Four years after documenting one of Sri Lanka's most heartbreaking conservation tragedies, photographer Easa Lebbe Muhammed Jamsith (Muhammed) has once again been recognized on the international stage.

His photograph of a female Asian elephant dying after consuming plastic waste at a garbage dump received an honorable mention in the Last Wild Places category of the Patagonia Photo Contest. For Muhammed, however, this latest accolade is bittersweet.

"I kept pursuing this path because I believed this level of recognition could create real impact and eventually lead to a solution. That's why, even now, I continue to put this image forward,” he said.

“But it remains a deep sorrow to me that while the photograph itself continues to be recognized again and again, no actual solution has come from it.”

His photograph has already become one of Sri Lanka's most internationally recognized conservation images, in 2022 winning the Grand Prize at the Environmental Photography Award and coming runner-up in the Earth.org Photography Competition. Yet the environmental disaster it documents remains an ongoing reality.

Open garbage dumps are a deadly hazard for Sri Lanka's wildlife. Attracted by rotting food, elephants and other animals consume plastic bags, food packaging and hazardous waste, which can cause bowel obstructions, toxic poisoning and, ultimately, death.

Dogs, cats, birds and other wildlife are also regularly affected, but Asian elephants have become one of the crisis' most visible victims.

The photograph traces back to the morning of January 05 2022, when Muhammed rushed to a garbage dump on the edge of the forest in Oluvil (a village on Sri Lanka's eastern coast) after hearing reports that an elephant was dying there.

He had intended to help the stricken animal, bringing his camera only in case it was needed. Instead, he found himself documenting what would become one of the defining conservation photographs of his career.

“When I arrived and saw the scale of what she was suffering, and the scale of the dump around her,” said Muhammed. “I felt this had to be documented not as art, but as evidence of something that needed to be seen.”

A veterinarian later examined the female elephant and discovered her esophagus was blocked by plastic wrapped around food scraps she had eaten. Although she was still alive when Muhammed arrived, her condition was beyond saving.

“I went closer, and in that moment she looked directly at me with tears in her eyes,” he recalled. “I remember feeling helpless. I had come hoping there was something I could do, but all I could do was be present and document her suffering.”

Three days later, despite receiving veterinary treatment, the elephant died, becoming one of around 20 elephants known to have died in Sri Lanka after consuming plastic at garbage dumps between 2016 and 2022.

Photographically, Muhammed chose to document the scene with a Canon EOS 80D paired with a Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens (f/8, 1/200 sec, ISO 100, 18mm).

By opting for a wide-angle perspective, he emphasized the overwhelming scale of the garbage surrounding the elephant, allowing the composition itself to communicate the imbalance between wildlife and human waste.

“That contrast – a living, suffering animal dwarfed by waste – became the composition without me consciously designing it,” he said.

Now, four years after it was taken, the photograph continues to resonate with judges around the world. Yet for Muhammed, the image's repeated recognition means little unless it ultimately contributes to meaningful action.

“If this photograph and its recognition can push authorities and communities toward better waste management near these habitats, then it will have done its job. More than anything, I hope that this, at last, brings about a lasting solution to this crisis – one that has taken far too many lives already.”

As the image continues to collect international awards, the crisis it depicts remains unresolved. For Muhammed, it was never meant to be remembered simply as an award-winning photograph but as evidence of a preventable tragedy – and a call for action that he still hopes will one day be answered.

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Best known for his 44-year collaboration with David Bowie, including the iconic Heroes album cover shoot, Japanese photographer Masayoshi Sukita has created some of the most recognizable images in music history.

His era-defining portraits of Iggy Pop, Marc Bolan, Joe Strummer and many more artists helped shape the visual identity of generations of musicians.

Sukita has now been announced as the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award at this year's Abbey Road Music Photography Awards, delivered by DHL – a prestigious honor celebrating a lifetime of influence in music photography.

Born in 1938 in a small coal-mining town in northern Kyushu, Japan, Sukita's creative journey was shaped by early memories of his father taking photographs before his death on the front line in China during World War II, as well as cinema trips with his uncle.

Those experiences inspired a lifelong fascination with storytelling through images, eventually placing some of the world's most iconic musicians in front of his lens.

The making of a music photography legend

In the early 1970s, Sukita immersed himself in the creative energy of New York and London, drawn to the connections between art, film and music.

In New York he photographed Jimi Hendrix in the months before his death, while in London he captured the rise of artists including Marc Bolan and T Rex.

His career changed forever in 1972 when he first met David Bowie, after being drawn to a concert poster before even hearing his music.

A portrait session followed that summer, beginning a remarkable 44-year collaboration between the two artists. In 1977, Sukita created his most famous image of Bowie: the iconic cover photograph for the Heroes album.

Beyond Bowie, Sukita photographed generations of influential musicians including Yellow Magic Orchestra and The Sex Pistols, while continuing his work across fashion and advertising.

His photographs have been exhibited around the world, including the record-breaking David Bowie Is exhibition at London's V&A museum, cementing his legacy as one of music photography's defining figures.

A lifetime capturing music history

"Masayoshi Sukita is one of the true visionaries of music photography," explains Abbey Road’s director of marketing & creative, Mark Robertson. "His images have not only documented some of the most influential artists of our time, they have helped define how we see them.

"Sukita created photographs that have become part of cultural history, with work that is timeless, intimate and instantly recognisable, demonstrating the power of photography to shape the identity of artists and entire eras. His influence and legacy continue to inspire across music, fashion and visual culture."

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This image of a luminous fishing net engulfing a mangrove in the dead of night is more than just an eerie yet interesting composition; it sheds light on the growing problem of “ghost gear,” discarded fishing equipment that’s polluting marine ecosystems and threatening wildlife.

Captured by Indian photographer Gaurav Patil, the image was taken near Nandgaon village, Maharashtra, south of Mumbai, and has just been announced the overall winner of this year’s Mangrove Photography Awards. Patil takes home the $1,000 (approximately £750 / AU$1,400) prize but, on a grander scale, has played a role in raising awareness of mangrove conservation.

“I have been watching ghost nets getting trapped in mangroves for the last several years, and I wanted to document it in an artistic manner to grab the attention of the viewers,” Patil told the Mangrove Action Project, the competition organizers.

Mangroves are critical coastal ecosystems that protect shorelines from extreme weather and erosion and serve as essential nurseries for marine life, but are facing a severe and growing threat from ghost nets.

These abandoned fishing nets physically entangle wildlife, alter local hydrology, and can break down into microplastics, which animals consume.

The photography competition aims to draw attention to these essential waterborne ecosystems, which experts say are at risk of collapse by 2050.

The organizers invite photographers to submit entries across a range of categories, including the relationship between locals and mangroves, stories of their conservation, and how they support wildlife.

Notable category winners at the 2026 awards included Lucas Gonçalves' aerial depiction of the Tejipió River in Recife (Brazil) separating shrimp ponds forming a natural tapestry from a vast mangrove forest.

There was also Ryuhei Suguri’s (Indonesia) mesmerizing long exposure of a single mangrove below the star-filled night sky.

The 12th edition of the Mangrove Photography Awards saw over 5,000 entries from 87 countries, and you can see the entire winners gallery here.

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The career of Marilyn Stafford (1923-2025) began in an unusual way. In 1948, friends making a film about the famous scientist Albert Einstein needed someone to photograph him, and Stafford, despite having no professional background, was the one who picked up the camera.

What followed was three decades documenting refugees, slum communities, fashion houses and heads of state, guided early on by Robert Capa and Henri Cartier-Bresson in Paris. She became one of only a handful of women working in London's Fleet Street newspaper district, at a time when that wasn't a small thing to be.

This September, that legacy gets a proper weekend. POST, Brighton and Hove's new photography centre, is hosting three days marking the tenth anniversary of the Marilyn Stafford FotoReportage Award, the prize set up in her name to support women telling documentary stories through photography.

Organized by FotoDocument and backed by Nikon, the event runs from September 18-20 and brings together past winners, jury members and some of the most respected names in the field.

