37th Memorial Maria Luisa Photo and Video Contest 2026

• Memorial Maria Luisa

• Deadline: December 1st, 2026

• Category: Nature / Adventure Photo & Video

• Prize: €4,000 + Exhibition + Accommodation

• Entry Fees: Yes (Free under 19yo)

• REGISTRATION: CLICK HERE

There are places that make us stop and look. Places whose beauty speaks for itself. There are others that only reveal their true character when we take the time to experience them, understand them, and see them through a different perspective. And then there are moments that exist for only an instant, but through photography can become memories that last forever.

For 37 editions, the María Luisa Memorial has been celebrating precisely that ability: the ability to see, to observe, and to transform a fleeting moment into an image that can inspire people around the world.

The 37th edition continues this tradition by bringing together photographers and filmmakers who share a fascination for nature, adventure, exploration, and the extraordinary diversity of our planet. Mountains and oceans, landscapes and wildlife, flora and fauna, biodiversity, mountaineering, climbing, adventure, and rural life will once again become the protagonists of an international celebration of photography and audiovisual storytelling.

But this is not simply a competition about beautiful places. It is about the stories that exist within those places.

Every landscape has a story. Every expedition has an experience behind it. Every animal, mountain, forest, ocean, or remote community can reveal something about the world we inhabit. The role of the photographer is to recognize those stories and find the image capable of communicating them.

Films, videos, and documentaries will add another dimension to this exploration, offering audiences the opportunity to discover nature through movement, sound, narrative, and new perspectives. And this year, participants will also be invited to look far beyond Earth itself. With the Universe as the special theme, the María Luisa Memorial opens a window onto one of the greatest frontiers of human curiosity — the vast, mysterious, and endlessly fascinating world beyond our planet.

At the same time, the 37th edition introduces an important new opportunity: for the first time, the competition will include a special section dedicated to photographers with disabilities.

Photography is ultimately an act of perspective. We all experience the world differently, and those differences can become a source of creativity, sensitivity, and powerful storytelling. This new section aims to provide space for photographers with disabilities to share their vision and demonstrate that there are countless ways to observe, interpret, and communicate the world around us.

The María Luisa Memorial has grown into an international meeting point where established photographers, emerging talents, filmmakers, adventurers, and passionate creators can come together. Over 37 editions, participants from more than a hundred countries have contributed to a constantly evolving collection of images and stories.

What connects them is not simply a love of photography. It is a desire to communicate something — a place, an emotion, an adventure, a discovery, or a moment that deserves to be remembered.

Because behind every remarkable photograph there is someone who chose to stop, look a little closer, and press the shutter at exactly the right moment.