Summit Photo 2025: Photography in a Changing World

In late September, the Royal Geographical Society in London became the meeting ground for a remarkable gathering of image-makers and storytellers. Summit Photo 2025 brought together photographers, editors, curators, scientists, and explorers — people united by a shared curiosity about the world and the ethics of showing it.

Across three days, discussions turned on questions that resist easy answers: how to document a planet under pressure; how to balance the urgent with the poetic; how to retain trust and empathy in the act of representation. There was little posturing, just an undercurrent of seriousness — the sense that those present were there to listen as much as to speak.

Shared Ground

The programme offered no single narrative thread, but rather a constellation of ideas. Britta Jaschinski spoke with characteristic precision about her work exposing wildlife crime; Marissa Roth explored photography’s role in memory and displacement; and Frans Lanting reflected on how beauty might continue to matter amid ecological collapse.

In a characteristically thoughtful session, Simon Townsley drew on decades of photojournalism to consider the responsibilities of working in zones of conflict — where compassion and distance are in constant negotiation. And Benedict Allen, whose stories of endurance and encounter have long blurred the lines between exploration and introspection, reminded us that to venture outward is also to turn inward: to confront one’s own assumptions about the world and one’s place in it.

Chris Packham’s Call

Among the most resonant moments came from Chris Packham, whose address framed photography as a form of advocacy. He called on photographers to collaborate — to build collective campaigns against the continuing loss of species and habitat, both close to home and across continents. His appeal was measured but firm: that solitary practice, however sincere, is no longer enough.

“Our images matter only when they move beyond us.”

It was a reminder that the act of seeing must be paired with the act of standing alongside others

Speaking of Change

Sue Flood and I were honoured to be invited to contribute to the inaugural summit, and particularly grateful to Dame Jane Francis for her generous introduction. In our session, we spoke about long-term work in the polar regions — places that are both beautiful and increasingly unstable.

Rather than offer conclusions, we tried to explore how photographers might navigate the fine line between bearing witness and aestheticising loss; how to remain attentive to change without resorting to cliché. The conversation that followed — with peers, students, and those joining online — was thoughtful, candid, and full of small insights that will stay with us long after the event.

The Work Behind the Forum

None of this would have been possible without the quiet determination of Jamie Owen, whose vision and persistence turned Summit Photo 2025 from an idea into a serious forum for discussion. Thanks are also due to Rolex , Photoworks, the Royal Photographic Society, and the Royal Geographical Society itself — institutions whose support reflects an ongoing belief in the importance of thoughtful photographic dialogue.

As the final conversations drifted out onto Exhibition Road, there was a shared sense that the summit had achieved something valuable: a space where image-makers could reflect, debate, and reconnect — not just with each other, but with the reasons they began making photographs in the first place.

For anyone with an interest in photography, storytelling, or the ways we interpret the world around us, Summit Photo 2026 is already shaping up to be a forum not to miss; mark it on your annual calendar.

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Ami Vitale, Susan Meiselas, Simon Townsley, Poulomi Basu, Marissa Roth, Jermaine Francis, Kinnari Saraiya, Esther Horvath, Halima Begum, Anjali Goswami, Helen Starr, Frans Lanting, Skinder Hundal, Jack Ky Tan, Louise Fedotov-Clements, Britta Jaschinski, Sue Flood, Ian Dawson, Benedict Allen, Ollie Steeds, Martin Hartley, Anastasia Taylor-Lind, Chris Packham