Hello, I’m Bella, a multi-award-winning travel writer, photographer, content creator, and documentary and podcast producer based in London.
This is my travel and photography website, Passport & Pixels. If you’d like to know more about my other work, I also have a personal website at bellafalk.co.uk.
Awards
I’ve been lucky enough to have been a winner or finalist for over 30 awards for writing, photography and blogging, including:
- Winner, Photo of the Year (Wildlife/Environment), Inspire Global Media Awards 2025
- Winner, Trade Feature of the Year, Inspire Global Media Awards 2024
- Winner, Blogger of the Year and Best Blog Post, British Guild of Travel Writers’ Awards 2023
- Winner, Epic Imagery award, Traverse Content Creators Awards 2021
- Winner, Best Photography, Travel Media Awards 2020
- Winner, Blog Post of the Year; also Finalist, Best Photo Story and Best Travel Blog, British Guild of Travel Writers’ Awards 2020
- Winner, Epic Imagery award, Traverse Content Creators Awards 2019
- Winner, Best Photography, UK Blog Awards 2018
- Finalist, Newspaper Feature of the Year (North America), Magazine Feature of the Year (Africa), Blog Story of the Year, Inspire Global Media Awards 2025
- Finalist, Photographer of the Year, Travel Trade Feature of the Year, British Guild of Travel Writers’ Awards 2024
- Finalist, Travel Trade Writer of the Year, AITO Awards 2024
- Finalist, Photo of the Year, Traverse Creator Awards 2024
- Finalist, Best Travel Photography, TBEX Creator Awards 2024
- Finalist, Media Rising Star, TravMedia Awards 2024
- Finalist, National Consumer Feature, Travel Media Awards 2023
- Finalist, Best Travel Photo Feature, Specialist Travel Feature, Regional Travel Feature, Travel Feature of the Year UK, and Photographer of the Year, British Guild of Travel Writers’ Awards 2023
- Finalist, Best Blog/Vlog, Travel Media Awards 2023
- Finalist, Best Photography, Travel Media Awards 2023
- Finalist, Travel Writing Rising Star, TravMedia Awards 2023
- Finalist, Best Latin America Image, LATA Media Awards 2023
- Finalist, Specialist Travel Writer, Travel Media Awards 2022
- Finalist, Best Photo Piece, Photographer of the Year and Blogger of the Year, British Guild of Travel Writers’ Awards 2022
- Finalist, Global Travel Photographer Award 2020
- Finalist, Blogger Rising Star, TravMedia Awards 2020
- Finalist, Best Photography, Travel Media Awards 2019
- In 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020 I was shortlisted for the International Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards.
Just had a read and your content is superb! Thank you for taking the time to offer our readers such a great insight into your work and life. I downloaded your images and wow they simply look stunning in high resolution. It will be difficult to narrow the selection!
– Kim Bunermann, Digital Photographer Magazine
Photography
I’ve been a photographer for about 35 years – ever since I became obsessed as a child and created a home darkroom in my parents’ laundry room!
Today, the passion still hasn’t left me, and I’ll gladly travel to anywhere, from the park down the road to the remotest parts of the world, chasing the thrill of capturing that perfect image. My favourite things to photograph are wildlife, colourful local characters, and unusual, off-the-beaten track places.
I also love adventure. I’ve been to exciting places like Uganda, Morocco and Myanmar and climbed Kilimanjaro, Nyiragongo, Ol Doinyo Lengai and Acatenango volcanoes.
I’ve been lucky enough to travel to over 70 countries and all seven continents so there should be something on this site for everyone.
Recently I was the featured travel photographer in Digital Photographer Magazine’s travel photography special. A real career highlight!
You are a seriously good writer! I’ve been editing for 26 years and it is easy to become blasé about cliche-filled descriptions of elephants, but I don’t ever recall reading a description as vivid as yours. Seriously good stuff.
