Following a fantastic year of photography holidays operated by Zoom Photo Tours, participants on each tour had the opportunity to share images taken on their trips for the chance to win Picture of the Year 2021. We share the top three below and they tell us about the moment they took their image.


About the competition

Every guest who goes on a Zoom Photo Tours photography holiday, has the opportunity to submit images taken throughout the trip for “Picture of the Year” and a chance to win a gift card of 5,000 SEK (approx. 403 GPB). Professional and award-winning photographers leading the holidays select the winning images.

Participants on our AP Photo Tours coming up in 2022 and 2023 will also have the opportunity to participate in this competition – and have you work seen by a group of leading photographers!

Here are the top three from 2021:

Picture of the Year – 1st Place

Anna Andersson

Anna Andersson picture of the year first place

Anna Andersson. Canon EOS R6 , Canon EF 135 1: 2 L. 1/125 sec at f/2, ISO 600

Taken on Winter Wonderland with Iwona Podlasińska

The photo was taken at a Christmas market in connection with the course “Winter Wonderland” with Iwona Podlasinska. My goal was to capture an old-fashioned Christmas feeling. I used a 135 mm lens and large aperture to create a short depth of field and a nice bokeh. I also wanted to make the candles in the Christmas tree light up her face.


Second Place

Jürgen Heinemann

Jürgen Heinemann icebergs of greenland holiday

Jürgen Heinemann. Hasselblad H6D-100c, Hasselblad HCD 4 / 28mm, 1 / 640sec at f/8, ISO 400

Taken on Greenland’s Mighty Icebergs with Hans Strand

The weather was changeable when we left Ilulissat late in the afternoon for a boat trip among the icebergs. Hans Strand had timed it perfectly, a wonderful symphony of clouds, evening sun and spectacularly shaped icebergs. I photographed with a wide-angle lens and knelt on the boat to get a low perspective between the foreground, the small ice floes, and a mighty iceberg in the background. That we got a fantastic sunset with exciting clouds made the picture total

Svenonius Glacier, Sarek. The picture was taken in the distance in dim daylight at 2 pm on 19 August. The icefall at the glacier tongue was sunlit for a short while. In addition to the light conditions, the challenge was to capture the right moment when the light traveled across the glacier and changed every minute.

Find out more about our upcoming The Mighty Icebergs of Greenland tour with Hans Strand here.


Third Place

Lukas Lovén

Lukas Lovén zoom photography tours picture of the year third place

Lukas Lovén. Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II. Hasselblad HCD 4 / 28mm. 1 / 1250sec at f/8, ISO 200

Taken on Expedition Sarek with Claes Grundsten

Svenonius glacier, Sarek. The picture was taken in the distance in dim daylight at 2 pm on 19 August. The icefall at the glacier tongue was sunlit for a short while. In addition to the light conditions, the challenge was to capture the right moment when the light traveled across the glacier and changed every minute.


About Zoom Photo Tours

Zoom Photo Tours is the largest photo tour operator in the Nordic countries and one of Europe’s three largest.

The company was established in 2013 and runs around 60 to 70 photo tours per year – from short two-day workshops to overseas tours all over the world.

All of the tours are led by world-leading and award-winning photographers who are there to help the guests to improve their photography skills. Zoom Photo Tours has more than £120,000 in travel guarantee under the Travel Guarantee Act.

“I would like to thank you for a very nice and instructive workshop. The arrangement was very good, the time was spent efficiently and the course management was very competent, helpful and pleasant.”  

Joost van den Bosch – Nature and Wildlife Photo Workshop

View upcoming AP photography holidays here


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