The RPS Women in Photography (WIP) Group’s objective is to facilitate the celebration, education and collaboration of female and female-identifying photographers.
We are not a genre. These are our stories. We are the discussion that drives a greater awareness of women photographers past, present and future.
Membership of the WIP group is available exclusively to RPS members. Visit our website for more information about who we are, what we do and how to join.
It has been a real pleasure to run In Our Hands: Stories of the Environment for our members, and witnessing the work produced has been nothing short of inspiring.
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This thought-provoking project invited photographers to explore the complex relationship between people and the planet—capturing powerful visual stories that reflect both environmental fragility and resilience. RPS Women in Photography members responded with striking submissions across four categories: Hope & Renewal, Nature & Wild Places, Everyday Earth, and Human Impact. From moments of quiet care to urgent warnings, these images highlight the beauty of the natural world and the consequences of human action—reminding us that the future of our environment is, quite literally, in our hands.
The submissions are rich in perspective, creativity, and meaning. From documentary work to conceptual and fine art approaches, these photographs reflect the many ways we connect with the world around us. They are stories of care, urgency, reflection, and renewal—captured through the unique lens of women photographers across the UK and beyond.
Thank you to everyone who took part and brought such depth and variety to this project. With special thanks to Greenpeace UK for sharing their insights on why these images matter, and for their continued commitment to the power of photography in driving environmental change.
Sue Wright Chair, RPS Women in Photography
WITH THANKS TO:
With special thanks to Liz Benjamin for her beautiful design and layout of this book. You can see more of her work at lizbenjamin.co.uk
The relationship between people and the planet — explored in the photo project “In Our Hands: Stories of the Environment” — has been central to Greenpeace's mission since its founding in 1971.
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Exposing environmental injustice and bearing witness through powerful photography and visual storytelling have always been at the core of Greenpeace’s approach to environmental activism. Some of the most iconic images from Greenpeace campaigns have been captured by women like Marizilda Cruppe, Kate Davison, Suzanne Plunkett, Elizabeth Dalziel and Abbie-Trayler Smith.
In 1973 Ann-Marie Horne, one of the first women to sail on a Greenpeace ship onboard the Vega, secretly captured the beatings of David McTaggart and Nigel Ingram when French commandos stormed the vessel during a protest against nuclear tests. Her photos not only proved that the French government lied about the attack, they also stoked the debate over nuclear testing.
Photographers like Anne-Marie continue to play a crucial role in exposing and investigating environmental destruction, advocating for policy changes, mobilising public support, and taking direct action to safeguard the environment.
The images captured by the RPS Women in Photography group are thought provoking, powerful visuals showcasing the natural beauty of our planet’s fragile ecosystems as well as documenting the destructive, environmental impact we have. Crucially, they also present sustainable solutions and inspire hope.
Angela Glienicke Picture Editor, Greenpeace UK, London
Protest against the Helen Mary Trawler in the North Sea
Two Greenpeace UK activists unfurl a banner reading 'Ban Supertrawlers Now!' during an action to prevent the Helen Mary, a 117m long supertrawler, from fishing within the Central Fladen Marine Protected Area (MPA), east of Scotland. This comes after the UK Government's repeated failure to ban destructive industrial fishing from the country's MPA network. Greenpeace is calling for all offshore protected areas, including Central Fladen, to be put off limits to industrial fishing by 2030.
This compelling collection by Women in Photography members reveals the stark impact of human activity on our planet. From pollution to deforestation, each image is both a warning and a call to action— urging us to reflect, take responsibility, and work toward restoration.
VALERIE MATHERS ARPS
The Marks We Leave Behind 1, 2 and 3
Visiting a garbage dump in Dhaka, Bangladesh, was a shocking experience. I wanted to look away from the horrific sight & smell. However, if we ignore the impact of human activity on the environment, then there will be no hope for the planet, or for the future generations who will inherit it. So, I determined to photograph the scene in a powerful way, in order to force the viewer to confront the impact that plastic and non-biodegradable waste has on our environment.
HUMAN IMPACT
KIT MARTIN Alchemic III
Alchemic is a series of unique lumen prints of primarily birds that have been killed on the roads around where I live. These animals that live quietly around us and add to our lives in so many ways have to deal with increasing amounts of human technology, speed and lack of noticing while simply living their lives on the planet we all share. I wanted to honour them through cameraless photography.
