‘how to do’ photography books, his recent focus is very much on helping people find their own creativity.

In 2002, Chris imagined these Travel Photographer of the Year (TPOTY) awards and the next year they were launched. Now they have grown into one of the biggest and most prestigious international photography awards. This is the 24th award! Through TPOTY he has also developed skills as a curator, having put together over 50 international exhibitions.

TPOTY has taken a lot of his time in the last 23 years but he is now returning to his own photography. The launch of Eye for the Light, the free-to-view online creative photography, adventure and travel magazine and podcasts, independently run but attached to the TPOTY website, is allowing him to combine new photography with writing, podcasting and teaching.

Teaching photography and mentoring individuals have become an important part of Chris’s work and he is passionate about sharing his knowledge and experience. He is self-taught – previously working as a physiologist – so understands the struggles people have in getting to grips with photography. Having started from the bottom, he has a natural talent for keeping photography simple and creative.

“For me, a good image registers in my mind and a great one imprints itself. I want to be intrigued. I want to react to it. I want to feel something. I want an image to make me keep coming back to look again and again. The best images do that. Originality is also important and increasingly so in a world where we’re bombarded with so much imagery. Like all the judges, we see a huge number of images each year and we know if someone has made something original, rather than just copying one which has been done before.

A creative spark, even when photographing one of the more iconic and much-photographed places, can make an image really shine. It shows that a photographer has taken the time and has the imagination to stamp their own style or vision on to it. More and more I look for images which have soul.“

CC

Richard Dunwoody – photographer & former champion jockey

Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Richard Dunwoody became the only jockey of his generation to win the ‘Big Three’ National Hunt races following wins in the Aintree Grand National 1986 & 1994, Cheltenham Gold Cup 1988 and the Champion Hurdle 1990. He partnered the great Desert Orchid to seven victories and was Champion Jockey three times (1993-95). He was awarded the MBE for services to his sport in 1993.

Since retiring as a jockey in 1999 he has travelled extensively and undertaken expeditions to both the Arctic and Antarctic. In 2008 he completed an unsupported expedition to the South Pole, travelling around 700 miles on skis. In 2017, to raise funds for Sarcoma UK, he walked the length of Japan’s three largest islands, covering over 2000 miles in 101 days.

Besides sport, adventure and travel, he has always been passionate about photography. Since studying photojournalism at the Speos Institute in Paris in 2012 he has worked as a professional photographer and his images have appeared in equine and travel publications around the world. In 2014 The Brooke Hospital (an equine charity) held a successful exhibition of his images of working equines at St Martin in the Fields in London. In 2024 Richard held an exhibition for Compassion in World Farming.

“For me travel photography is very much about capturing the moment, being creative, thinking outside the box and telling the story.”

RD

Jason Edwards – wildlife, conservation and National Geographic photographer 

Based in Melbourne, Australia, Jason has a passion for wildlife and the environment has been with him over his extensive career that began at the Zoological Board of Victoria. Jason has since been recognised globally for his contributions to Science, the Environment and the Arts.

Through his commissioned work and as the face of National Geographic Channel’s Pure Photography, Jason has taken his story telling to dozens of countries and to every continent. His work has appeared in hundreds of publications including National Geographic Magazine, BBC Wildlife, Australian Geographic, Sports Illustrated, Conde Nast Traveler, and The New Yorker. Jason is also an author of science education books, and his imagery has appeared on everything from environmental campaigns to Hollywood blockbusters.

Jason is an Ambassador for both Sustainability Victoria and Tourism Australia,, championing natural history and the art of photography. He is an Associate Fellow of the ILCP using his lens to narrate and highlight issues affecting wildlife, the environment and indigenous communities. Jason holds an Honours Degree in the Bachelor of Applied Science in Scientific Photography and tertiary qualifications in the Animal Sciences. The Conservation Photographers (ILCP) is an organisation that utilises the power of photography to educate and inspire people globally about conservation issues.

“Photography  is about more than just capturing beautiful pictures; the goal is always to tell a story. My images come from stories larger than the individual frame. My philosophy is to faithfully capture my subject in-camera, which produces a natural, clean, precise and consistent look. I believe that natural history & documentary photography are best served by the motto, ‘less is more’. ” 

JE

Colin Finlay – stock photography expert & print collector

Colin is an avid collector of photography as well as being actively involved in the photography industry for many years. Colin’s extensive knowledge of content has further foundations in his prior positions including Head of Image Resources at the Natural History Museum in London where, amongst other responsibilities, he ran one of the world’s largest photo competitions, The Wildlife Photographer of the Year. 

