Article Highlights:

  • Meet the distinguished panel of award-winning photojournalists, editors, and filmmakers judging the 2025 Global Rescue Photo and Video Contest.
  • Nearly $10,000 in prizes include expeditions to Kilimanjaro, Mount Baker, the Rockies, and Death Valley, plus Global Rescue memberships.
  • Judges bring diverse expertise—from National Geographic expeditions and Travel Weekly editorial leadership to documentary filmmaking and design.
  • Authentic, bold, and emotionally powerful imagery will define the winning entries across categories like In The Wild, Accidentally Perfect, and Life In Motion.
  • Submissions are open until October 2, with winners selected for their ability to capture the spirit of Traveling Boldly in 2025.

 

 

Whether it is In The Wild adventures, Between Here and There discoveries, Accidentally Perfect moments with family and friends, or Life In Motion captured on video, in 2025, travelers are embracing and documenting the richness of experiential journeys.

That’s why the 2025 Global Rescue Photo and Video Contest is themed Travel Boldly — honoring your enthusiasm, curiosity and fearless embrace of the world of travel.

 

Nearly $10,000 in Prizes Are Up for Grabs, Including:

  • Altezza: A free Kilimanjaro expedition and a 14-day Global Rescue membership
  • Climbing The Seven Summits: A spot on a 3-Day Mount Baker Classic Climb and a 14-day Global Rescue membership
  • Fresh Adventures: A place for a 7-Day Rockies Mountain Experience and a 14-day Global Rescue membership
  • Four Points Adventures: One space for 3-Day Overland Adventure in Death Valley and a 14-day Global Rescue membership

Contest submissions are open until October 2. After that, our panel of judges will take on the challenge of selecting the very best from your outstanding photo and video entries — all while managing the travel envy your adventures are sure to inspire.

With your travel appetite sparked by these incredible prizes, it’s time to meet the judges who will carefully review your entries and select the very best examples of Traveling Boldly in each category. And remember — no matter how raw or refined your talent may be, these visual experts have an eye for spotting a sensational photograph and an unforgettable video.

 

The 2025 Judges Panel

Ben Horton: Photographer & Director | Environmental Storyteller

www.benhorton.biz

Ben Horton is an acclaimed photographer and director renowned for capturing stunning imagery in the world’s most remote and rugged locations. From National Geographic expeditions to the 2025 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition, his work showcases his exceptional outdoor skills and technical mastery. Specializing in environmental storytelling, Ben’s images invite audiences to connect with nature and inspire change. His work spans high-level commercial campaigns, documenting breathtaking landscapes and cultural narratives, with a focus on adventure and conservation. Ben’s passion for authenticity drives his projects, as he continues to blend artistry with exploration, especially in Baja, Mexico, and beyond.

  • What role do images play in your storytelling?
    “Images are everything to me. They transform complex narratives into visually compelling experiences.  They let the viewer make up their own mind. Instead of telling someone how to feel, I aim to evoke emotion, spark curiosity, and foster a deeper connection with the subject, whether that’s for conservation, exploration, or as a way to elicit feelings about humanity.
  • Is there a destination you’ve covered that stands out visually? Why?“Baja, Mexico, stands out for me due to its raw, rugged, and remote, beauty. The stark contrasts between desert landscapes and coastal environments offer an incredible visual story. My time there in 2023, along with my deep connection to the region since 2015, has allowed me to capture its wild, remote beauty in a way that invites others to experience its fragile yet powerful ecosystem.”
  • Where are your stories headed next, and what kind of imagery are you hoping to capture or include?
    “My upcoming projects will continue to explore the intersection of the freedom that comes with adventuring out into the wild beauty of Baja, and environmental conservation through appreciation. I’m drawn to remote, underrepresented areas where human impact and natural beauty collide. I’m excited to capture both the untamed landscapes and the people who find themselves drawn to them.”

 

Jen Murphy: Award-Winning Journalist

www.jenrunsworld.com

Jen Murphy is an award-winning freelance journalist who splits her time between Colorado and Maui. She writes about adventure travel and fitness for publications including the New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, Outside, Travel & Leisure, Bloomberg, Freeskier, and Sessions. She specializes in off-the-beaten path travel and tries to snowboard and surf as much as possible in her free time.

