CAPTURE THE EXTREME

CREDIT: MARTIN HARTLEY

CREDIT: ALEJANDRO CASTRO CARRILLO

CREDIT: LUKE STACKPOOLE

CREDIT: AVIAAJA SCHLUTER

PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION

Now in its fifth year, Capture the Extreme is a celebration of those who dare to venture further and see deeper to frame the extraordinary.

United by a shared pursuit of exploration and innovation, Shackleton presents Capture The Extreme in collaboration with our friends at Leica AG. This global competition invites photographers to capture the raw beauty and brutal majesty of our planet’s extremes, from the coldest frontiers to the highest peaks, the harshest deserts to the most fragile ecosystems.

Entries for the 2025 competition are now open. This is your chance to join a remarkable legacy of photographers whose work has documented the wild, the remote and the resilient - those who have chosen to Live Courageously.

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PRIZES

OVERALL WINNER

LEICA D-LUX 8 CAMERA

SHACKLETON EXPEDITION PARKA OF YOUR CHOICE

SHACKLETON HERO SWEATER

SHACKLETON MERINO WATCH CAP

FOUR CATEGORY WINNERS

EXTREME LANDSCAPES - THE PLANET'S REMOTE CORNERS

SHACKLETON HERO SWEATER

EXTREME WEATHER - AT THE EDGE OF THE CLIMATE CRISIS

SHACKLETON HERO SWEATER

WILDLIFE AT THE EXTREMES - CREATURES THAT ENDURE

SHACKLETON HERO SWEATER

PEOPLE IN THE EXTREMES - FROM INDIGENOUS GROUPS TO ADVENTURERS

SHACKLETON HERO SWEATER

PUBLIC VOTE/

EXPLORERS' CHOICE

SHACKLETON EXPEDITION PARKA OF YOUR CHOICE

CREDIT: FELIX VOLLMANN

CREDIT: SOPHIE BOLESWORTH

CREDIT: JETHRO ENSOR

CREDIT: FELIX BELLOIN

JUDGES

LEVISON WOOD

PHOTOGRAPHER, EXPLORER & WRITER

Levison Wood is a renowned explorer, author, and photographer, known for his extraordinary journeys through some of the world's most challenging terrains. As a Leica ambassador, he combines his passion for adventure with his exceptional photography skills, capturing stunning images that tell compelling stories of remote and untamed landscapes. Wood's daring expeditions and captivating storytelling have inspired audiences worldwide to make their own journeys.

EMILY GARTHWAITE

PHOTOJOURNALIST

Emily Garthwaite is an award-winning photojournalist, Forbes 30 Under 30 and Leica Ambassador focusing on humanitarian and environmental issues. Star of Shackleton's recent LIVE COURAGEOUSLY campaign, Emily has walked over 1,500km through Iraq and travelled the one of the most militarised rivers in the world, the Tigris, documenting the people and places in the process. Her photographs have been published in The New York Times, Smithsonian Magazine, Washington Post, Der Speigel, Le Figaro, GEO, among others.

MARTIN HARTLEY

POLAR EXPLORER & PHOTOGRAPHER

Martin is a celebrated polar explorer and photographer who has ventured into some of the harshest and most remote regions on Earth. With his camera as his tool, Hartley captures the raw beauty and inherent challenges of the polar landscapes, documenting the fragile ecosystems and the effects of climate change. His images evoke a sense of awe and urgency, igniting a global dialogue on the importance of preserving these pristine environments for future generations along with.

KARIN REHN-KAUFMANN

ART DIRECTOR LEICA

Karin Rehn-Kaufmann is Art Director & Chief Representative Leica Galleries International and holds management responsibility for the 24 Leica Galleries around the world. She has successfully curated numerous prestigious exhibitions and has held responsibility for exhibition concepts for the Leica Galerie at the photokina in 2012, 2014 and 2016, as well as the ‘10x10’ exhibition on the occasion of the jubilee ‘100 years of Leica photography’, and ‘50 best for Leica’ – an exclusive collection of the most famous photographs taken by the prominent US Magnum photographer Elliot Erwitt.

PROFESSOR JOE SMITH

DIRECTOR THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY

Prior to becoming Director of the Society in 2018, Joe was Professor of Environment and Society and head of geography at the Open University. His academic work was focused on environmental communication, history, policy and politics. Joe put together numerous seminars for environment specialists and senior media decision-makers, mostly from the BBC, from the mid-1990s onwards. He also advised on over 30 hours of BBC broadcasting.

MARTIN BROOKS

CEO & CO-FOUNDER

SHACKLETON

Martin is the Co-Founder and CEO of Shackleton. A serial marketing entrepreneur, he has been a devotee of Ernest Shackleton for over 40 years and has visited Antarctica and sailed the world’s oceans inspired by the Boss. Working with Co-Founder Ian Holdcroft, Martin’s mission at Shackleton is to inspire, enable and equip people to Live Courageously - to ‘strive to the uttermost for life’s set prize’ …as inscribed on Sir Ernest’s gravestone.

CREDIT: SANDRO GROMEN

CREDIT: JACOB KUPFERMAN

CREDIT: ADRIAN DOLATSCHKO

CREDIT: JOEL HYPPONEN

CAPTURE THE EXTREME

2024 WINNER

CREDIT: TYLER BRYAN

Before you enter, immerse yourself in the winning imagery and the remarkable stories behind the shots from previous years - from Antarctic ice shelves and the storms of Iceland, to intimate portraits of survival and solitude from the world's extremes.