Winners Gallery
Finalist Fine Art Photographer of the Year
Scott Portelli Antarctica
"Weddell seals thrive in the harshest environment on the planet," says Portelli. "These large mammals, distributed throughout Antarctica, have a thick layer of fur and blubber that act both as a food reserve and insulation. The finely packed fur allows them to survive in temperatures as low as -60 degrees Celsius. This image was taken after this seal had hauled itself out of the water and onto the ice floe to rest. It would later return to the icy depths of Antarctica to hunt."
BEHIND THE LENS
Scott Portelli Australia
ABOUT THE IMAGE
- Shot on expedition
- Strong winds
- Morning shoot
- Sunny conditions
Scott Portelli is an award-winning wildlife, nature, aerial, and underwater photographer and filmmaker based in Esperance, Western Australia. With thousands of hours spent in remote regions, his work focuses on conservation, education, and capturing wildlife with a low-impact, non-invasive approach. Scott has won Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year (2021, 2024) and earned recognition from Wildlife Photographer of the Year (2016, 2022). He has spent over a decade documenting Antarctica and the Sub-Antarctic, producing a fine art portfolio that reveals rare glimpses above and below the surface in some of Earth’s harshest environments.
MORE IMAGES BY Scott Portelli
Conservation (Impact)Photographer of the Year
2024 Barents Sea, Arctic
WildlifePhotographer of the Year
2023 Falkland Islands