For anyone shooting documentary work, or simply trying to build a career in an industry that still skews heavily male, this is worth a visit.

It's less a single exhibition, more a working weekend: retrospectives to study, panels to peruse, and a portfolio day with actual feedback attached.

Friday evening opens with the launch of When the Earth Gives Birth, the new body of work from Johanna Alarcón, this year's award winner.

It sits alongside a retrospective pulling highlights from a full decade of winning projects, giving visitors a rare chance to trace how the award's documentary style has shifted since it launched.

A parallel display of Stafford's own photographs and books runs throughout, including work from her time covering Algerian refugees in Tunisia and her portraits of Indira Gandhi during the Bangladesh Liberation War.

There's also a first look at a forthcoming documentary about Stafford's life, with a trailer screening and a Q&A with director Ellie Emptage of Tara Films.

It's a rare bit of moving-image context for a photographer whose stills have mostly had to speak for themselves.

Veterans and industry access

The panels are where this weekend earns its keep for anyone in the trade.

Natalya Saprunova, the 2022 award winner, joins jury members and veteran documentary photographers Andrea Bruce and Donna DeCesare for a broader discussion on where women stand in contemporary documentary photography today, alongside Laura El-Tantawy and Neo Ntsoma. Carol Allen-Storey adds a book talk and signing with GOST Books, useful for anyone weighing up self-publishing versus a small press.

Sunday closes the weekend with something very practical: Nikon-run workshops and one-to-one portfolio reviews for students and recent graduates, hosted by Nikon ambassador Carolyn Mendelsohn. It's the kind of access that's hard to come by outside a festival setting, and worth booking early given the format.

Nina Emett, director of FotoDocument and co-director of POST, says the weekend is as much a tribute to Stafford's adopted hometown as to her career.

Given how much of that career was spent working around (and often against) the industry's usual gatekeeping, a weekend built on access rather than spectacle feels like the right way to mark it.

The Marilyn Stafford FotoReportage Award tenth anniversary weekend runs at POST, Brighton and Hove, from September 18-20. Tickets are available now.

In 2025, 16-year-old photographer Anwen from South Wales captured Golden Hour, a striking image of a puffin bathed in warm evening light with a beak full of sand eels. The photo won The Week Junior Science+Nature Scavenger Hunt Photo Contest, earning her Canon camera equipment and a coveted spot on the magazine's front cover.

"I had been dreaming of a photo of a puffin during golden hour ever since I started wildlife photography," said Anwen, "and this evening I was able to capture my vision." Her image was praised for its beautiful light, technical skill and perfect timing, standing out among more than 1,000 entries from young photographers across the UK.

Now, a new generation has the chance to follow in Anwen's footsteps. The Week Junior Science+Nature Scavenger Hunt Photo Contest 2026 is officially open, inviting young photographers aged 16 and under to put down their screens, explore the outdoors and capture the beauty of nature for the chance to win prizes, Canon camera gear and even a future magazine cover.

Now open for your entries: The Week Junior Science+Nature Photo Contest 2026

Who can submit images?
The Week Junior Science+Nature Photo Contest 2026 invites young photographers aged 16 and under across the UK to submit their best shot.

Is it free to enter?
Yes, the free-to-enter competition encourages young photographers to complete an official nature scavenger hunt before submitting their favorite photographs.

What is the competition's theme?
This year's theme, Focus on Nature, celebrates everything from wildlife in back gardens and local parks to forests, coastlines and other wild places.

When is the deadline?
Entries are open now and close at midnight on August 23, 2026.

What can I win?
The overall winner will have their image featured on the front cover of The Week Junior Science+Nature magazine, while ten winners and runners-up will share more than £2,500 worth of prizes, including Canon camera equipment, nature book bundles and tickets to see their photographs exhibited at The Photography & Video Show 2027.

How can I enter?
To enter, download the official Scavenger Hunt Checklist (available on the website), search for 10 hidden treasures in nature and submit your favorite image via the entry form before the deadline.

Find more information on The Week Junior Science+Nature magazine website.

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The International Pet Photography Awards has announced its 2026 finalists, and the commended images capture scenes ranging from the downright adorable to outright bizarre, or hilarious, depending on how you look at it.

Now in its eighth year, the renowned awards celebrates pet photographers around the world, championing standard imagery as well as creative composite photos predominantly of cats, dogs, and horses, while prohibiting the use of generative AI.

The standout for me among this year’s overall competition Pet Photographer of the Year (PPOTY) finalists is Callie Soden’s depiction of her dog praying at a church altar as angelic light illuminates a stained-glass window. The image, which I believe is a composite – although this is yet to be confirmed by the competition organizers – is also commended in the Creative category.

Other finalists vying for the overall competition crown include Inge Heimensen’s cute yet story-driven scene of a chick standing among a line of eggs in eggcups, Mirka Koot’s unbelievable (potentially composite) shot of a friendly feline seemingly in conversation with a crow, as well as Katie Brockman’s Vogue-esque black-and-white profile of a stocky canine.

The overall finalists were chosen from images entered across the 12 different categories, with each category also crowning a winner. Kelly Borger’s funny frame of a dog contemplating crossing a rope bridge made the cut in the Documentary category, while Betty Brodie’s picture-perfect cat wandering a snow-covered landscape was commended in the Feline Portrait category.

This year’s competition drew over 4,000 entries from 48 countries across 12 categories, of which Commissioned Portfolio, In-Camera Artistry, Phone, and Studio were new for 2026. Photographers were allowed to submit photos to multiple categories, with category and overall PPOTY finalists chosen by combining scores of individual images.

The countdown to the awards ceremony, when the winners will be announced, is now on, with the event to be held over Zoom on August 1, 2026, at 6am AEST (that's July 30 4pm EST / 9pm BST). For more information, head to the International Pet Photographer of the Year Awards website.

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You don't need to reinvent the wheel to create something great. And this image, which recently won the Above Snow Special Prize at the International Aerial Photographer of the Year (IAPOTY) 2026 Awards, is a perfect example.

Created by Aleksandra Wilk, an aerial photographer from Bavaria, Germany, the image, taken using a DJI Mavic 3 Pro, cleverly incorporates negative space, crafting a masterful yet simple composition.

Wilk shot the image on a cold winter’s day in the Bavarian countryside near Lake Ammer, opting for settings of 1/400 sec, f/7.1, ISO200 using the 24mm equivalent lens.

“My intention was to capture this church, which stood on a street, with nothing to disturb the composition, all white in a graphic style,” she told the IAPOTY organizers.

What I love most about this scene is how minimalist and balanced it is. The tree and the church are neatly placed in the middle, while the road creates that clear separation needed for all the negative space to have its impact.

The negative space is also brilliantly employed: any more and the image would be underwhelming, any less and the composition would feel suffocating. And this isn't the only time Wilk has used a drone and negative space to craft a creative composition.

In August, an image that Wilk shot on a Madeira (Portugal) beach will feature on the cover of German photography publication Fotomagazin. It's a fantastic half-and-half image of black sand and foamy water, with a sunbather perfectly placed in the middle.

While Wilk doesn't get the honor of a magazine cover for winning the 2026 Above Snow Award from IAPOTY, she did claim $250 (approximately £190 / AU$350) in prize money, as well as a page in the forthcoming book showcasing all 101 finalists from this year's competition.

Wilk's image is the sort of composition whose well-balanced, aesthetically pleasing simplicity comes from years of experience.

Congratulations to Aleksandra, and here’s the photo from Azim Khan Ronnie that took the overall 2026 IAPOTY crown.

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There's a particular kind of photograph that only a curious animal and a very wide-angle lens can produce together.

German photographer Marcel Ohneberger's giraffe portrait is exactly that: an enormous, looming head fills most of the frame, its neck curving away into a distant landscape of grassland and hills, while a single dark eye stares down the lens.

The image has earned Ohneberger an Honorable Mention in the 2026 iPhone Photography Awards, now in its 19th year and one of the longest-running smartphone photography competitions in the world.