SHAMANI SURENDRAN The Last Bird Song 1
The Last Bird Song series explore the effects of environmental damage told through three motifs - the bird, the leafless tree and the fallen leaf. They become something more than symbols. They are witnesses. They are warnings. They are reminders of what still exists, and what may soon not and what we lose when memory replaces presence. These works are post-anthropocene - what will we paint when there are no trees or birds left to observe?
CAROLINE FRASER Mer De Glace Chamonix
Human efforts to slow the melting of the iconic Mer de Glace glacier in Chamonix include covering the ice with large white sheets to reflect the increasing sunlight that the alps are experiencing due to climate changes. Glacier snouts (their lowermost part) are rapidly retreating. Since the 18th century, the snout of the Mer de Glace has retreated uphill by more than 2.5 km, with a marked acceleration since 2002. It has retreated by 400m in the last 20 years.
VICTORIA STOKES ARPS
Ocean Acidification 1, 2 and 3
Ocean acidification remains on the fringes of environmental discourse as an evolving and abstract issue. By photographing partially dissolved marine specimens, I’m revealing ocean acidification as a hidden consequence of our CO2 emissions. One that represents how human activities have far-reaching effects we can’t always see. Oceans absorb approximately 26% of the CO2 released into the atmosphere from human activities. When CO2 dissolves in seawater, carbonic acid forms, altering the pH and leading to ocean acidification. Current science indicates that with just a slight rise in acidity, many marine organisms will suffer inhibited growth due to reduced available carbonates needed for calcification. Their existing skeletons will weaken as they slowly dissolve, causing biodiversity loss that could cascade through the marine food web. Ocean acidity has increased by approximately 30% since pre-industrial times. Until we drastically reduce global CO2 emissions, levels will continue to rise.
SUE WRIGHT
Keep Out, Oil and Profit and Pick up YOUR Waste
Keep Out - “Keep Out” signs warn of the dangerous waste. Do animals read?
Oil and Profit - Once the heart of the whaling industry, South Georgia bears the haunting legacy of industrial exploitation. These now rusting factories, boilers, and tanks were once used to process thousands of whales—slaughtered in the name of oil and profit. What remains is a grim, decaying landscape of twisted metal and pollution, a ghostly reminder of nature ravaged for commerce. The environmental damage lingers, with toxic waste and rusting machinery contaminating the land and sea. These abandoned whaling stations are both a historical testament and a stark warning: when profit comes before preservation, nature is left to carry the burden of human greed. Pick up your waste.
Pick up YOUR Waste -This image reveals a graveyard of rusting vats, tanks, and broken machinery—remnants of the industrial scale of whaling in South Georgia. Scattered across the barren landscape, these corroded relics once boiled and processed whale carcasses. Now abandoned, they silently tell the story of exploitation and environmental disregard in one of the world’s most remote and fragile ecosystems.
LEI GAO The Vanishing
This photograph was taken at the foot of the Tasman Glacier in New Zealand, where a block of glistening ice rests on a rock, separated from the massive glacier behind it. While visually serene, this scene holds a deeper meaning—the ice once part of a mighty glacier, now lies detached, slowly melting. It serves as a quiet testimony to the relentless retreat of glaciers due to climate change. The clarity of the ice reveals its ancient purity, now threatened by the warming climate. This image invites reflection on how our daily choices, industrial activities, and carbon footprint are slowly reshaping these fragile, remote places. The vanishing ice is a symbol of both beauty and warning.
LIVVI GRANT Both Sides Of The Wall and Please Stop Littering
Both Sides of the Wall - Nature doesn’t rush, but it never stops. This forgotten home shows the quiet power of the natural world reclaiming space—ivy climbing the walls, weeds breaking through concrete, flowers blooming undeterred. Where human presence has faded, nature pushes in, persistent and unapologetic. It’s a reminder that no matter how permanent our impact may seem, the wild has its own timeline—and it always finds a way back.
