April 3, Updated April 7

Israeli wildlife photographer and environmental diplomat Roie Galitz won first place in the Travel Photographer of the Year competition for the Earth – Landscapes, Climate and Water category for his Arctic images of Bråsvellbreen, one of the world’s largest glaciers.

A vibrant glacial river meanders across the surface of Bråsvellbreen. The river's serpentine path tells the story of meltwater carving its way through the Arctic expanse. Photo by Roie Galitz/TPOTY — A vibrant glacial river meanders across the surface of Bråsvellbreen. The river’s serpentine path tells the story of meltwater carving its way through the Arctic expanse. Photo by Roie Galitz/TPOTY

Amateur and professional photographers from over 150 countries submitted more than 20,000 images to the competition.

Galitz photographed the nearly 50-kilometer Bråsvellbreen glacier in Svalbard, Norway, from a variety of angles. TPOTY judges said this portfolio of shots “perfectly captures the landscape, climate [and] water theme with different perspectives on an environment which is facing some of the biggest threats to its future existence.”

Meltwater cascades down Bråsvellbreen's sheer ice wall, meeting the churning Arctic Ocean below. This powerful interaction between ice and water highlights the glacier's fragile beauty and the profound impact of climate change. Photo by Roie Galitz/TPOTY — Meltwater cascades down Bråsvellbreen’s sheer ice wall, meeting the churning Arctic Ocean below. This powerful interaction between ice and water highlights the glacier’s fragile beauty and the profound impact of climate change. Photo by Roie Galitz/TPOTY

Melting fast

Galitz, 44, heads Phototeva (Nature Photo), which offers photographic expeditions to remote regions to bring attention to the effects of climate change.

Phototeva has a waiting list of people eager to explore the North and South Poles as well as destinations such as Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, India’s Bandhavgarh National Park and South Georgia Island in the South Atlantic.

Roie Galitz with a Phototeva group in Svalbard, 2024. Photo courtesy of Roie Galitz

Galitz has led groups to the Svalbard area 30 times since 2012 and he’s going again in April. Svalbard is roughly 400 miles (650km) from the North Pole.

“It’s like being on another planet, as far and as different as it could be from mundane daily life,” he says. “The sun doesn’t set. It’s full of ice and there are no trees. It’s a harsher desert than our Negev in Israel.”

A family of Arctic foxes photographed by Roie Galitz

Galitz says Arctic warming is causing the glacier to shrink at more than four times the global average rate.

“Bråsvellbreen is rapidly melting as temperatures rise, with its vibrant blue meltwater contributing to the ocean’s ever-increasing levels. I see the difference year after year. It’s catastrophic,” he says.

Arctic creatures

Although he wants his clients to witness and photograph the river of meltwater coming down Bråsvellbreen and flowing into the ocean, the glacier is accessible only in summer months.

A polar bear navigates the turbulent waters of the Arctic, balancing on slick rocks against a backdrop of splashing waves and ice. Photo by Roie Galitz

At other times of the year, Galitz directs their lenses to the spectacular wildlife of the Arctic: polar bears, arctic foxes, whales, walruses, seals.

A polar bear in Svalbard. Photo by Roie Galitz

“I like to show the animals because as much as we can relate to a piece of ice, we more easily connect to big fluffy polar bears, the world’s largest land predator,” he explains.

“When sea ice melts, polar bears starve to death, and when their population declines we know we are heading into trouble because the oceans are rising. Ironically speaking, it’s a snowball effect.”

A pod of Beluga whales intricately navigates the dwindling Arctic sea ice. Photo by Roie Galitz

Fjords of Antarctica

ISRAEL21c spoke with Galitz soon after he returned from two expeditions to Antarctica – home of the South Pole — with clients from Israel, the United States and Mexico.

“We fly from Chile to the Antarctica research station at King George Island and then board a ship, which saves us the nightmare of going through the Drake Passage, the strongest current on earth by far,” Galitz says.

They cruise to fjords, where the waters are calmer, to observe many varieties of penguins, whales, seals and seabirds.

Roie Galitz’s spectacular snowy scenes of species struggling to survive

“Wildlife PhotograBear” by Roie Galitz was “highly commended” in the 2018 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards. Photo courtesy of Roie Galitz

“We see climate change effects here too, but Antarctica is more protected than the Arctic. However, we see lots of pieces from the Antarctic ice shelves that are breaking up, a process that is speeding up in recent years.”

Israelis at the forefront

A member of the Explorers Club, Galitz travels 10 to 12 times a year for photography projects, public-speaking tours and award ceremonies.

There are 600 people signed up for next year’s trips to Svalbard. “We also do dedicated kosher cruises, at least one to Svalbard and one to Antarctica per year,” he adds.

A polar roaming the fjord in Svalbard, Norway. Photo by Roie Galitz

When he’s home in Givatayim, a suburb of Tel Aviv, he runs the Galitz School of Photography and is a brand ambassador of Nikon, Gitzo, SanDisk Professional, Lowepro and Greenpeace. He and his wife, a surgeon at Kaplan Medical Center in Rehovot, have four boys ranging in age from 16 to eight.

Galitz says he was pleased to learn that his good friend Amit Eshel was shortlisted in the Wildlife & Nature category of the 2025 Sony World Photography Awards ’ Professional competition for his series showing Arctic wolves on the Canadian island of Ellesmere.

“It’s a point of pride and honor to have Israeli photographers at the forefront,” says Galitz. “We want to show the world Israelis are not just about the conflict and high-tech. We also have things we contribute to the world.”