Focus for Survival is a photography initiative in aid of conservation.
How does it work?
Focus for Survival is a celebration of Mother Nature through photography. Our free-to-enter Focus for Survival photographic competition offers the chance for a wide audience to be inspired by your image of the natural world.
By sharing the story of your image you’ll be helping to raise awareness about the importance of the natural world.
The competition is an opportunity for amateur photographers to have their work exhibited, to raise their profile and to support conservation in the process.
In 2023 all 12 finalists’ images were profiled by The Times and in 2022, one of the finalists’ images was featured in The Daily Telegraph. In 2021 two of our finalists, Sam Wallace and Celia Kujala, had their images exhibited in the Blue Zone of COP26 in Glasgow.
In 2024 we did not run a competition due to the photographic exhibits in The Extinction Collection including works by Sebastiao Salgado and Richard Mosse, but this year we are back…
Image at top: Torie Hilley.
Images on left: Ria Waugh; Apurba Kumar Das.
Images at bottom: Cedric Peneau; Patrick Mueller; David Ellis.
All Focus for Survival finalists.
FOCUS FOR SURVIVAL COMPETITION IN BRIEF
Your image should feature the natural world and have some relevance to the central theme of nature conservation (please see Q&A ‘Can my photo be of anything?’ for further details);
Anyone can enter;
It is free to enter;
The closing date is 31 August;
12 finalists are selected from all submissions – these will be announced on 2nd October.
-all the finalists are eligible for our annual People’s Choice Award, an award voted for by the public during October;
-finalists’images will be displayed in an online gallery on our website;
-Each of the 12 finalists’ images will be included in our calendar – these will be sold in aid of our Campaign Fund.
Three of the finalists’ images will be short-listed by our panel.
– the short-listed images will be printed, framed and displayed at our exhibitions – exhibition images will be included in our fundraising auction with all proceeds to our Campaign Fund.
To find out more, please see the Q&A below. Thank you.
Focus for Survival is a celebration of Mother Nature through photography. By celebrating nature we can help to protect it.
In the last seven years we have showcased a small selection of images generously donated by our patrons, adventurers, explorers, conservationists, celebrity supporters and professional photographers. These include Sebastiao Salgado, Richard Mosse, Beverly Joubert, Daniel Beltra, Michael Kenna, Will Burrard Lucas, Doug Allen, Daryl Balfour, James Suter, Robin Moore, Peter Ian Chadwick, Paul Goldstein, Margot Raggett, BBC cameraman Gordon Buchanan, travel writer/presenter Simon Reeve and explorers Levison Wood and Kingsley Holgate.
In addition we run a free-to-enter photographic competition to showcase images captured all around the world. This competition is open to everyone and is a way to support conservation in action.
Your entry must be an original photograph taken by you featuring some aspect of the the natural / wild world.
The image can be taken anywhere geographically in the world and feature any aspect of nature, for example, plant, animal, mountain, forest, ocean etc but it must be taken by you in a wild environment.
We do not accept images taken of animals in captivity. Although some of these animals are important conservation ambassadors, with an important story, the selection panel feel it is unfair to compare an image taken in the wild with an image taken in a captive environment.
Images should be landscape orientation as the 12 finalists images will feature in a calendar – please do not submit images cropped to a square for Instagram.
To be eligible, you must complete the submission form.
Any image not fulfilling the criteria laid out above will unfortunately be discounted from selection.
The initiative helps to raise awareness about the natural world. Sales of the calendar help to raise much needed funds.
Finalists enjoy heightened profile, being shared both online, at exhibition venues and with the press.
In 2022 Patrick Mueller’s chameleon was featured in Travel Africa magazine and the Saturday edition of the Daily Telegraph.
Anyone can enter – professional, amateur, hobby or student. You can live anywhere in the world.
**Please note: if you are under the age of 16 you must email a consent note from a parent/guardian/teacher giving permission to enter with the subject: “Focus for Survival Under 16 consent – Your name” – please send this to info@realworldconservation.org.uk**
The submission phase runs from March to August.
Simply follow the ‘Enter Here‘ link between 3 March and 31 August 2025.
The form is very quick and easy to complete and simply requires you to fill in all the fields on the form.
When you have completed the form you will be asked to attach your image as a jpeg file – please provide an image under 5MB in size – we will contact the 12 finalists if we require a larger file for printing/exhibiting.
The title of your file must include YOUR NAME
The competition is free-to-enter.
You attach your photo to your entry form.
A maximum of three photos per photographer.
You will need to complete a submission form for each image.
We are accepting submissions until 2359 GMT on 31 August.
The 12 finalists receive a logo they can display as they wish.
All the finalists’ images will be screen displayed during our exhibition tour, and they will also be profiled via our online channels. They will help to support our Projects and wider campaign through the sale of a charity calendar.
In addition they:
- have the opportunity to win the People’s Choice award voted for by the public. The winner receives an engraved trophy.
The three short-listed images selected by our expert panel from the 12 finalists will have their image printed, framed and exhibited for our UK exhibition tour. Exhibition images will be auctioned online in aid of our projects. In addition they:
- have the opportunity to win the Focus for Survival Photographer of the Year award. The winner receives an engraved trophy and a winner’s logo which they can display as they wish. The short-listed photographers will be invited to the Private View event in November in London.
There are two stages.
After the submission deadline, all entries will be checked for eligibility and 12 finalists announced on the Explorers Against Extinction website on 2 October. These 12 images go forward to our People’s Choice vote which opens in October. The People’s Choice winner is announced in November at our Private View event in London.
From the finalists our panel will short-list three images.
The selection panel features guests judges and trustees – in the past the panel has included patron Levison Wood, professional photographers Paul Goldtsein, Noril Jemil and James Lowen.
There are two awards:
Focus for Survival People’s Choice Award
This award is chosen by the public, through an online vote open in October. All 12 finalists’ images are eligible.
Focus for Survival Photographer of the Year Award
This award is chosen by our panel from a short-list of three.
Results are announced at our Private View event in London and shortly afterwards online.
You do.
If you are a finallist we reserve the right to print your image in our charity calendar as laid out in these guidelines, and/or for exhibiton purposes or press and promotion associated directly with the campaign. We will take all reasonable measures to ensure the photographer is correctly credited by name.
For all entries we reserve the right to use the photos in association with the campaign digitally. In all cases the photographer retains all rights beyond these competition requirements.
Read full terms and conditions here:FFS 2025 T&Cs