Please Stop Littering - Nestled on a country lane, this hand-painted sign speaks volumes about our relationship with the land. Its childlike charm and earnest message—“Please Stop Littering”—stand in quiet contrast to the damage it seeks to address. Human impact isn’t always industrial or loud; sometimes it’s the slow, careless scattering of waste that scars the wild. This image captures a moment where community care and frustration meet—where nature, still clinging to the trunk in ivy and bark, is defended not by policy, but by plea.
LOUISE KNARESBOROUGH LRPS Edged Out
The Brasillian Burrowing Owl living by a suburban beach and trying to survive in a new and changing environment.
CHRISTINE OSBORNE Felled
The forests above the German town of Rheinboellen are actively managed. Trees are felled for wood, firewood and to stop disease spreading through the forest.
ROSALIND LOWRY Private Land and Private Land 1
Private Land - An imagined environment, created temporarily in a local wood, where the human litter still has colour but nature had faded.
Private Land1 - An unfired porcelain installation on private land in Ireland. Installed without permission over the space of a day, and then removed. A memorial piece about the commodification of land, once part of an old lane, but now closed off to all access.
NATURE & WILD PLACES
This Nature & Wild Places gallery showcases powerful images by Women in Photography members—capturing fragile landscapes, threatened habitats, and untamed wildlife. Each photograph is a call to protect what remains and a reminder that nature’s future is in our hands.
LISA J BRINKWORTH Mouse In Memoriam
The humble Wood mouse. Existing amongst us through Roman invasions, world wars and pandemics. Likely to outlive us all. ( If not for the Cats.) This is part of a series of images to honour those short and tiny lives that often get forgotten. All creatures great and small play a part in our world and I wanted to respect that and provide a funeral of sorts. All the animals and insects photographed were buried afterwards.
HOGAN River Wey Musings 1, 2 and 3
Running along the River Wey navigation path, I found it calming, eerie, and quietly beautiful. During difficult times, it became a grounding place for me. The shifting reflections on the water’s surface sparked a deeper connection—I felt drawn to explore its enduring presence. Using Polaroid emulsion lifts floated onto watercolour paper, I sought to mirror the river’s gentle flow and capture a sense of its spirit.
SARAH
NATURE & WILD PLACES
ANNIE GREEN-ARMYTAGE Ecosystem under Threat – North Norfolk Saltmarsh 2
Sea-lavender, Limonium vulgare, flowers from late June - September, and is visited by bees, wasps, butterflies and moths. It is resilient to the temporary flooding of high tides, but this is a fragile habitat which is endangered by imminent sea-level rise. Permanent flooding will destroy it.
EVELYNNE ROGERS Bowber Head Herbie Meadows
My family and I have spent time exploring the area where our mother was brought up. Her father was a sheep farmer. One photograph shows mum when she was a teenager outside Bowber Head farmhouse where she used to live. It is now owned by Cumbria Wildlife Trust. The fields behind the house are where my grandfather used walk and make hay. They are known locally as ‘herbie’ meadows due to the number of flowering herbs like wood crane’s-bill, greater burnet and lady’s mantle. The farmhouse is in the process of being renovated.
OSBORNE A Misty Day In The Vinyard and Wild Poppies
A Misty Day in the Vinyard - I climbed up the side of the Rhine valley into a layer of cloud. Wild Poppies - Wild poppies growing on the plateau above the Rhine valley.
CHRISTINA
LIVVI GRANT A Miniature Kingdom
Delicate fungi rise like lanterns from the cracked shell of an acorn, rooted in the quiet decay of the forest floor. Captured in monochrome, this intimate moment reveals nature’s smallest magic—life unfolding in the overlooked. Here, in the space of a fingertip, decay becomes beauty, and a fallen seed becomes a stage for the forest’s tiniest performers
LIV MANN TREMBAY Is All You Need
More Than You Could Ever Know is a project which expresses a visceral and emotional experience of connection to nature and to self. It reminds us that to stop environmental destruction we must first understand that humans are one part of a whole organic system. “Things were separated out into neat categories and it has taken millennia to work out that we live in a web of intricately connected plants, fungi, conditions of weather, climate, terrain....that we are one thing” Laura Beatty ‘Looking for Theophrastus’ In these images nature takes precedent and body and soul merge with the landscape.
