Winners Gallery
Finalist Conservation (Impact) Photographer of the Year
Celia Kujala Kiepert Island, Svalbard, Norway
“A polar bear walked along the shoreline when something on the ground piqued his interest,” says Kujala. “He picked it up and started to play with it. My heart sank as I realised he had found a piece of plastic. Watching the polar bear play with a piece of plastic in the beautiful Arctic wilderness underscored the impact of human waste on even the most remote environments. Not even the uninhabited reaches of the Arctic are exempt from the pervasive grip of plastic pollution. It was a sobering reminder of the urgent need to address the problem.”
BEHIND THE LENS
Celia Kujala United States (US)
ABOUT THE IMAGE
- Cloudy
- Site accessed by boat
- Taken from a small boat
- Late morning
Celia Kujala is an international award-winning wildlife and underwater photographer born and currently living in New York City. From the moment she saw California sea lions for the first time at the Prospect Park Zoo at fourteen months old, she felt a special bond with them. However, it wasn’t until she got scuba certified and started underwater photography in 2017 that she felt she found her true calling. A researcher by trade, she strives to learn everything she can about her subjects before she meets them in order to accurately and intimately tell their stories. After a few days of observation, she usually connects with her subjects in a way that seems magical. It is this connection she wishes to share. Currently, she is working on her project Seal Peace about pinnipeds around the world. She is honored to be a member of the Explorers Club and Ocean Artists Society.
MORE IMAGES BY Celia Kujala
Fine ArtPhotographer of the Year
2023 British Columbia, Canada