Technical approach

Ohneberger shot the image on an iPhone 13, using the device's back dual wide camera at its 1.54mm focal length (roughly 13mm equivalent in full-frame terms). That ultra-wide angle of view is the key to the entire photograph.

At such a short focal length, getting close to a subject produces dramatic perspective distortion, exaggerating whatever is nearest the lens while pushing everything else into the distance.

Here, the giraffe's nose and eye balloon toward the viewer, while its body and legs shrink dramatically at the far end of the frame.

The rest of the settings are unremarkable by design: 1/720 sec, f/2.4 and ISO32.

That fast shutter speed suggests bright daylight conditions, freezing any movement from the giraffe as it leaned in toward the camera, while the low ISO indicates plenty of available light, keeping the image clean and detailed.

There's no artificial manipulation required here; just the iPhone's fixed wide-angle lens doing what it does best at close range.

Why it works

The real skill in this image lies not in the settings but in the moment itself. Giraffes are naturally curious animals, and getting one to approach a handheld phone closely enough to fill the frame like this takes patience, calm behaviour, and a bit of luck.

Ohneberger's positioning – low and close, angled up slightly into the giraffe's face – turns an everyday wildlife encounter into something closer to a caricature, emphasizing the animal's improbable proportions and giving the photograph a sense of humour that straight telephoto shots rarely achieve.

The exaggerated curve of the neck, stretching back toward a grazing landscape dotted with acacia-style trees and distant hills, adds a sense of scale and place even as the foreground dominates the composition.

It's a reminder that ultra-wide lenses, often associated with landscapes and architecture, can be just as effective for animal portraiture when you get close enough.

The big picture

This year's IPPAwards drew thousands of entries from more than 140 countries, with winners selected across 12 categories including Animals, Nature, Portrait, and Landscape.

The overall Grand Prix, Photographer of the Year, went to Robyn Jensen of the Cayman Islands for a nature image shot on iPhone 15 Pro, while Gellert Gombai of Hungary took the Gold Award for an intimate candid portrait.

Ohneberger's giraffe portrait is a fitting entry in a competition built around the idea that strong photography depends less on kit and more on the eye behind it.

Shot on a phone that's now several generations old, it proves that a close encounter, good timing, and an understanding of wide lenses can produce something far more memorable than tech specs alone would suggest.

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Established in the early 1980s, the AOP Student Awards recognize emerging photographic talent existing in further education institutions across the UK. Using large format photography to document coal miners in South Wales, Rupert Allen has now been named the overall winner of the competition and also received Gold in the Portrait category.

Through impactful black-and-white photography, Rupert Allen (studying BA Hons Photojournalism and Documentary Photography at the University of Gloucestershire) created an impactful portrait series titled Church of Coal. He shot all images on 5x4in large format Ilford HP5 film, documenting the coal miners who used to work, and those who still work in the last operating drift colliery in Western Europe.

Rupert aims to "document these landscapes and people before they vanish under the weight of time". Isabelle Doran, CEO of The AOP, explains that she was “genuinely impressed” with the selection of still and moving images, highlighting that the imagery is challenging our perspectives while others celebrate authenticity. Discover all winners on the AOP Awards website.

'Church of Coal' by Rupert Allen

Rupert explains, "In collaboration with the NUM (National Union of Miners) in Pontypridd, and the National Museum Wales, this project has taken me across South Wales, in search of answers to my question: what happened to the miners; what happened to the collieries; and how have they both adapted in the 21st century.

"Hearing their stories, and documenting them as they are now, has allowed me a glimpse into the real people and places, to understand what really happened and what a select few have done to overcome the crisis that rocked much of industrial Britain.

"As with their age now, there is not much time left before these people fade into obscurity and out of the public mind, much like the ruins of the halls and mines they once worked."

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At first glance, this could almost be two lions rearing against the night sky, their manes rendered in molten gold. Look closer, though, and what Chinese photographer Ziqiang Luo has actually captured is something rooted deep in folk tradition: a fire-based performance art still performed at festivals and celebrations across the country, in which sparks, flame, and molten metal are transformed into fleeting, sculptural forms.

Luo's photograph captures the essence of what makes these performances so photogenic: the sparks and flame briefly hold a shape, almost animal-like in this instance, before dissolving into the dark.

The image earned him an Honorable Mention in the Life Style category of the 2026 iPhone Photography Awards, now in its 19th year as one of the longest-running smartphone photography competitions in the world.

Technical approach

Luo shot the image at 15.66mm physical focal length, equivalent to roughly 223mm in full-frame terms, using the iPhone 16 Pro's telephoto system. That last figure tells you a lot.

After all, the phone's native optical telephoto tops out at 120mm equivalent (5x zoom). So reaching 223mm equivalent means Luo was almost certainly using its digital zoom to extend beyond the optical range, cropping into the telephoto lens's output.

For a fire performance, keeping a safe distance from the sparks and flame while still framing tightly makes that extended reach essential rather than optional.

The rest of the settings – 1/200sec at f/2.8, and ISO 50 – are well suited to a bright, high-contrast night scene.

The moderately fast shutter speed was enough to freeze individual sparks in motion, giving the fine, granular texture visible throughout the image, while the very low ISO of 50 kept the image clean and avoided noise that would have been magnified by the extended digital zoom.

Against a totally black background, the camera's exposure could concentrate entirely on the fire itself, letting the sparks blow out into pure, saturated orange without needing to compromise for any darker areas of the frame.

Why it works

Ultimately, the image's power comes from the ambiguity between form and material. Rendered almost entirely in black and burning orange, the flying sparks coalesce into two distinct, animal-like silhouettes that face one another symmetrically, a shape the eye wants to read as living creatures, even while the texture of every surface confirms they're made of fire and ash.

That tension between recognisable form and pure combustion is what elevates this from a documentary shot of a folk performance into something closer to abstract art.

The symmetry does real compositional work here too. By capturing two roughly mirrored plumes of sparks facing each other, Luo transforms a fleeting, chaotic burst of fire into something that reads as deliberate and almost ceremonial, fitting for an art form so closely tied to celebration and ritual.

The big picture

This year's IPPAWARDS drew thousands of entries from more than 140 countries, with winners selected across 12 categories including Abstract, Animals, City Life, and the Life Style category in which Luo's image was recognised.

The overall Grand Prix, Photographer of the Year, went to Robyn Jensen of the Cayman Islands for a nature image shot on iPhone 15 Pro, while Gellert Gombai of Hungary took the Gold Award for an intimate candid portrait.

Overall, Luo's photograph is a striking example of documentary and abstract photography meeting in one frame. A smartphone pushed to the limits of its digital zoom, capturing a centuries-old fire tradition at the precise instant sparks form a shape that feels wonderfully alive.

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When you catch the images on this page out of the corner of your eye, something strange happens.

A red gumboot and a checked hood stop reading as clothing and start reading as parts of the concrete structure they're perched on. A blue-jacketed figure curls into the crook of a bright red slide, arm outstretched, until it's difficult to tell where the fabric ends and the painted fibreglass begins.

This is precisely the effect German photographer Kerstin Weiser is seeking in her series Von Sandburg zu Sandburg ("From sandcastle to sandcastle"). And the project has just earned her the HfG Rundgang Award 2026 from the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation.

Weiser's starting point was playgrounds; specifically, the sculptural, brightly colored playground equipment found across Germany and, in the second half of this project, Japan.

Rather than photographing these structures as empty architecture, she dresses volunteers in clothing color-coordinated to the equipment itself, then has them climb onto and into the structures, photographing from below so their limbs merge visually with the sculpted forms.

The results, as seen here, are quite disorienting. In one image, a red boot and checked fabric hood emerge from a scaled, concrete structure, making it entirely unclear whether you're looking at a person, a costume, or an unusually detailed piece of public art.

In another, a white-gloved hand and trainer-clad foot hook around a chipped red surface, the person's navy jacket barely visible in the gap between painted forms.

The playground equipment, ordinarily designed to be climbed on by children, becomes something closer to an abstract sculpture that's partially swallowed its climber.