TRISH CRAWFORD ARPS Spring Willow
Spring brings new willow budding at the Glen Ridge Quarry reclamation site. The location used to be a municipal dump and has in recent years been rehabilitated into a naturalization zone.
EDITH TEMPLETON Groyne In Rock Pool 1 and 2
Groynes are the defenders of our beaches. If left unchecked longshore drift – where the waves move sand and sediment along the shoreline – would eat up the coast. Groynes face the oncoming waves and slow them down. However, standing face on to the sea has a cost. Their wood splinters, they rot and become untethered from the shore and fall. The waves win after twenty - five years. Yet even then they provide a home for limpets and barnacles. They become part of the ecosystem of the shore. These three images show groynes at various stages of this journey ending up on fallen on the shingle.
VICTORIA STOKES ARPS
What Remains 1, 2 and 3
Beneath the surface, time moves differently. The coral polyps that built these reefs over millennia, the octopus whose brief but brilliant life is a celebration of intelligence and adaptation and the humpback whales whose century long lives witness the ocean’s transformation, all exist in the most important place on Earth, our oceans. This diverse, untamed and awe-inspiring place is not only the foundation of our own existence, but one we depend on for every breath we take. At the halfway point of the UN Ocean Decade our understanding of oceanic life has never been more urgent, yet this vital ecosystem remains under unprecedented threat from human activity. These images represent not only what we stand to lose, but what we can still save. As Attenborough recently said, “The ocean can recover faster than we had ever imagined.” We just need to act.
CAROLINE FRASER I am where I am
I connect with nature in many different places. Trees and water bring calm and contentment. Here I express my connection to the landscapes that I have passed through in recent months.
NICOLA PASS Held In The Details
After walking through vast landscapes, I’m drawn to the quiet intimacy of the small. This plant - fragile, detailed, alive, reminds me that everything we see in nature is made of countless unseen parts. The tiniest veins, the curve of a stem, the texture of a leaf. All of it working together to make something whole.
SUE WRIGHT
The Last Edge, Sculpted by Loss and Sentinels of Change
The Last Edge - A colossal iceberg, sheer and symmetrical, appears almost man-made in its perfection. But behind its stillness is urgency. This ice carries the weight of millennia—now melting into the sea within decades. What we’re witnessing is not just a natural cycle—it’s accelerated loss driven by human impact.
Sculpted by Loss - A jagged iceberg drifts silently beneath a bright polar sky, its form shaped by wind, water, and time. These majestic sculptures are the remnants of once-massive ice shelves, now breaking apart at an alarming rate as ocean temperatures rise. A breathtaking view—and a stark reminder of a vanishing world.
Sentinels of Change - Towering like frozen monoliths, these icebergs stand guard over a warming sea. But they are not eternal. Cracked and fractured, their surfaces bear the scars of a planet in flux. As polar ice melts, global sea levels rise—threatening coastlines and communities thousands of miles away.
LEI GAO Whispers Of The Forest
This work presents a close-up view of the underside of a silver fern (ponga) leaf in New Zealand’s native forest. Its delicate silver-white veins are clearly visible in the soft light, like poetry written by the earth for nature. The silver fern is a national symbol of New Zealand and holds deep spiritual significance in Māori culture. Its underside is often used to light the path ahead, symbolising hope and guidance. Through a quiet composition and gentle lighting, I aimed to capture the sacredness found in the plant’s details, inviting viewers to immerse themselves in nature’s whispers.
EVERYDAY EARTH
This gallery captures the small, meaningful ways we care for the planet in daily life— through recycling, green transport, growing food, and mindful choices. These quiet moments of eco-conscious living remind us that sustainability begins at home.
TRISH CRAWFORD
Krista At The Quarry
A portrait of Krista, taken at the Glen Ridge Quarry . The Quarry was a former Municipal Dump, reclaimed and re-wilded. It is now a natural habitat for animals and a recreation site for the local citizens.
VICTORIA ROBB Getting The Message Out
The Galapagos Islands are renowned for their wildlife and for Charles Darwin’s discoveries. A remote and beautiful place, that has though its own communities working regularly to collect plastic that is washed up on its beaches. To help retain the health of its ecosystems and wildlife the islands are celebrated for. Wall murals are common around the town of Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz island. This one caught my eye for relaying the important message on the damage done by microplastics that both get in to fish and then to us when we eat them.