An expert in archival content and a regular magazine contributor and event presenter, Colin was also Global Sales Director – Archival Collections at Getty Images for seven years.

“For me, it is always about creativity and consistency. Many photographers can take one good image, but putting together a portfolio is another skill. Generally speaking, photographers make poor editors, because they are too close to the images they have shot. Just because a photographer had a wonderful time on a particular shoot, it does not mean that they took wonderful images! So it is all about the elusiveness of creativity, not so much to do with skill, technique or equipment.

There are many great images taken on camera phones, and many poor ones taken on top of the range cameras with fancy lenses, filters and editing software. Expensive equipment and a scientific understanding of how cameras work are no substitute for a considered thought process and a creative idea. Simply put, images I vote for tend to be either something I haven’t seen before, or the best version of familiar subject matter.“

CF

Simon Hill – editorial photographer & RPS President (HonFRPS)

Simon is a professional editorial photographer and president of the Royal Photographic Society, living in the north of England but working internationally. His work embraces a range of genres including portrait, heritage, landscape and documentary. Professional editorial commissions have taken him across Europe, Scandinavia, South East Asia and the United States. His publication credits include National Geographic Magazine, The Observer Magazine and The Sunday Times Magazine, and almost all UK national newspapers, with his photography appearing in over 300 books in the UK, Europe and the USA.

Simon is a previous winner of Kodak Professional Photographer of the Year, BIPP Professional Photographer of the Year, and he was the first British winner of the International Art Portrait Award.  He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and, in 2020, he was awarded Invited Fellowships of the ‘Master Photographers’ Association and the British Institute of Professional Photography.  In January 2021, he was elected President and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society.

 “A fantastic travel photograph should capture, with a unique or fresh perspective, the very essence of a place or of an experience. It should have authenticity and provide an emotional connection between the subject, the photographer and the viewer without being overly staged or edited to the point where it no longer represents reality. The very best travel photographs will tell a story – have a narrative – and evoke an emotion, or convey a sense of atmosphere or mood; all of which helps to inform and educate the viewer, ‘connecting’ them to the people, the place or the moment in the photograph.  The most successful travel photographs will inspire the viewer to learn more about the world around us.”

SH

Jeremy Hoare – photographer, TV lighting cameraman & radio presenter 

Jeremy was born into a theatrical showbiz family with his grandfather having being a member of Fred Karno’s Army with Charle Chaplin and Stan Laurel, and his father being manager of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. After a long career as an ITV television Cameraman and Lighting Director, also a Theatre Lighting Designer, he now takes mainly stills today. He has also been a journalist and author of several books.

During his television career, Jeremy worked with many actors and stars of national and international repute, too many to mention. He has also since been the main cameraman on several classical ballets in Kyoto theatres, like ‘The Nutcracker’ and ‘Coppelia’. Japan has been the main focus for his photography for many years and he has had several exhibitions in the UK and Japan focussing on this work.

 Jeremy has also recently become a radio presenter and produced many shows; op, jazz and country, also the ‘Travelling Man’ series featuring music from some of the sixty countries he has been to.  These have gone out on stations in the UK, USA and Australia.

“A camera is a device with which to tell a story. What I look for in an image is a sense of involvement, I want to see and feel the story in a single frame by being drawn into it.  I learnt so much about lighting and composition from studying the paintings of old master artists such as Rembrandt, Caravaggio, Turner and Cezanne; classic composition and lighting has changed little in 500 years.” 

JH

Frank Meo – photographer’s agent

Frank has represented photographers for thirty years as business partner, advocate, curator, and manager. This collaboration has produced hundreds of award-winning ad campaigns, art shows, provocative editorial content and successful books.

With intimate collaboration between client and photographer he help create branded content libraries to drive business objectives to meet and exceed sales targets. 

A sought-after moderator, portfolio reviewer and curator, he’s extremely proud to mentor and influence the next generation of emerging artists with whom his guidance has built enduring, creative and nurturing careers. 

Frank’s Creative Business Workshop is recognized industry wide for its insightful, dynamic and passionate overview of the current photographic landscape. This reality business-based workshop addresses topics such as estimating, negotiation, client relationship building and retention, effective promotion, industry trends and best practices.

PROJECTIONS is a moderated social media event that showcases the talent of visionary photographers from around the world to an eclectic audience of creatives. 

He has judged photo numerous competitions, including: Lucie Awards, PDN Photo Contest, Sienna Photo Awards, Moscow Photography Award. He is also a nominator for the prestigious ICP Infinity Awards and the Xposure Global Focus Project.