Weiser began photographing in Germany, where distinctive, sculptural playground design has a long design tradition, before continuing the series in Japan, a country famous for its own eccentric and highly designed playground architecture.

She is drawn to bold primary colors, organic and animal-like forms, and shooting in both countries allowed her to test whether her unique visual language holds up across two very different playground cultures. The consistency of the results suggests that it does.

Why it won

The jury, which included photographer Barbara Klemm, Fotografie Forum Frankfurt director Alexandra Lechner, and the Foundation's junior curator Cornelia Siebert, praised Weiser's use of harsh flash lighting, which flattens the images into an almost graphic, two-dimensional quality, reinforcing the sense that these are staged compositions rather than documentary snapshots.

That deliberate flatness strips away shadow and depth, and makes it genuinely hard to parse where sculpture ends and human body begins.

Born in Bingen am Rhein in 1999, Weiser is currently studying in the Department of Art at HfG Offenbach, one of Germany's oldest design schools, tracing its roots back to 1832. The HfG Rundgang Award, worth €3,000, has been presented annually since 2010 to recognise emerging photography talent at the university, with this year's ceremony held on 10 July during Offenbach's annual Rundgang exhibition.

Weiser's work will remain on public view a little longer: further pieces from the series appear in the group exhibition Worlds within Worlds at The Cube in Eschborn until August 16.

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Whether you're a seasoned photographer, a beginner just getting started or someone who loves capturing beautiful moments, submitting your images to photo competitions is one of the best ways to gain exposure and recognition.

Entering competitions isn't just about winning – though prizes and publicity are great bonuses! It's also a chance to dive into your archives, rediscover your best images and refine your personal style. Many photographers say competitions were the stepping stone that helped them build a name, grow their audience or land their first big feature.

And with so many open calls across all genres – there's something for everyone. So, here's a list of photography competitions with open calls that are accepting submissions from July 2026 until January 2027. It's a small selection to spark inspiration, but there are countless others out there…

Travel Photographer of the Year

Deadline: TPOTY Pass: July 16, Final: October 12

Open to: Photographers of all levels

Fee: From £14, entry is FREE for young photographers aged 18 and under

Portfolio categories: Adventures & Journeys, Cultures, Traditions & Celebrations, Landscapes – Nature & Urban, Wildlife, Sealife, Birdlife

One Shot categories: In Nature, People of the World, Street, Travel in Black & White,

Special Awards: Travel Photographer of the Year, Young Travel Photographer of the Year, Travel Image of the Year, Rising Talent Award, People’s Choice Award

Prizes: Cash prizes from £1,000 to £200, industry portfolio reviews, media exposure, and more

Le Prix de la Photographie de Paris (PX3)

Deadline: July 22

Open to: Photographers of all levels

Fee: €30 for single images, €50 for series (professionals), €20 for single images, €40 for series (amateurs and students), discounts for multiple categories

Categories: Advertising, Analog, Architecture, Book, Fine Art, Nature, Portraiture, Press

Prizes: Up to €11,500 in cash prizes, exhibitions in Paris, Athens, Ostuni & Budapest⁠, publication in the PX3 Annual Book, extensive global exposure ⁠

The Illume Awards

Deadline: July 31

Open to: Photographers of all levels

Fee: Free

Sports categories: Adventure, Aerial, Bike, Climb, Skate, Snow, Surf, Trail

Themed categories: Close-Up, Emerging, Innovation, Lifestyle, Masterpiece, Playground, RAW, Spirit

Prizes: Leica cameras, Angelbird storage gear, global exhibition tour, photobook feature

RMetS Weather Photographer of the Year 2026

Deadline: August 20

Open to: Photographers of all levels

Fee: Free

Categories: Weather Photographer of the Year (most striking weather images in action), Mobile Weather Photographer of the Year (must be captured on a smartphone or tablet), Climate Award (a compelling story about our changing climate)

Special: Public Favourite Award – decided by a global public vote

Prizes: £2,000 prize pool; winning work is showcased by media partners The Royal Meteorological Society, My Modern Met and ITV Weather

Brian Black Memorial Award

Note: The Digital Camera World team will join the judging panel

Deadline: August 30

Open to: Photographers of all levels living in the UK

Fee: Free

Theme: "Our Inspiring Seas"

Categories: Adult photo competition, Article competition, Junior photo competition (under 16 years)

Prizes: £3,000 prize pool – Winning article: £1,500 cash prize, publication in Yachting Monthly (print+online), interview on The Sailing Podcast; Adult photo competition: camera equipment worth £750; Junior photo competition: camera equipment worth £500

Charity contribution: The Black Memorial Award donates £500 to Sea-Changers.

Botanical Photographer of the Year

Deadline: September 30

Open to: Photographers of all levels

Fee: Free

Focus: Britain and Ireland's wild plants

Categories: Intrepid: Plants in wild, hard-to-reach, or dramatic landscapes, Inquisitive: Close-up shots highlighting the fascinating and minute features that are often used in ID, Inclusive: People interacting with plants, urban botany, or community recording, Open: For entries that fall outside the above.

Special: Young Botanical Photographer of the Year for an entry into any category, aged 18 or under

Prizes: To be announced

Wellcome Photography Prize

Deadline: October 21

Open to: Photographers of all levels

Fee: Free

Focus: Issues on health, science, and the human experience

Categories: Striking solo photography, A storytelling series, The marvels of scientific and medical imaging

Prize: £10,000 for each Category Winner, 22 entries from across the three categories will be awarded £1,000 each, extensive international media coverage

Insta 360 Global Awards

Deadline: October 30

Fee: Free

Open to: Photographers and videographers of all levels

Requirement: Entries must be shot on Insta360 or Antigravity products

Format: Videos: 30sec-3min MP4/MOV, single image only under 20MB

Categories: Street, Travel, Life, Portrait, Sports, Night

Prizes: $150,000+ prize pool with over 100 winners to be announced

Sony World Photography Awards

Deadline: November 27 (Student), January 5 (Youth + Single Images), January 12 (Series)

Fee: Free

Open to: Photographers of all levels

Competitions: Series (previously Professional competition), Single Image (previously Open competition), Student, Youth

Categories: up to 10 different categories depending on competition

Prizes: Cash prizes up to $25,000, top-tier Sony equipment, and global exhibition opportunities

OPPO Photography Awards

Deadline: December 31

Open to: Photographers and videographers of all levels, shooting with OPPO, OnePlus, or realme devices

Fee: Free

Theme: "Super Every Moment"

Categories: Me, Journey, Video, Zoom, Live, Snap

Prizes: $76,500 prize pool across 38 awards

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As a mother and daughter enjoyed an urban picnic on the rooftop of their Dhaka home, Bangladesh, photographer Mithail Afrige Chowdhury pressed the shutter on his camera to capture the contrasting scene.

The daughter, Nuraine, wanted the unfamiliar experience of eating in nature, but the pair found themselves atop a rigid structure at the heart of a concrete jungle. The mother, unable to whisk her daughter away from the city, decided to bring nature to them, propping up a blanket depicting the scene of a heavenly landscape akin to an Ansel Adams photo.

This picture tells the story of human resilience among the ever-expanding city limits and infrastructure challenges faced by Dhaka residents, and with it Chowdhury scooped the Striking Solo Photography category at the 2025 Wellcome Photography Prize.

“Awards can feel technical, but this recognition from Wellcome feels deeply human,” he told the prize organizers.

The biennial photography competition celebrates images drawing attention to issues on health, science, and the human experience, awarding each of the three winners a grand prize of £10,000 approximately $13,300 / AU$19,300), along with widespread recognition.

Today, July 14, the competition begins its call for entries to the 2027 edition, with photographers invited to submit pictures across three categories: a striking solo image, a storytelling series, and scientific or medical imaging.

While category winners take home the aforementioned top cash prizes, the remaining 22 finalists will receive £1,000 (approximately $1,300 / AU$2,000), with all 25 finalists invited to an awards ceremony.

