The Wellcome Photography Prize 2025 has announced its finalists, celebrating powerful visual storytelling at the intersection of global health, science, and human experience. This year’s entries were selected from an extraordinary group of finalists representing 18 countries, with stories ranging from microscopic discoveries to deeply personal portraits.

Some of this year’s most striking works include:

• The world’s first non-invasive image of microplastics embedded in living tissue, captured by P. Stephen Patrick and Olumide Ogunlade using photoacoustic imaging.
• An experimental underwater greenhouse in Italy, documented by Giacomo d’Orlando, a futuristic solution to climate-resilient food production.
• Portraits of loneliness and resilience in old age, including Madeleine Waller’s tender documentation of her mother’s daily routines in rural Australia, and Oded Wagenstein’s intimate image of grief and concealed identity in a nursing home.
• A stark self-portrait of endometriosis scars by Georgie Wileman, bringing visibility to an often-overlooked chronic condition.
• A haunting aerial view of a toxic lake in Romania by Alexandru Radu Popescu, where environmental catastrophe reveals eerie beauty.

Other winners explored climate change, mental health, disability, and biomedical innovation through a range of photographic techniques — from drone footage and documentary styles to cyanotypes and microscopy.

Winners will be awarded £10,000 each, with finalists receiving £1,000. The winning images will be on display at a free public exhibition at the Francis Crick Institute in London, running from July 17 to October 18, 2025. The official awards ceremony will take place on 16 July.

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