MedFoto 2026: Oriane Jacquel Wins the Absolute Prize at L'Escala

MedFoto, the International Mediterranean Photography Contest, has announced the winners of its sixth edition. French photographer Oriane Jacquel took the absolute prize with ¿La última?, an image shot on the coast of Llançà (Girona) that reflects on the fragility of marine ecosystems. The awards were handed out on July 24 at Club Nàutic l'Escala, where the official exhibition also opened.

This year's edition drew 107 photographers from European and Mediterranean countries, who submitted 1,332 images. Beyond the top prize, the jury recognised work across categories including Landscape (Katica Mustapić, The Force of Nature), Wildlife (Filippo Carugati, Coastal Toad), Sports and leisure (Philippe Magoni, Into the Blue 2), Sea trades (Fernando Béjar, A la busca del sonso), Underwater (Xavier Mas Ferrà, Isópodo) and Conservation and climate change (Fernando Estarellas, Olas de calor).

The exhibition, featuring winning and finalist photographs, is open to the public at the outdoor dock of Club Nàutic l'Escala, bringing the work to both photography fans and visitors to the Catalan coast. Organised by Club Nàutic l'Escala and Fundación Alive, with support from AEFONA, MedFoto was created to use photography as a tool for spreading knowledge of the Mediterranean's natural and cultural richness.

Why MedFoto 2026's Winners Point Beyond Beautiful Landscapes

A Jury Reading the Mediterranean Through Its Pressures

Look at the winners list and a pattern emerges: many of the works the jury chose are not classic seascape postcards but images that document pressure on the sea. ¿La última? ('The Last One?') poses the question in its title alone, and Fernando Estarellas' Olas de calor ('Heat Waves') is the most literal example, competing in the contest's own Conservation and climate change category. The selection is a judgement call by the jury, but it matches a visible shift in nature photography away from pure aesthetics toward storytelling about conservation.

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A Local Contest With an Expanding Reach

The sixth edition also shows a contest that is growing beyond its home turf. One hundred and seven photographers from European and Mediterranean countries submitted 1,332 images, a substantial pool for a competition run by a yacht club and a foundation on the Catalan coast. Yet the organisers keep the event anchored to the territory through prizes such as the Premio L'Escala and Premio Costa Brava, which reward images connected to the local coastline. For L'Escala, the practical payoff is an open-air exhibition on the club's dock during the summer season; for the winners, a platform at a moment when climate-focused imagery is in growing demand across festivals and publishing.

Visiting the MedFoto 2026 Exhibition on the Catalan Coast

For visitors on the Catalan coast, the contest's work is easy to see:

  • The official MedFoto 2026 exhibition is open air, on the waiting dock of Club Nàutic l'Escala, showing winning and finalist images alongside the marina.
  • The top-prize image was shot at Llançà (Girona), and the Conservation category winner, Olas de calor, directly addresses the Mediterranean's warming — worth a look for anyone following marine climate issues.
  • Photographers weighing a future entry now know the benchmark: the sixth edition drew 107 photographers from European and Mediterranean countries and 1,332 submitted images, with winners announced on July 24 at L'Escala.