José Teixeira explains that the image was captured in Antarctica, on King George Island, during a sampling expedition carried out as part of his master’s dissertation. While conducting plankton trawls with the research team, he recalls spotting “a huge iceberg with several penguins on top”. As the team approached from the other side, he noticed a deep fracture running “from top to bottom” across the ice — a moment he describes as “hypnotic”.
According to the student, the photograph simultaneously represents “fragility and balance”. Despite the calm conveyed by the Antarctic landscape, the visible fracture in the iceberg creates a clear sense of tension and vulnerability, associated with the current state of the planet and the constant pressure placed on ecosystems. It was precisely this connection to climate change that motivated him to enter the competition. José Teixeira explains that he had kept the image for some time and felt that this year’s theme provided the ideal context to share it, as it was captured “in a place where the consequences of climate change are impossible to ignore”.
Although the photograph was taken spontaneously, using a mobile phone from a moving rigid inflatable boat during scientific fieldwork at sea, José Teixeira believes the image ultimately gained “great strength” from a symbolic, aesthetic and even philosophical perspective. The student explains that the fracture in the ice conveys “an almost inevitable sense of rupture and vulnerability, while the blue and white tones of the Antarctic landscape create an almost contradictory calm”. For the competition winner, it was precisely this combination of beauty and fragility that made the photograph especially striking.
A view of the planet through Marine Biology
José Teixeira’s interest in photography has accompanied him for several years, but gained a new dimension when he began studying Marine Biology. The student reveals that he started the course with the ambition of becoming a videographer, driven by the desire to document animals, landscapes and ecosystems, and to show people realities they might otherwise never have the opportunity to experience. Through his photographs, he mainly seeks to convey “admiration and connection to nature”, believing that an image can tell a story far greater than the exact moment in which it was captured.
Currently developing his master’s dissertation, José Teixeira believes that Marine Biology has given him a different way of looking at the planet. “I do not see human beings as the centre of everything,” he states, explaining that he has come to view ecosystems as “complex and interconnected systems, with value beyond the usefulness they may have for humanity”. His experience in Antarctica further reinforced this awareness, making it “impossible to ignore the scale of these systems, their importance, and the speed at which they are changing”.
For the competition winner, photography also continues to play an important role in environmental awareness. José Teixeira argues that “few things bring people closer to distant places as much as an image or a documentary”, highlighting photography’s ability to create emotional connections and spark curiosity about the planet. The student also stresses the importance of continuing to show real images of nature at a time when artificial and AI-generated content is becoming increasingly common, considering that there is “a very strong value” in knowing that a particular moment truly existed.
Although he does not currently have any specific projects directly linked to photography, José Teixeira believes it will always remain part of his personal and scientific journey, accompanying future expeditions, projects and experiences connected to the ocean and marine ecosystems. Even so, the student acknowledges that not every moment needs to be recorded and that, sometimes, “it is important to simply put the camera down and enjoy the moment”.
