Permafrost, this cold is no longer eternal

• Prize
  Honorable Mention
• Photographer
  Natalya Saprunova, France
• Studio
  Natalya Saprunova Photographe
• Website
  https://natalyasaprunova.myportfolio.com/work
• Instagram
  @natalya.saprunova

Permafrost—ground frozen for thousands of years—spans 25 million km² across Siberia, the Arctic, and North America. As it thaws due to climate change, regions like Yakutia in Siberia and the Northwest Territories in Canada face severe impacts: ground collapse, erosion, floods, and infrastructure damage. Rich in ancient organic matter, these soils release greenhouse gases and toxins like mercury, threatening ecosystems and traditional ways of life. Indigenous communities, such as the Inuvialuit and Yakut, face cultural and environmental upheaval—and potential forced relocation.

Natalya Saprunova is a documentary photographer based in Paris, originally from Arctic Russia. She began as a photojournalist in 2007 while studying to become a French teacher. After moving to France in 2008, she worked in marketing before returning to photography in 2016. A graduate in Documentary Photojournalism from EMI-CFD Paris in 2020, she focuses on identity, environment, climate change, youth, femininity, and spirituality. Since 2016, she has also taught photography at Graine de photographe in Paris.

Awards Canon Woman Photojournalist grant winner at Visa Pour l'image, UNICEF Photo of the Year prize, Marilyn Stafford FotoReportage Award winner, Lucie Foundation award, Ann Lesley BarTur Photo Award Judges' Choice, LensCulture Critics' Choice, Zeke SDN award winner, Rencontres Photographiques de Boulogne-Billancourt winner