Entry to the prize closes October 21, 2026, and you can make your submission by heading to the competition webpage. Following his 2025 win, Chowdhury said: “When I got the news, the first thing I did was charge my camera—not to take a photo, but to restart something I thought I’d lost. I won’t dwell on personal or professional hardships, but this moment means more than I can say."

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Leica has unveiled the 12 photographers shortlisted for its 2026 Oskar Barnack Award (LOBA), one of photography's longest-running and most generously funded prizes. And while all the work is predictably excellent, I have to admit: I found initially skimming the list a little disorienting.

Saher Alghorra's Witnessing Gaza documents a war in its full brutality: scarcity, starvation, violence, loss. A few names down the alphabetical list sits Todd Antony's black-and-white study of buzkashi, the Central Asian sport in which horsemen fight over a headless goat carcass.

Both are, by any reasonable definition, excellent photography. Both are also competing for the same prize, judged against the same criteria, on the same afternoon in October. That's not really Leica's fault; it's baked into pretty much every major photography award. But it's still worth thinking about, I think.

LOBA's mission

LOBA aims to recognize photographers who capture the relationship between people and their environment, which is a pretty broad remit. But there's no escaping the fact that breadth has a cost.

When Alghorra's series sits on the same shortlist as Antony's, or as Laila AnnMarie Stevens's tender Clayton Sisterhood Project about her own family building a life in North Carolina, the jury isn't just comparing photographs; it's comparing categories of human experience.

Is a perfectly composed, technically daring image of a goat-wrestling contest "better" or "worse" than a raw, urgent image from inside a warzone? That question is near-impossible to answer, and yet five judges are going to have to answer some version of it anyway.

Conflict and crisis

This year's list makes the tension unusually visible because it leans so heavily toward conflict and crisis.

Valery Melnikov's Mariupol: Open Wounds returns to the aftermath of the 2022 siege of the Ukrainian city. Anush Babajanyan documents the Aral Sea's collapse and the communities adapting around it.

Set against that, gentler work like William Keo's Extramuros, a study of French banlieue youth, or David Sládek's two-decade portrait of one Slovakian village, risk looking slight… even when they aren't.

Again, this isn't an issue unique to LOBA. World Press Photo, the Sony World Photography Awards, Prix Pictet – practically every major contest with a general remit has the same structural issue.

Interestingly, the newly launched Women in Photography Grant avoids it entirely, at least for its first year, by judging a project proposal rather than a finished body of work – there's nothing yet to weigh against anything else.

That winner will be announced alongside the Main Prize and Newcomer Award on October 08 at a ceremony at the World of Leica in Wetzlar, with all 12 shortlisted series going on show afterwards at the Ernst Leitz Museum until February 04 2027.

Ultimately, whomever wins the Main Prize this October, the real result of this shortlist may simply be a useful, uncomfortable reminder.

Photography contests aren't judging photographs in isolation. They're judging what we, collectively, think photography is for in the first place.

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There's a split second when a cast fishing net hangs suspended in the air, mid-arc, before it settles on the water.

Singaporean photographer Chin Leong Teo caught that moment in Dawn Net, and the result looks less like a fishing photograph and more like liquid gold spilling across dark water.

This stunning composition helped earn Teo second place in the Photographer of the Year category at the International Aerial Photographer of the Year 2026 awards, as part of a tetralogy of portfolio images selected from 1,587 entries worldwide.

How the moment was captured

Teo shot the image on a Hasselblad L2D-20c, the camera built into DJI's Mavic 3 series drones.

He used a fast 1/640 second shutter speed to freeze the net mid-flight, at f/2.8 and ISO100 for clean, sharp detail. He also dialled in -1 exposure compensation, deliberately underexposing the shot to protect the bright yellow net from blowing out against the water's reflections.

That combination of settings matters more than it might first appear.

Drone cameras have small sensors compared to full-frame cameras, which makes them less forgiving of blown highlights – especially against reflective water at low sun angles.

By shooting at a low ISO and underexposing slightly, Teo gave himself more room to recover shadow detail in post-processing without sacrificing the net's vivid color.

The fast shutter speed was equally deliberate: any slower and the net's fine mesh would have blurred into a shapeless smear rather than the crisp, sweeping curves that define the image. It's the kind of exposure discipline that separates a lucky snapshot from a planned composition.

Teo's image was captured off the coast of Vietnam, with the drone hovering at around 305ft / 93m. That height was the perfect sweet spot: close enough to capture the fisherman's technique clearly, but high enough to turn the net's sweeping lines into pure pattern and shape.

Why it works

Teo works across travel, nature and landscape photography, and has lived in Singapore, the US, Saudi Arabia, China, Indonesia and Japan. That globetrotting background shows in his eye for finding something worth stopping for, wherever he finds it.

Good timing also lies at the heart of this photo. A second earlier, the net would still be bunched in the fisherman's hands. A second later, it would already be sinking into the water.

Instead, Teo caught it at full stretch, curving away from the boat toward two pale patches in the water that echo the net's own shape.

Ultimately, Dawn Net is aerial photography at its finest. Nothing about the subject in itself is unusual: a fisherman casting a net is one of the oldest, most ordinary sights on the water.

What makes the image extraordinary is the timing, his exposure control and his willingness to fly above a scene most photographers would only shoot from the shore. Seen from directly overhead, an everyday act of work becomes something closer to a painting.

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Upon first look at this award-winning image, you see a pair of children napping in the sun forming an aesthetic, symmetrical composition – but the deeper meaning, the backstory, remains illusive. However, look closer and the true mastery of the frame becomes clear.

After a moment, your eye flutters to the shuttle cock in the bottom-left corner, and the shadowy outline of a badminton racket reveals itself on the children’s faces. Although these elements are right in front of your eyes, it takes a second for them to come into focus, so to speak, and this is when the narrative finally becomes clear.

These children aren’t just napping in the sun, they’ve been playing an energetic game of badminton – and perhaps it’s their friend or family checking on them, racket in hand, that has revealed all. It’s not a monumental story, but the creative use of shadows and light makes sense of the scene, which to my eye has an abstract quality.

This is the work of Gellért Gombai, a commercial photographer from Hungary, which recently earned him the title of Photographer of the Year at the 2026 iPhone Photography Awards (IPPAwards).

The competition celebrates photos taken on Apple handsets, and Gellért used an iPhone X with camera settings of 4mm (28mm equivalent), 1/1500sec, f/1.8 and ISO20 to capture his shot.

Gellért’s image was selected from thousands of submissions across more than 140 nations, and I think what impressed the judges most was surely how he bent light and shadow to his will, using them to infuse layers into the brilliant black-and-white scene.

It's not the first time the photographer does this, either. His masterful approach to adding depth to abstract images has been developed over time, and is perfectly exemplified in this series depicting humans interacting with water, which he posted on Instagram.

Achieve the award-winning result on one of the best black-and-white cameras that use dedicated monochrome sensors in mirrorless bodies is one thing. But to get this tonality and look from an almost decade-old camera is a great feat – and worthy of the IPPAwards recognition.

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This year’s winning images from the Patagonia Photo Contest have been announced – among them two shots depicting a bird which, historically, Incan communities revered for its power, strength and freedom, considering the species sacred.

I’m talking about the Andean condor, a vulture native to the South American highlands, which today represents a national symbol for several countries across this part of the world, including Bolivia, Peru, Argentina and Chile.

Overall competition winner and self-professed "lover of nature and its creatures," Argentinian Mauricio Rossanigo, snagged the title of Patagonia Photographer of the Year for his frame of a pair of condors embracing each other beneath the iconic Fitz Roy massif (above).

“We waited quietly, until suddenly condors began appearing above us, more and more, until some landed on the ledges,” Mauricio told Patagon Journal, the competition organizer. “Then the pair arrived and the magic happened: they began to nuzzle and interact so beautifully we couldn’t believe it, and all it took was the right click.”

Condors typically mate for life. They form long-term, monogamous pair bonds, staying together year-round to share courtship rituals, nesting and raising their young. Mauricio’s shot perfectly captures this, as does the title he gave it: For a Lifetime.