LOUISE KNARESBOROUGH LRPS Compost
Using green food waste, leaflitter and garden weeds etc. to make compost for the veg plot.
EVELYNNE ROGERS Marshside Gull
Visitors to the area are encourage to pick up 3 pieces of plastic on their walk. Grabbers are provided.
CORINNE WHITEHOUSE Renaturing 3 and 4
In a time when children seem more connected to the virtual world than the natural one, with some even going as far as suggesting our i-gen children are suffering from nature deficit disorder, the dens in Alice Holt Forest tell a different story. These wooden structures, sculpted from forest trees and fallen branches, are made, destroyed and re-made by children and families visiting the forest. They are traces of a creative rewilding of children in nature. I have been photographing these transient spaces since 2016 but I rarely catch people in the act of building the dens. Instead, I photograph what the builders leave behind when the forest is quiet.
CHRISTINA OSBORNE Rhine View
The Rhine valley is listed as a world heritage site. The view is stunning, but it is often difficult to access as there is a rail line running between the river and the villages on both banks.
HOPE & RENEWAL
These images focus on the everyday ways we care for the environment— from recycling and cycling to growing food and consuming mindfully. They reveal the quiet beauty and impact of sustainable living, showing that small actions can lead to lasting change.
LOUISE KNARESBOROUGH
LRPS Offshore Transition
Taken from a boat on the Dutch side of the north Sea this wind farm harness the full power of the wind in a wide open space .
TRISH CRAWFORD ARPS
Highline View and Urban View
Highline View - The High Line is a public park built on a historic freight rail line elevated above the streets on Manhattan’s West Side. Saved from demolition by neighborhood residents and the City of New York, the High Line opened in 2009 as a hybrid public space where visitors experience nature, art, and design.
Urban View - An urban view framed by greenery in Central Park in New York City.
LEI GAO Holding Hope
Captured on the coast of Raglan, New Zealand, this image portrays the sun gently held between two fingers, symbolising the delicate yet powerful connection between humans and nature. The glowing sunset over the ocean reminds us of the beauty that exists around us, while the human gesture subtly conveys our role as caretakers of this planet. In a time of environmental uncertainty, this photograph offers a quiet reflection on hope, reminding us that the future of our Earth is truly in our hands. By holding light rather than dominating it, we echo the need for respectful, mindful interaction with nature and a renewal of our commitment to protect what we still have.
VICTORIA STOKES ARPS Renewables 1
What seems scattered or often hidden at ground level, from above reveals a different story of hope and progress. Forcing us to view renewable energy infrastructure from above, we see how it is reshaping our world below.
CHRISTINA
OSBORNE
Wind Power
The hills above the German town of Rheinboellen are dotted with huge wind turbines.
EVELYNNE ROGERS Birkdale Rewilding
The Sefton coast attracts hundreds of visitors every year. The beach at Birkdale used to be used as a carpark but has been allowed to rewild. It now provides a safe area for birds to nest and feed. During autumn and winter months groups of Knot, Sanderling, Dunlin, Oystercatchers, Lapwings and many others can be seen. During the summer Skylarks, Stonechat, Blackcap and others can be seen. Human visitors can still enjoy the area but are encouraged to stick to the paths and to respect the wildlife.
LIVVY GRANT Spring Awakening
At Stonehenge during the Spring Equinox, hands meet the earth in quiet reverence. In the stillness before sunrise, this simple gesture becomes an act of intention—of grounding, of returning. Among the ancient stones and shifting seasons, people come to mark a new beginning. Hope is felt here not in grand declarations, but in skin against soil, in breath shared with the land. It is in these moments, small, rooted, human, that renewal takes hold.
RAHIMAT ONIZE SHAIBU Thresholds
This photo was taken beneath a pier and is part of my ongoing photo series Letters from the Shore, a personal collection of quiet, reflective images I capture during visits to the beach. I’m always drawn to scenes that feel calm but layered, and this particular shot plays with symmetry, light, and perspective to create a sense of stillness and space. For me, it reflects those in-between moments, where everything feels paused between movement and rest.
