Thomas Vijayan, a wildlife photographer based in Dubai, has earned global recognition with his breathtaking photograph of a penguin family in Antarctica, winning the prestigious Nature’s Best Photography Award for 2025. This remarkable image captures a tender moment between the penguin parents and their chick, highlighting the intricate relationship between the two.
Vijayan, who has travelled to some of the most remote corners of the planet, knows the demands of capturing such moments. “Sometimes I spend weeks in small bunkers with basic food supplies and a portable toilet,” he explains. In Antarctica, where penguin colonies can span vast areas, isolating a single family is a challenge. “Penguin parents take turns feeding their chicks, sometimes disappearing for days at sea. I spent hours lying flat on the ice, waiting for that perfect moment,” he says. The shot he eventually captured, with one parent returning to its chick, was an image of pure symmetry. “It looked like a painting,” Vijayan recalls, describing it as the culmination of over 100,000 attempts at photographing penguins.
Antarctica has become a favourite destination for Vijayan, who first visited in 2016. He has since returned four times, each trip requiring meticulous planning and significant physical endurance. He reflects on the unpredictability of the journey: “The flights are unpredictable, and everything depends on the weather. What starts as a week-long expedition can easily turn into a month if the skies close in.” Despite the harsh conditions, including extreme cold and isolation, Vijayan finds solace in the presence of the penguins. “When you see penguins, you forget the pain, the cold, the hunger everything. They’re simply adorable.”
The expeditions are physically demanding, with life on the ice stripped down to the bare essentials. Vijayan describes pitching tiny tents directly on sea ice, where the cold and wind make even basic tasks challenging. Environmental rules also require strict adherence, with all waste needing to be carried back. “Antarctica belongs to no one, and that makes it everyone’s responsibility to protect,” he stresses.
On this particular trip, Vijayan was accompanied by his daughter, Jennifer, on her first expedition to the frozen wilderness. Her presence added a personal touch to the journey. “She managed the challenges beautifully,” Vijayan says, emphasising how the shared experience made the adventure even more memorable.
The photograph, for Vijayan, is more than just a beautiful shot. It represents patience, perseverance, and the bond between parent and child, both human and penguin. As a photographer, he uses his work to shed light on environmental issues, such as climate change and habitat destruction. His award-winning image is a testament to this mission.
Vijayan is no stranger to accolades. His photograph of an orangutan in Indonesia, taken during the 6th edition of the Xposure International Photography Exhibition in Sharjah, won first place in the Wildlife category. This image, which portrays an orangutan climbing a tree, was captured with a fisheye lens and titled “The World Is Going Upside Down.” Vijayan’s passion for wildlife conservation shines through his work, and his photos have often brought attention to the need to protect endangered species and habitats.
He also recalls the years-long effort to photograph the elusive Amur Leopard, one of the rarest big cats in the world. After many years of searching, he finally managed to capture the perfect shot of this critically endangered animal, located on the border between Russia and China.
For Thomas Vijayan, photography is not just an art form but a means to tell important stories. Each image, whether it’s of penguins in Antarctica or an orangutan in Indonesia, reflects his deep commitment to raising awareness about environmental preservation.