  • What role do images play in your storytelling?
    Images bring my words to life. I often work in tandem with photographers who can capture my story succinctly in a dozen or fewer images. Great images are the difference between a small one-page story in a magazine and a cover story with 10 dedicated pages.
  • Is there a destination you’ve covered that stands out visually? Why?
    I live part time in Maui and every time I return, I am overcome with its visual beauty: the vivid colors, the diverse landscapes, the rich culture.
  • Where are your stories headed next, and what kind of imagery are you hoping to capture or include?
    I’ll be doing a lot of traveling in the US: Texas, New Jersey, Vermont, Colorado. I think surprising images that show a fresh take on a well-known destination can shift people’s mindsets and stereotypes. We all think we know the Jersey Shore from the TV show or think we know the mountain towns of Colorado but by capturing local people and different vantage points — sometimes less sexy and more unfiltered imagery — we unveil the soul of a place.

 

Arnie Weissmann, Editor, Travel Weekly

www.travelweekly.com/Arnie-Weissmann

Arnie Weissmann is editor in chief of Travel Weekly and executive vice president/editorial director for its parent company, Northstar Travel Group. Weissmann has published articles and photos in outlets from the Washington Post to The Times (London) to Conde Nast Traveler China. His writing, photos and videography have won multiple national awards. Weissmann is seen regularly on PBS as a contributor to the program “The Travel Detective” and his commentary has appeared on CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, BBC, Sky News and NPR, and he has been quoted in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and USA Today.

  • What role do images play in your storytelling?
    Photography is as critical to a narrative as facts, quotes and written context to convey the reality of what’s being presented journalistically. Images not only bring a dimension to the people, places and objects being presented that complement words but are a format that can inspire and motivate in a unique and different way.
  • Is there a destination you’ve covered that stands out visually? Why?
    Two years ago, I went to the North Pole. Whether that destination is aspirational or is one that the reader has no interest in actually visiting, it’s a stunningly beautiful destination with imagery found nowhere else on earth. Whether it’s the midnight sun casting a deep orange light on a glacier or a mother polar bear and cub walking through a vast, empty frozen landscape, the visual images trigger an emotional response that differs from written descriptions of the same events.
  • Where are your stories headed next, and what kind of imagery are you hoping to capture or include?
    With the aid of AI, cameras and editing software have advanced to a point unimaginable a decade ago. Travel Weekly and I, personally, are still exploring what can be done with these technological leaps – it’s an exciting time for photography. These advancements will allow us both to capture images more accurately and truly connect viewers with the experience – that’s the ultimate goal.

 

Berne Broudy | Writer and Photographer

www.instagram.com/bernebroudy

Berne Broudy is a Vermont-based filmmaker, photographer, and longtime outdoor journalist whose work spans five continents. A former international guide and philosophy of religion major, she’s spent 25 years capturing stories and images for Outside, National Geographic Adventure, Popular Science, and others. Her photography focuses on people, place, and the transformative power of the outdoors. In 2017, she co-founded a grassroots trail organization that built Vermont’s first fully adaptive mountain bike network. That effort inspired Best Day Ever, a film she co-directed to show how inclusive trails can break down ableism, build community, and expand access to joy for all.

  • What role do images play in your storytelling?
    Images are the trusses on which stories are built. Showing is 1000 times more powerful than telling. It creates wonder, awe, excitement, disbelief, empathy, happiness, sadness, and every other emotion. When the images are strong, words may not be necessary.
  • Is there a destination you’ve covered that stands out visually? Why?
    Greenland might be one of the most intensely visual places I’ve been fortunate to cover. So was Mongolia. But I’m inspired by what I see around me, and when I take time to look, even my backyard is captivating
  • Where are your stories headed next, and what kind of imagery are you hoping to capture or include?
    Most recently, I’ve been focused on moving pictures. I’m producing and co-directing a documentary, Best Day Ever, about community and the power of accessible recreation. It’s due to start a film festival tour this fall.

 

Geoffrey Morrison: The Inveterate Adventurer

@inveterate_adventurer

Geoffrey Morrison is a travel writer and photographer whose work has appeared in CNET, Wirecutter, The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and Forbes. His book “Budget Travel for Dummies” will be released in January. Also known as the Bald Nomad, Morrison is the Senior Editor at SoundStage Solo.

He spends most of the year travelling and has been to 60 countries across six continents. During multiple road trips, including a recent 10,000 mile, 2.5 month adventure, he has explored every U.S. state and 23 National Parks.

