GWYNEDD-BASED wildlife photographer, author, filmmaker adventure travel leader and explorer Sue Flood has been awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire) in the King’s New Year’s Honours.
The accolade recognises Sue’s services to nature conservation, science and the natural world through the revelatory images she has captured while making BAFTA and EMMY-award winning films for the BBC Natural History Unit and on multiple photo assignments across the globe, and for her special focus on Polar wildlife, landscapes and the impacts on them of climate change.
Speaking from Antarctica, where she is currently working, Sue Flood said: “I am thrilled beyond words to receive this honour.
“I consider myself extremely lucky to have a job which allows me to document Earth’s wildest and most spectacular landscapes, photographing some of our planet’s most remarkable wildlife and championing the need for their conservation.
“I am so grateful for the recognition and to Sir David Attenborough for being a constant source of inspiration since I was a child, and who led me to pursue this wonderful career.”
The OBE is the latest in the long list of honours bestowed on Sue Flood, who was born and brought up in North Wales, attended the Queen’s School in Chester before taking a zoology degree at the University of Durham and, when not travelling the world, lives with her husband Chris near Bala, Gwynedd.
Others include being made a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, the Royal Photographic Society, North American Nature Photography Association and the exclusive Explorers Club; getting an honorary Masters degree from the University of Chester and wins in numerous international photo competitions.
As well as working worldwide as a photographer, Sue Flood is also an adventure travel leader, photography teacher, a motivational speaker, including in schools, and author.
To date, she has published two books – Cold Places, containing favourite shots and anecdotes from her explorations of the Arctic and Antarctic, and Emperor: The Perfect Penguin, a celebration of her favourite Antarctic species and its habitat.
She is currently working on a third book, Midnight Sun, with her business partner and fellow polar specialist Ian Dawson, which is due out in October 2026.
