Greek photographer Athanasios Maloukos has won the top prize in this year’s Travel Photographer of the Year (TPOTY) awards, the BBC reported Sunday.
The Lamia-based lensman earned the honor for two bodies of work that explore ritual, belief and movement: the solemn Holy Week processions in Zamora, Spain, and the hypnotic Sema ceremony of whirling dervishes in Konya, Turkey.
🇬🇷📸 Türkiye ve İspanya'da çektiği fotoğraflar, Yunan fotoğrafçıya büyük ödül getirdi
Yunan fotoğrafçı Athanasios Maloukos, dünyanın en prestijli yarışmalarından biri olan Travel Photographer of the Year (TPOTY) ödüllerinde 2026 büyük ödülünü kazandı. BBC’nin aktardığına göre… pic.twitter.com/BGIUKrG9XY
— Aris (@voiceofhellas) January 26, 2026
“There’s a sense of rhythm and reverence in the images, which is incredibly difficult to achieve. This is all achieved in camera without over-processing and conveys the depth and intensity of each moment,” the BBC quoted TPOTY founder Chris Coe as saying.
Judge Jeremy Hoare described Maloukos’ work as “one of the best over the last 23 years of these awards,” the BBC report said. Maloukos has previously been recognized in the same competition.
Greek photographer Athanasios Maloukos's "Shamans performing rituals on Siberia's frozen Lake Baikal"#Shamanism #siberia pic.twitter.com/an7XTbcbGT
— Stephen G. Rae (@BardCumberland) June 17, 2024
The winners were selected from over 20,000 images submitted by amateur and professional photographers from 160 countries. Founded in 2003, the competition is judged anonymously by a sixteen-member international panel. Finalists must submit original raw files to verify authenticity and show that AI was not used in creating their work.
Intrigued by photography
Athanasios Maloukos is one of the most decorated Greek photographers in recent years, winning numerous prestigious international titles. Speaking recently to Greek Reporter, he said he was intrigued by photography since his student years, trying to see through his lens what he saw around him “with a different perspective that captured life in a specific frame and focused the interest in a delimited setting.”
“Starting out as a simple photographer, it was impossible not to become interested in capturing human expressions at some point,” he adds. “So, the marriage of photography with my other interest, travel, occurred naturally.” Over the course of time, he sharpened his photographer’s eye, but his travels also became more demanding. However, it was only when he was prompted by his friends that he decided to participate in a photography competition in 2009.
“The participation alone in a competition, and indeed an international one, is an unknown aspect of photographic knowledge, where you have to renounce your own personal or emotional connection to an image and be able to perceive how other people receive your creation, but without this becoming an end in itself,” the photographer explained.
Athanasios Maloukos: The Greek photographers’ awards
Athanasios Maloukos has received widespread recognition for his photography, earning numerous awards that highlight his skill in capturing culture, people, and travel. His major accolades include:
- Prix de la Photographie Paris (Px3): Named “Best New Talent of the Year” and “Portraiture Photographer of the Year” in 2022 for his powerful project La Desolata (a Christian commemoration in Italy)
- International Photography Awards (IPA): Multiple first-place wins in Travel and Culture categories (2012, 2022)
- Chromatic Awards: Several gold medals across People, Culture, and Travel categories between 2020 and 2025
- Siena International Photo Awards: Maloukos’ work widely featured and awarded in this prestigious competition
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