– Craig Rix, Editor, Travel Africa Magazine
Published Work
In addition to all the many articles you’ll find here on Passport & Pixels, my writing and photography have been published by National Geographic Traveller, BBC Travel, JRNY magazine, Lonely Planet, Wanderlust, The Great Outdoors, and Digital Photographer Magazine among others, as well as on the covers of two books, and in a leading photography textbook.
I wrote some of the Lonely Planet book, The Joy of Birdwatching.
In 2022 I was a National Geographic Traveller Masterclasses speaker.
Here are some of my published articles:
- Norway’s strict new rules are changing Arctic cruising. What does that mean for polar bear sightings now? (Adventure.com)
- No rain, no gain – why ‘green season’ is the best time to visit Botswana (Low Season Traveller)
- Budget or luxury Botswana (Selling Travel)
- 8 of the best outdoor experiences in Guatemala (National Geographic Traveller UK)
- 5 reasons to visit Guatemala (National Geographic Traveller UK)
- Victoria Falls: Making a Splash (Print feature in Travel Africa)
- Stepping Out: A women-only hiking safari in Kenya (Print Feature in Travel Africa)
- My week on the river that built America (Telegraph Travel)
- This remote island destination is a slice of paradise (Luxury Travel Australia)
- The mountainous Spanish region quietly becoming Europe’s adventure capital (Telegraph Travel)
- Rocky Mountaineer: Not your average rail ride (JRNY Magazine)
- Kenya: Rugged seclusion in Tsavo (Travel Africa)
- Why 2024 is the year to visit the two most precious rhinos in the world (BBC Travel)
- Going wild in Botswana (Selling Travel)
- Gordion: A lost city of legends in central Turkey (BBC Travel)
- How bees became a former poacher’s saving grace in Kenya (Adventure.com)
- Turn a New Leaf in Jasper (Selling Travel)
- The creative communities on the shores of Lake Atitlan Guatemala (National Geographic Traveller)
- Seven of the best places to learn Spanish (National Geographic Traveller)
- Eight of the best views in London that are free or low-cost (BBC Travel)
- Turkey’s mysterious ‘portal to the underworld’ (BBC Travel)
- Africa’s deadly 1000C fire lake (BBC Travel)
- An abandoned British island reclaimed by nature (BBC Travel)
- What will happen to the 7th continent? (BBC Travel)
- Why seeing chimpanzees in Uganda is one of the world’s greatest wildlife experiences (Lonely Planet)
- A perfect day in Kampala (Lonely Planet)
- The rewards of visiting Uganda’s Batwa tribe ((Lonely Planet)
- Pembrokeshire road trip: the top things to do, what to eat and where to stay (Love Exploring)
- Devant la porte des Enfers du volcan Nyiragongo (Paris Match)
From itinerary planning and agreeing deliverables to her enthusiasm and commitment during the trip, Bella is a joy to work with. Her blog posts are both detailed and useful as well as passionate and inspirational. An adventure seeker and wildlife enthusiast, Bella is a great fit for our clients. Her photography is beautiful too.
– Joanna Cooke, Departure PR / Tourism Thailand
Documentaries
Aside from the photography and writing, I also work as a documentary filmmaker.
I write, produce and direct mostly history, archaeology and science programmes for national and international broadcasters including the BBC, Channel 4, Discovery and PBS.
Sometimes the work takes me to weird and wonderful places – and not all of them in the UK! When I get the chance, I’ll take a few photos and blog about what I’ve been up to.
Find out more about my documentary work at bellafalk.co.uk
Qualifications
I have a first-class degree in French and Spanish from the University of Edinburgh, a postgrad in Broadcast Journalism from City University London, and a certificate with distinction in Professional Photography from the University of the Arts London.
Contact me
If you want to find out more, you can find me on Twitter @passportandpix and on Instagram @passportandpixels.
And if you like what you see and you think you might like to work with me, get in touch!
Bella