While Mauricio took the overall win with his endearing condor image, French photographer Timothy Dhalleine's Flight of the Condor (below) snagged the Readers' Choice Award. His majestic shot shows two condors with their huge wingspans on full display as they soared above Laguna Sofía (Lake Sofia) in the Magallanes region of Chilean Patagonia.

The largest flying birds in the world by combined weight and wingspan, condors can weigh up to 33lbs (15kg) and their enormous wingspans can exceed 10ft (3m). They glide on thermal air currents and have been documented soaring for over five hours – and traveling over a hundred miles – without a single flap of their wings.

“These animals are powerful but fragile, and they’re in danger, especially in northern South America, where they’ve disappeared in some places,” Timothy told Patagon Journal. “It’s crucial to remember how important it is to protect them.”

Patagon Journal hosts the photo contest every two years to celebrate Patagonia across landscape, wildlife, culture, and environmental image categories. The 2026 edition attracted 1,826 amateur and professional photographers from 12 countries, all competing to document the unique character of southern Argentina and Chile.

Each category winner took home retail gift cards worth around US$400 (approximately £300 / AU$580), while runners-up received custom hiking equipment. As the overall competition winner, Rossanigo also received a Sony A6700 camera and a six-day photography trip to Chile's scenic Puelo region.

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Shanghai-based photographer and cinematographer Vitaly Golovatyuk has won over 100 awards throughout his career. Now his latest international recognition comes from an aerial image so surreal that many viewers might question whether it is real – but the artist's approach is refreshingly traditional.

The image that earned Golovatyuk the International Aerial Photograph of the Year award was captured above Elk Park, outside Dongtai City in Zhejiang Province in China. Surrounded by red vegetation with the sky and clouds perfectly reflected in the water, a bird sits in the middle of the lake.

In an era of AI-generated images and increasing questions around photographic authenticity, Golovatyuk's work shows what can be achieved through technical skill, composition and patience behind the camera or drone. "I prioritize capturing the 'money shot' in-camera," explains Golovatyuk.

International Aerial Photograph of the Year

Golovatyuk's trusted gear

Currently using a DJI Mavic 4 Pro and a Sony FX2 with Sony prime and zoom G Master lenses, he says, "Over the years, I've tried many different cameras and drones, but I’m happy with my current setup.

"I'm not a big fan of bulky camera bags, so I usually carry a more comfortable bag where I put my cameras."

The story behind the award-winning shot

“After several days exploring the area during sunrise and sunset, I photographed this bird on a tiny lake surrounded by red grass," explains Golovatyuk.

The clarity of the sky's reflection creates a striking illusion, as if the bird is suspended weightlessly in the air.

He continues, "Aerial photography has fundamentally expanded my creative vision, pushing me to seek unconventional angles and compositions that stand out in an increasingly saturated visual landscape."

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At first glance, many would assume that this dramatic image of an erupting volcano was captured using a professional DSLR or mirrorless camera.

The photograph, showing glowing lava pouring down the slopes of a volcano beneath a star-filled sky in Yepocapa, Chimaltenango, Guatemala, has just been awarded the Grand Prix at the 2026 iPhone Photography Awards (IPPAWARDS) – the world's longest-running competition dedicated exclusively to iPhone photography.

Photographer Robyn Jensen created the winning image using an iPhone 15 Pro, proving that one of the most demanding scenes in photography can be captured on a phone camera that's already three years old.

Why this image is so impressive

Night-time volcanic eruptions are among the most challenging subjects that any camera can capture. The scene combines blazing-hot lava, deep shadows, drifting ash, smoke, and a star-filled sky – all within a single frame.

Even high-end cameras can struggle with such an enormous range between the brightest and darkest parts of the image.

Shot at 1 sec, f/1.8 and ISO12500, the photographer prioritized exposing for the brilliant lava erupting from the crater.

The surrounding mountains intentionally fall into darkness, simplifying the composition and naturally drawing the eye towards the explosion of light, while still preserving the stars overhead.

The iPhone behind the winning image

The iPhone 15 Pro, introduced in 2023, remains one of the best iPhones for photography thanks to its stabilized 48MP main camera, advanced computational photography and excellent low-light performance.

Although most camera phones still can't match the sensor size or dynamic range of today's best mirrorless cameras, Apple's computational wizardry has narrowed the gap in recent years.

The iPhone 15 Pro's main camera, combined with Night mode and advanced image processing, gives photographers more flexibility.

However, capturing a fleeting volcanic eruption against a star-filled sky requires careful timing, exposure and composition – something no amount of AI can replace.

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The winners of the seventh Patagonia Photo Contest have been announced, celebrating one of the world's most spectacular natural regions through breathtaking photography.

From snow-capped peaks to soaring Andean condors, this year's winning images capture Patagonia's extraordinary beauty—but also serve as stark reminders of the conservation challenges facing its wildlife.

Organized every two years by Patagon Journal, the competition celebrates the region across landscape, wildlife, culture and environmental categories.

The 2026 edition attracted 1,826 amateur and professional photographers from 12 countries, all competing to document the unique character of southern Argentina and Chile.

The overall Patagonia Photographer of the Year title went to Mauricio Rossanigo, who also won the Wildlife category with his touching photograph For a Lifetime, showing two Andean condors embracing near El Chaltén, Argentina.

As one of the Andes' most recognizable birds, condors are known to form lifelong pair bonds, and Rossanigo's intimate image perfectly captures that enduring relationship.

While Rossanigo captured one of Patagonia's best-known species, another of this year's standout images highlights the more troubling side of wildlife conservation in the region.

Runner-up in the Last Wild Places category, Darío Podestá, photographed around a dozen dead pumas and foxes tied to a rural fence in an image titled The Silence of the Innocents.

The disturbing scene documents the long-running conflict between sheep farmers protecting livestock and native predators struggling to survive as human activity increasingly overlaps with wild habitats.

The region's dramatic landscapes also featured prominently among the winners. Felipe Zenotti claimed first place in the Landscape category with a stunning long-exposure photograph of a waterfall framed beneath Patagonia's iconic Mount Fitz Roy (Monte Chaltén).

Meanwhile, Daniel Clavería won the Outdoor Adventure category with an image of hikers making their way towards the towering granite peaks of Torres del Paine National Park in Chile.

Prize winners received a range of outdoor and photography rewards. Each category winner took home retail gift cards worth around US$400 (approximately £300 / AU$580), while runners-up received custom hiking equipment.

As the overall competition winner, Rossanigo also received a Sony A6700 camera and a six-day photography trip to Chile's scenic Puelo region.

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Bangladesh photographer Azim Khan Ronnie has spent more than a decade building an extraordinary international reputation, earning over 800 photography awards throughout his career.

Now, Ronnie has added another major title to that list, winning the International Aerial Photographer of the Year 2026 competition. Using DJI drones, Ronnie's winning images transform familiar scenes across Switzerland, Bangladesh and India into dramatic aerial compositions.

But beyond the awards and mesmerizing visuals, Ronnie's latest achievement carries a wider message about photography itself. At a time when AI-generated images and digital manipulation are raising new questions about trust, the award-winning photographer says protecting the integrity of photography remains central in his work.

International Aerial Photographer of the Year

The story behind the award-winning series
Each of the locations in his award-winning portfolio has a unique story to tell, whether it was the quiet simplicity of rowing on Lake Zurich in Switzerland or the spiritual atmosphere of the Rakher Upobash ritual in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

He explains, "I visited these locations while working on documentary and travel photography projects, and I chose them because I saw the potential to transform everyday scenes into compelling visual narratives.

"Behind each photograph was patience, waiting for the right light, the perfect arrangement of people, or a fleeting moment when everything came together. Those brief moments are what make aerial photography so rewarding."

Ronnie's trusted aerial gear
“For aerial photography, I use the DJI Mavic 4 Pro and DJI Mavic 3 Classic, allowing me to create images that reveal scale, patterns and perspectives impossible to capture from the ground," he explains.