He is also the writer of the bestselling novel Undersea and its sequel, Undersea Atrophia.

  • Why Photography? “I’ve always enjoyed taking pictures of all kinds, and with travel there’s the added bonus of being able to share what I’ve seen on my adventures with friends and family back home, as well as people online.”
  • Favorite Destination Captured? “It’s a tie between the Scottish Highlands and the South Island of New Zealand, for similar reasons. Just remarkable landscapes, and in every direction, an amazing photo opportunity.”
  • Next Destination Traveling To? “I just got back from 6 weeks in Europe. Not sure where I’m headed on my next trip. Probably to some more U.S. National Parks.”

 

Chelsea Bakos-Kallgren: The Graphic Designer with a Photographer’s Eye

@chelsea_marie802

Chelsea Bakos-Kallgren is a designer, photographer, and traveler who brings curiosity and creativity to everything she does. She’s currently a designer at Guidehouse, where she blends strategy and visual storytelling to help complex industries communicate clearly. Over the years, Chelsea has designed for brands ranging from local artisans to Fortune 500 companies, always with an eye for clean design and meaningful impact. Her love of adventure has taken her across the globe, where she captures people, landscapes, and cultures through a thoughtful lens. Whether designing, shooting, or exploring, Chelsea thrives on connecting beauty and purpose.

  • What role do images play in your storytelling?
    Imagery is one of the most effective ways to instantly connect with an audience. Photography has a unique ability to immerse viewers, drawing them into a story in a way that words or graphics alone cannot. As a designer, my work is goal-driven, focused on communicating an idea or message and often the most effective way to do so is through photography.
  • Is there a destination you’ve covered that stands out visually? Why?
    A couple years ago, I trekked through the Peruvian Andes into the top of the Amazon rainforest. The sheer beauty and scale of the landscape felt almost surreal, shifting from towering peaks to dense, lush jungle. Experiencing such dramatic contrasts in such a short span of time was humbling and inspiring.
  • Where are your stories headed next, and what kind of imagery are you hoping to capture or include?
    I know it’s cliche, but right now my life is reorienting around being a new parent. I’m looking forward to continuing to document my son’s first year of life with my grandfather’s Nikon FM2 camera.

 

Allie Savage: Video Editor | Candid Storyteller & Run-n-Gun Videographer

alexandriasavage.wixsite.com/my-site

Allie Savage is the video editor for Global Rescue’s in-house productions, overseeing everything from social media videos to TV ads across streaming platforms. With a passion for storytelling, Allie specializes in ‘run-n-gun’ videography, capturing dynamic footage at sports events, concerts, and live occasions. Raised in New Hampshire, she has a love for travel and memorable adventures, including a funny experience falling off a horse during an Aruban horseback ride. Allie’s approach to videography focuses on candid moments, using raw, unscripted footage to create authentic, emotional stories that resonate with viewers and bring every experience to life.

  • What role do images play in your storytelling?
    “When I capture both video and photo, I make sure to focus on the candid moments—those raw, unfiltered instances of what’s happening in real time. I believe that’s the golden ticket to storytelling. These authentic snapshots amplify the emotions of both the creator and the viewer, creating a story that can’t be replicated. There’s no better way to tell a story than by capturing it naturally, without a script, reference images, or direction.”
  • Is there a destination you’ve covered that stands out visually? Why?
    “The country that most caught my eye was China in 2017. It was my first time traveling to an Asian country, and I was amazed by the intricate details in the architecture, the landscape, and the numerous religious statues. It was truly eye-opening.”
  • Where are your stories headed next, and what kind of imagery are you hoping to capture or include?
    “I’ve got a few bucket list items I’m eager to check off! Egypt, Greece, and Easter Island are at the top of my list. I want to dive deeper into street photography and capture the daily lives of locals—how they dress, interact, and engage with their environment. It’s fascinating to document what’s foreign to me but native to them.”

 

About the Global Rescue Photo and Video Contest

The Global Rescue Photo and Video Contest began in 2013. Entries spotlight some of the amazing expeditions and journeys Global Rescue members undertake each year.

“Serving as the world’s leading rescue and evacuation provider for mountaineers, explorers, researchers, adventure, business and leisure travelers since 2004, Global Rescue provides peace of mind as they travel the world,” said Dan Richards, CEO at Global Rescue.