Frank has spoken at learning institutions that include Syracuse University, New School, Parsons, ICP, SCAG and SVA and The Eddie Adams Workshop.

“I’m a passionate advocate of the photographic community through a variety of channels. I’ve always welcomed the opportunity to ‘give back’ to our industry as this business has supplied a life that remains magical. That’s what catches my eye, ‘magic’.

When I judge a photo contest I look for imagery that startles and inspires me to think, think about what the photographer saw and how wonderful it is that they were able to convey that moment to all of us in a single frame”.

FM

Angela Nicholson – photographer, editor, writer, reviewer and founder of the SheClicks community

Angela is the founder of SheClicks, a community for female photographers, and one of the team behind Camera Jabber, a website for photographers with news, reviews, tips and techniques. She studied photography at the University of Westminster and started reviewing cameras and photographic kit in early 2004. Since then she’s been Amateur Photographer’s Technical Editor and Head of Testing for Future Publishing’s extensive photography portfolio.

Angela is a widely respected editor, writer and reviewer and has tested everything from straps to backpacks and compacts to medium format cameras. She’s also a CAA-qualified drone pilot with A2 CofC and GVC qualifications.

SheClicks is centred around a Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/sheclicksnet/) and it’s designed to encourage and support female photographers of all levels of experience, from novices using a phone to experienced pros handling top-end kit. There are free webinars and meet-ups as well as a monthly challenge.

“It’s often the atmosphere and emotion of an image that captures my eye, but I also enjoying seeing a familiar subject in a new way or a detail brought to the fore. Photography is about expression and communication rather than a set of rules that must one obeyed.”

AN

Ellie Rothnie – wildlife photographer & speaker

Ellie Rothnie is an internationally acclaimed, multi award-winning wildlife photographer, tour leader, speaker and Canon Ambassador, with an enduring love of bird, reptiles and mammal portraiture. 

Focussing on species in her native UK, as well as Europe, East Africa, Japan and North/Central America, Ellie’s use of natural light, backgrounds and foregrounds create elegant and timeless images. One of her ongoing projects is with the charismatic Dalmatian pelican of Lake Kerkini, Greece, photographing the conservation successes and challenges of a fragile bird species.

Ellie studied Geography at the University of Leeds before working in marketing for many years. Then 20 years ago, a chance meeting with a pro photographer in the Maasai Mara changed the course of her life, inspiring her to turn a passion for wildlife and photography into a new career.

“When I am judging, an award-winning image needn’t be something iconic, it can be of be something that is often overlooked too, something ordinary, but photographed well and/or in an original way. 

A combination of beautiful light, originality and creative perspective, as well as a demonstration that the photographer understands the subject by capturing unique perspectives and details, are all elements that I look for.  For me, when these elements are combined, the image comes alive with atmosphere, simplicity and emotion. 

I would love to see inspirational images that stop me in my tracks, convey an emotional connection and make me say wow, I wish I’d taken that.“

ER

Manfred Zollner – Former Editor-in-chief at Fotomagazin, Germany

Manfred has a degree in Mass Communications from Munich University. He began his journalistic career as a film critic, working for various German film magazines.

Since 1991 he has devoted himself entirely to photography. That´s when he started working for the German monthly  fotoMAGAZIN as director of photography. From 2003 till 2006 he was editor in chief of the bi-monthly magazine Photo Technik International. 

The Munich born journalist has returned to fotoMAGAZIN in 2006, working in the position of deputy editor in chief since 2007 and taking over as editor in chief in 2019. He is now a freelancer.

In addition to his editorial work, Manfred is a regular contributor of essays to international photo book projects and a frequent portfolio reviewer at photo festivals in Europe and in the United States.

“I am interested in signature style work, that shows me the photographer´s individual approach to their chosen subject. An approach, which is just to the subject  and gives me an insight to the photographer’s strong visual storytelling skills.”

MZ

_________________________________________________

In remembrance – EAMONN MCCABE: 1948 – 2022

The Travel Photographer of the Year team were shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the death in 2022 of the multi award-winning photographer and picture editor, Eamonn McCabe.

Eamonn was a TPOTY judge on numerous occasions. As well as being an enormously talented photographer, picture editor and broadcaster. Eamonn was a true gentleman and a kind, generous soul. We will miss his friendship and quiet humour, and we send our deepest condolences to his family and other loved ones for the loss of a unique individual. Eamonn, you will NOT be forgotten.

Return to Judges & Judging