This Competition Celebrates New Photographers Who Have Been Shooting for Less Than Three Years

Spotlight
Matt Growcoot
A person balances on a tightrope stretched across a vast, rugged, and rocky landscape under a cloudy sky.
Austin Bradley, 57 Metres Icelands Shrinking Glacier – 2 © Austin Bradley

The winners of the AOP’s 2026 Emerging Talent Awards have been announced, with the gold award going to photographer Austin Bradley.

The AOP (Association of Photographers) is a U.K.-based photography association and the Emerging Talent Awards celebrate the very best in the new wave of photographers who have been practising their craft for less than three years.

There are no restrictions on what can be entered and it is open to AOP members and non-members alike.

A shirtless man lies on the grass next to a soccer ball and a white shirt, with a swimming pool and colorful beach huts in the background.
Amaan Ali, In the quiet heart -2 © Amaan Ali
A lone tree stands in a misty field with a dense forest visible in the background under a soft, hazy light.
Leela Ramsay, The Tree © Leela Ramsay

Bradley was awarded gold for his work 57 Metres: Iceland’s Shrinking Glacier. With climate change often reduced to abstract statistics and figures, Bradley wanted to find a more visual way to communicate the scale of glacial retreat.

An aerial view shows a person walking on a highline stretched across a deep, dark, and rugged glacial crevasse.
Austin Bradley, 57 Metres Icelands Shrinking Glacier – 1 © Austin Bradley

He rigged a 57-meter-high (187 feet) highline across Iceland’s Sólheimajökull Glacier, with the length representing roughly how far the glacier retreats each year as a result of rising temperatures. Over several days of carbon-offsetting work, Bradley collaborated with highliners, a small film crew, and a glaciologist to document the project, which will form the basis of a forthcoming documentary.

Ritchie Elder’s series Saturday School won the silver prize for the AOP’s 2026 Emerging Talent Awards, documenting the final day of the school term at the Ukrainian Saturday School at Leith Academy.

A young boy with short hair sits at a desk in a classroom, wearing a light blue polo shirt with a yellow patch on his chest.
Ritchie Elder, Saturday School 3 © Ritchie Elder

Established more than three years ago, the school is the first of its kind in Scotland. It provides Ukrainian children displaced by the war with the opportunity to learn Ukrainian language, culture, and history alongside their mainstream education and plays an important role in helping young people maintain a connection to their heritage while building new lives in Scotland.

Three young girls in traditional Ukrainian clothing with red headbands pose together against a black background.
Ritchie Elder, Belonging – Ukrainian Dancers © Ritchie Elder

Elder worked closely with the children, their parents, and school staff to create this series. Saturday School forms part of a wider documentary project developed in collaboration with the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain, documenting Ukrainian culture and community life across Scotland.

Finalists

A woman with blue-tinted skin and bright red lipstick wears hair rollers and a yellow scarf against a wood-paneled wall.
Nikki Stirton, A Modern Woman – Maintenance Routine © Nikki Stirton
A close-up, high-contrast black and white portrait of a person with dark skin, visible freckles, and braided hair.
Kadeen Brown, The Pride in the Panther – 3 © Kadeen Brown
A person with short, two-toned hair sits on stone steps, wearing a white t-shirt, dark shorts, and boots, holding a cigarette.
Tee Waite, Castle Dyke Street © Tee Waite
A white pony wearing a halter stands in a patch of sunlight against a brick wall next to a wooden door, partially obscured by a large, dark tarp in the foreground.
Won Jang, Kinds of Waits – Waits 2 © Won Jang
A person in profile wears a dark red top, their head and face partially obscured by an arrangement of green foliage and pink flowers.
Caroline Lacoma, The Unmaking of a Woman What Didn’t You Do to Try and Bury Me but You Forgot That I Was a Seed © Caroline Lacoma

Bradley’s winning images will be exhibited from October 19 to 25 across selected billboards in London.

Image creditsHeader photo licensed via Depositphotos.

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