Photography's integrity matters

Ronnie explains, "My post-processing philosophy is based on enhancement rather than manipulation. I believe editing should strengthen an image without altering its truth or narrative.

"Every adjustment is made with the goal of accurately reflecting the atmosphere, light and emotion I experienced when I pressed the shutter.

"Especially in my documentary and photojournalistic work, I am committed to ethical editing practices that preserve the integrity of the photograph.

"For me, post-production is the final step in realising the image I envisioned in the field, not creating a different reality."

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An Ecuadorian photographer has been named as the recipient of the 2026 Marilyn Stafford FotoReportage Award for a series documenting indigenous maternal healthcare in her native country’s Amazonian and Andean regions.

When the Earth Gives Birth tells the story of AMUPAKIN and Partera de Anaku, the first Indigenous midwifery schools and hospitals in the Amazon and Andes.

Assuming the eyes of midwives, apprentices, and patients, the series sheds light on these women-led initiatives which, for more than thirty years, have provided obstetric healthcare in a part of the world where indigenous women face disproportionately high maternal mortality rates.

Johanna Alarcón is the photojournalist behind the project. A Magnum Foundation Member and winner of numerous photography accolades, her work focuses on themes of collective memory, spirituality, and the relationship between community and territory across the Latin American region.

“I receive this award with the deep joy of knowing that what I love most co-exists - photography, motherhood, and spirituality - coming together in this project to give birth to an intimate story about the work of women and Indigenous peoples to sustain life in a context that destroys it,” she said.

The Marilyn Stafford FotoReportage Award is an annual competition. Named after Marilyn Stafford, the renowned woman 20th century US photojournalist, and facilitated by FotoDocument, an arts social enterprise, it celebrates professional female photographers documenting social, environmental, economic, or cultural issues.

Alarcón received the £4,000 (approximately $5,300 / AU$7,700) award and will gain widespread recognition for her winning series. For more information on the award, and to see this year’s shortlist from which When the Earth Gives Birth was crowned, head to the Marilyn Stafford Photography website.

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Fascinating subjects often make for fascinating images. And this shot of coral researchers carrying out an underwater study in the Saudi Arabian Red Sea is up there with the most interesting I’ve ever seen.

In fact, it recently won an award at the Scientists at Work Photo competition, organized by academic journal publisher Nature.

Shot by Uli Kunz, a marine biologist and photographer-filmmaker, the image depicts fellow biologists and divers, Nauras Daraghmeh (left) and Yusuf El-Khaled (right) investigating how coral species are adapting to warming oceans amid climate change.

“As a host of the German nature documentary series Terra X, I was working on a shoot about coral reefs in Saudi Arabia," said Uli.

"We followed the scientists at KAUST [King Abdullah University of Science and Technology] to the so-called 'marine microbiome lab' where they install incubation chambers to check coral health."

Using a Sony A7S III in a Nauticam camera housing with a Nauticam Wide Angle Conversion Port 2 (WACP2) underwater lens attached, Uli got close to the “coral doctors”, opting for a 16mm focal length, 1/400 shutter speed, f/8.0 aperture and ISO640 sensitivity.

“I wanted to get a light reflection into the divers' masks to emphasize the looks onto their subject of research,” he explained. “I had to control and move each head precisely to get the desired effect and see the light of the dive torch behind the incubation chamber.”

Although this image gets my vote purely for how interesting it is, it's much more than just an intriguing composition. Uli said "photography and film will help us to educate people” – and he hopes the award-winning shot will show government decision makers what's happening in the "real world".

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A fantastic opportunity for an established photojournalist to have their work printed in a custom photobook by a major UK publisher has returned for 2026.

Now in its second year, The Tom Stoddart Award for Excellence celebrates one lucky established photojournalist by teaming up with publisher Gost to print a custom book on the winning long-form project.

Based in London, Gost publishes visual arts books and has collaborated with the likes of Sir Don McCullin on his more recent works Life, Death and Everything in Between (2023), The Stillness of Life (2025) and the forthcoming Vietnam (2026).

Along with the book of their work, which will go on sale via Gost’s platform and be publicized in The Guardian, the winner will also receive a healthy £5,000 (approximately $6,700 / AU$9,700) to visit the printing facilities in Verona, Italy.

The Tom Stoddart Award for Excellence was founded in 2025 by the Ian Parry Memorial Fund, which also runs the eponymous, longstanding grant for emerging photojournalists.

The new award is named after the late photojournalist Tom Stoddart, whose celebrated career covering pivotal global events (such as the fall of the Berlin Wall and the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa for outlets including The Sunday Times) spanned five decades.

Entrants to the competition need to be at least 18 years old and the project submitted should be near completion and extensive enough for publishing. A short personal biography along with a brief summary of the project should be included, as well as up to 40 images taken from the project.

Entries to the awards can now be made until September 30, 2026. Judging will take place in October with the award recipient announced November 30.

It costs £50 to enter the Tom Stoddart Awards for Excellence, with the important note that AI-generated imagery is not allowed. Visit the award official webpage for more information and to enter.

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As biological researcher Kelly Estrada Piedrahita and her assistant, Shirley Fench, made their way through a slime-green-covered lake in a small boat, fellow researcher and photographer Haolun “Allen” Tian stood at the shore monitoring the pair with his drone.

Allen, currently defending his biological sciences PhD at Canada's Queen’s University, Kingston, captured this camera drone image back in 2021 during a project to collect water samples from the lake.

The researchers specialize in freshwater ecosystems and this lake – Dog Lake, Ontario – is infested with algal species that “kill fish and clog water supplies,” said Allen.

As anthropogenic climate change worsens, rising temperatures create ripe conditions for destructive algal blooms. Allen’s image tells the story of humanity’s impact on freshwater ecosystems.

“I took this photo as a nadir (top-down) shot with my drone, from around 100m above,” he says. “By capturing my field assistants in the middle of a bloom, I juxtaposed the relatively small scale of humans to the massive scale of our impact on the environment.”

The image, which Allen shot with a DJI Mini 4 Pro using automatic settings, was recently awarded a Scientists at Work photo award.

The prestigious scientific photography competition is organized by academic journal publisher Nature, and Allen hopes the recognition will spread awareness of the environmental issues impacting freshwater ecosystems.

“Freshwater ecosystems are near and dear to me, as the topic of both my master's and PhD research. Lakes and rivers are the cradle of human civilization, and threats to them represent threats to not just terrestrial ecosystems, but also human society and wellbeing,” he says.

Allen’s image was one of five winning shots from the 2026 Scientists at Work awards, which included images of conservationists guiding northern bald ibises in flight as well as marine researchers collecting skin samples from a whale shark.

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The eye-catching image of a red fox poised to catch a crab mid-air on a seaweed-covered shoreline in Norway was captured at 2 AM in broad daylight – now it has just earned its 5th prize, awarded by the Society of International Nature and Wildlife Photographers.

Photographer Cecilie Bergan Stuedal shot the multi-award-winning image titled Aerodynamic crab under the midnight sun in Finnmark – a phenomenon leaving the region with daylight for 24 hours a day.

Stuedal's gear of choice is a Nikon pro DSLR and 70-200mm lens. The Nikon D6 was launched in 2020 and is now discontinued, yet to this date it is a highly sought-after full-frame model among professional photographers.

Living Planet competition winner: Aerodynamic crab

Technical insights
Camera: Nikon D6
Lens: Nikkor 70-200mm
Exposure: 1/1000sec, f/2.8, ISO 3200

The story behind the still
"Last year, I spent several nights in the midnight sun with a small family of foxes here in Finnmark.

"They contributed to many incredible and fond moments over the summer of 2025, and I feel privileged to have observed the cubs grow into confident hunters.

"The fox in this photo is the bravest of the two cubs in the family.

"On that particular July night, around 2 am, it approached me, and I noticed that it was chewing on a crab.

"It finished its snack, and I took some photos of the fox as it strolled about and posed a bit.

