Edinburgh Connections Photography Competition 2025/26 – School of GeoSciences entries

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Summary

Take a look at the GeoSciences entries for the Edinburgh Connections Photography Competition 2025/26.

We are pleased to share the School of GeoSciences student entries to the 2025/26 Photography Competition, hosted by Edinburgh Global.

This year, the competition ran from October 2025 to February 2026 with 314 entries in total across the University. The theme was Edinburgh Connections, aimed at ‘encouraging students to capture the connections at the heart of their student journey.’

The categories included: Nature, Global Experiences, Community, and City.

Nature

Lindsay Petelinkar

Lush green hills and a rocky landscape pictured in the Scottish Highlands. A sheep can be seen at the bottom left corner eating grass.

I chose Nature as my category. I am currently back at university to continue my career in protecting the environment. Humans and the planet are intertwined, and we need to protect and safely manage our ecosystems. I had to submit this photo as it not only beautifully depicts the Scottish Highlands, but if you look closely the sheep pictured has blue pigment on it (which is used by owners to track mating). I loved this human touch to this picturesque scenic photo. Even though no humans were photographed in this nature scene, we are always impacting it one way or another.

Rufus Bowder

A mountain surrounding a lake

This photo was taken on the BSc Geography fieldtrip to Cwm Idwal in North Wales, I was lucky enough to be able to have my camera on me when the sky was as blue as it was, this photo will always take me back to the trip, the connections I made and the scenery I was able to see and decipher.

Akari Kanukobo

A swan is pictured swimming in St Margaret's Loch.

The photo was captured at St Margaret’s Loch, a place I sought out amidst the initial challenges of moving across the world to begin my MSc. Leaving everything behind was a huge transition, undertaken for the first time solo.

This photograph of the swan, solitary yet at peace upon the dark, twinkling water became a powerful mirror of my own journey. It’s still yet boldness reflects the inner self I strive for when navigating my new journey.

The swan, surrounded by the ancient, enduring land of Holyrood Park, represents resilience and self-reliance. Seeing it here, I felt an instant connection with Edinburgh’s nature —a feeling of being fully, solely a part of this space. It is a welcoming and grounding presence, reminding me that even in solitude, I am supported by the enduring beauty of this city.

Rachel Itenderezwe

A bird flying into frame with a view of the city of Edinburgh in the background

I took this photograph on the morning of 9 January after finishing a gym session on Princes Street, and I always take pictures. Light snow had fallen overnight ,my first time experiencing snow and I noticed the distant hills, lightly covered in white, possibly Arthur’s Seat, rising quietly beyond the city.

As I zoomed in to capture the landscape, a bird flew into the frame. The moment felt unplanned but meaningful. Below, the railway and buildings reflect Edinburgh’s daily movement and urban life; above them, the bird represents the wider ecosystem that continues to exist within the city.

This image captures how Edinburgh connects people, nature, and place. It reflects my personal connection to the city as someone learning to navigate a new environment, while also showing how urban systems and natural life coexist , reminding us that sustainability begins with recognising these everyday connections.

Alice Jones

A close-up of a seal pup laying on grass

A seal pup basks in the late November sun along the St Abbs coastline, patiently awaiting its mother’s return from the sea. These moments of calm offer a beautiful reminder of the connection between wildlife and the rugged Scottish shore.

Chizoba Kama

A bride and groom are pictured standing next to the river flowing through Dean Village

I went to Dean Village expecting to be amazed, especially after hearing so many people describe it as picturesque. When I arrived, I couldn’t see what everyone else seemed to see, and I felt honestly heartbroken. I almost left.

Instead, I climbed one of the bridges. From there, I noticed a couple standing quietly together, surrounded by nature, and I took the photo without giving it much thought. When I looked back at it on my camera, my heart felt full. The beauty I thought was missing was suddenly right there.

This photo falls under the Nature category because nature isn’t just scenery; it holds space for human moments. It represents the connection between people, between humans and nature, and between expectation and reality. Sometimes, beauty shows up when you stop searching and simply allow yourself to see.

Sasha Burns

A seal lying on rocks, raises its flipper as if it is waving at the camera.

You never know what you’ll see when you step outside your door. This day in St. Abbs, out of the corner of my eye, I saw this seal. We spent 30 minutes together, just observing. It felt like a real connection, and for those 30 minutes it was just us. Any other aspects of our lives, were on pause, as we just stare at each other. He even gave me a little wave.

Rasinina Aulia Rahman

Snow has settled on the hills which tower above the city of Edinburgh

In Edinburgh, the sight of a “snowy winter” is increasingly becoming a memory rather than a season. As global temperatures rise, the thick blanket of snow that once defined the city’s skyline has been replaced by a lighter, wetter reality. Today, snow in the capital is a fleeting visitor, a light sleet that often turns to slush before settling on the Royal Mile or the rooftops of New Town.

While the Scottish Highlands still retain their icy peaks, even there, the snow line is retreating to higher elevations, leaving the lowlands behind. This photo captures one of those moments where snow is captured on the high hills but not the lowlands. It serves as a stark reminder: as our climate changes, the mild, calm winters of the past are disappearing, leaving us with a greener, warmer, and distinctly different landscape.

Global Experiences

Masuma Jannat

Two people sit on a bench in a park with autumn leaves on the trees

This photograph was framed by autumn leaves shining in the morning light and a quiet greenspace keeping at the centre the University of Edinburgh Library, where nature and learning gently meet. In this photograph, an African girl and an American boy sit side by side quietly on a wooden bench under the tree, facing the library across the park, while the photographer is from Asia, and the photograph itself was captured in Europe, bringing together four continents into a single natural and academic moment. The green spaces, sunshine, open sky, diverse identities and library symbolise openness, growth, and the shared pursuit of knowledge within a living landscape.

It portrays that learning here is not separated from nature but held within it, suggesting a balance between aspiration, sustainability, belonging and a global city. This picture embraces different categories in one shot as a reflection of global experiences.

Rieziq Suryo

The Aurora Borealis is captured in the sky above a frozen lake.

Standing on the edge of a frozen lake in Finland, the silence was broken only by the synchronized clicks of shutters from students representing five different countries. As an Environmentalist, I realised this photo had transformed into something deeper, a shared witness to Earth’s delicate systems.

The Aurora Borealis is a visual manifestation of “Connection”, a literal bridge between solar energy and our planet’s magnetic shield. This fieldwork allowed us to move beyond textbooks and see the cryosphere’s vulnerability firsthand. Capturing this light wasn’t just about a prize, it was about documenting the interconnectedness that defines our global climate. This image stands as a testament to how international education fosters the collective stewardship necessary to protect our shared atmospheric heritage.

City

Faruq Rifqi Bin Mohd Faizal

The sunset is captured while standing on top of Calton Hill

Dol fodha na grèine. When I first arrived in Edinburgh, I was greeted by such a warm presence; the glowing shades of orange blanketing the formerly walled city seen from this picture at Calton Hill perfectly encapsulates that feeling. At this very site, I was attending a small gathering for Trafalgar Day. The townspeople here were very lovely and we exchanged trinkets and stories over a box of shortbreads. Even these small gestures had left a significant mark on my life here. A mark of joy and happiness that is oh so familiar to what I felt back home. Maybe the ray of warmth around me had been the light of kindness of the people I met, soothing me with a sense of nostalgia in a place quite unfamiliar to me.

Yan He

A person is captured sitting on a bus. The image is slightly blurry but they can be seen holding a bouquet of flowers.

My friend just finished her busy day in the main library and she bought a flower to make her busy life brighter.

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