"After a while, it went into the bladderwrack/seaweed and started to hunt crabs again. Suddenly, the cub threw a crab into the air.

"The crab landed back in the bladderwrack, but the cub relocated it and started to munch happily on its prey.

"It was that split-second moment I managed to capture in a photo.''

Why the image stood out to the judges

"With its creativity, technical excellence, and powerful storytelling.

"Her winning photograph is a fitting reminder of the incredible moments that nature offers to those with the patience and passion to capture them,” explains Colin Jones, the Society's Director.

To see all winners, visit the Society of International Nature and Wildlife Photographers website.

How can it be shot at 2 AM in broad daylight?

One of the most common questions readers have asked about Aerodynamic crab is how the image could have been captured at 2 AM in broad daylight.

The answer lies in Finnmark, Norway's northernmost county, which sits well above the Arctic Circle.

During summer, the region experiences the midnight sun – also known as polar day – when the Earth's axial tilt keeps the sun above the horizon for 24 hours.

In July, it can be just as bright at 2 AM as it is during the afternoon.

The constant daylight influences wildlife behaviour. Researchers have observed foxes hunting at all hours during the Arctic summer, with short rest periods replacing the longer sleep cycles seen in lower latitudes.

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The shortlist for the 2026 Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year (AGNPOTY) has been announced. This year's 100 newly elected finalists will now vie to become the overall competition winner, along with scooping a sweet AU$10,000 (approximately $6,900 / £5,200) prize.

Hosted by the South Australian Museum, AGNPOTY is one of the leading nature photography competitions in Oceania. Entrants are invited to showcase natural flora, fauna, land / seascapes or celestial objects within the ANZANG (Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica, and New Guinea) bioregion.

This year’s finalists encompass a huge range of stunning nature shots, including majestic seahorses, water-skipping penguins and tropical mountain peaks.

“The images are incredible, and the messages they deliver about our environment and the natural world are both beautiful and poignant,” said Dr Samantha Hamilton, South Australian Museum director.

The overall competition winner will be chosen from ten categories, among them Animals in Nature, Botanical, Landscape and Threatened Species, and category winners will take home a healthy AU$1,500 prize ($1,000 / £780).

There’s also a junior category, which offers a more modest, yet welcome AU$500 prize (approximately $350 / £260).

Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year is now in its 23rd year, with the shortlist for the 2026 edition being chosen from 2,129 entries taken by 501 photographers in 17 countries.

Winners will be revealed next month, on August 27, and all 100 finalists will be displayed at the 2026 competition exhibition, which opens on 29 August at the South Australian Museum in Adelaide, Australia.

For more information on the competition, visit the official Australian Geographic website.

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Young photographer Panitbhand Paribatra Na Ayudhya just won the top honor in the Project//21 category at the Hasselblad Masters 2026 with the underwater series, Dwellers of the Night.

The rising talent from Thailand, who is just 14 years old, stood out against a field of exceptional entries in one of the world's most prestigious professional photographic competitions, which also offers emerging photographers the opportunity to showcase their talent.

In the waters of Anilao, The Philippines, Panitbhand skillfully used a slow shutter speed and colored lighting to reveal a world that remains hidden for most – but this wasn't his first victory.

Previously, Panitbhand earned the title Young Shark Photographer of the Year 2025 and was commended in the Siena International Photo Awards 2026.

Winner Project//21: Dwellers of the Night

Panitbhand's work is rooted in a quiet dedication to the ocean, documenting its life, its fragility and the ecosystems that sustain it, in the hope that what is seen through his lens will not be forgotten.

In the waters of Anilao, The Philippines, pelagic and larval marine life migrate from the depths each night to feed under the cover of darkness.

By using slow shutter speeds to capture the elegant motion of his subjects and carefully chosen coloured lighting, Panitbhand reveals their form and beauty.

Some of these creatures spend their entire lives in the open ocean, making the pelagic ecosystem as fragile as it is extraordinary.

"I'm drawn to the quiet whimsy of these sea creatures. Set against black, the creatures feel almost otherworldly- strange, delicate, and entirely captivating.

"There’s a simplicity to the presentation that allows their inherent oddness to shine, reminding us how unfamiliar and compelling the natural world can be when seen without distraction," says Alex Pollack, Director of Photography at National Geographic.

Take a look at the seven winners of Hasselblad Masters 2026 here. For more information on the competition, visit the Hasselblad website.

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From over 108,000 images submitted by photographers from more than 160 countries and territories, Hasselblad Masters has just announced its 7 winners for the 2026 competition.

Across every category, the awarded images combine instant visual impact with lasting depth. The photographers spark curiosity, shift perspective and leave space for interpretation.

".What this year's Hasselblad Masters submissions demonstrated, with rare consistency, is that the most compelling photography does not simply record, it constructs," explains Kalle Sanner, Executive Director at the Hasselblad Foundation and Grand Jury Chair.

Art

'Waste Colonialism (Sapi-Sapi Piyungan)' by Yudha Kusuma Putera

Rooted in everyday life and inspired by its complexity, Putera turns a keen eye toward the social issues that hide in plain sight, exploring the tensions between humans, nature, and the systems we build around us.

The winning images are part of a project examining how developed nations export their waste to developing countries, where labour and costs are lower.

This logic repeats on a smaller scale too: within cities, landfills are built on the outskirts, kept out of sight and out of mind. At Putera's Piyungan landfill, a city's waste is sorted by scavengers and consumed by cows, quietly piling up into a second hill.

Architecture

'DaySleeper | Movieland' by Kevin Boyle

Boyle was shaped by the open skies and close-knit communities of the Canadian prairies. After the loss of his father, he returned home, only to find the places he once knew hollowed out and silent, their gathering spaces boarded up and left to disappear.

For over ten years, his photographic journey has been a profound tribute to the abandoned architecture of North America's local communities.

The winning series is comprised of photographic montages, with each part of the building lit with flashlights and blended in post-production to create an ethereal "portrait" of once important gathering places.

Portrait

'Otherness' by Svetlana Jovanovic

With a psychology background, Jovanovic's portraiture is driven by a deep curiosity about identity — how we experience the world, construct our sense of self, and see ourselves through the eyes of others.

Her style brings together fine art portraiture and a commitment to visual beauty, believing that the conceptual and the aesthetic are inseparable: each gives the other meaning.

The winning images are part of Otherness, an ongoing long-term project exploring identical twins and the tension between shared identity and individual presence. While twins share so much, it is the small differences that emerge over time, the subtle ways each person's character becomes visible within the shared image, that lie at the heart of the work.

Landscape

'Ephemeral Visions' by Rohan Reilly

Rooted in the discipline of a composer, Reilly's images strip away complexity to reveal the essentials, which are texture, tone, and stillness.

His signature long-exposure technique transforms moving water and shifting skies into silk-like surfaces, while vast negative space and low saturation give his work a poetic, meditative quality that transcends documentation.

The process is one of patience and preparation: studying weather patterns, returning season after season, and waiting for the precise conditions that cannot be engineered but only earned.

Project//21

'Dwellers of the Night' by Panitbhand Paribatra Na Ayudhya

Na Ayudhya's work is rooted in a quiet dedication to the ocean, documenting its life, its fragility, and the ecosystems that sustain it, in the hope that what is seen through his lens will not be forgotten.

The series was captured in the waters of Anilao, Philippines, where pelagic and larval marine life migrate from the depths each night to feed under the cover of darkness.

For the ribbon eel, a diffused warm light conjures a subtle sunset behind the subject — crowning it as a master of the night. Some of these creatures spend their entire lives in the open ocean, making the pelagic ecosystem as fragile as it is extraordinary.

Street

'Morning Ritual' by Gosse Bouma

Bouma is a photographer whose work is driven by a quiet pursuit: to offer moments of tranquility in a world that rarely slows down. His distinct style lies at the intersection of urban geometry and natural elements, pairing the hard lines of architecture with the soft, unpredictable textures of weather.

Each photograph is infused with the intention of invoking serenity amidst the chaos of everyday life, creating visual experiences that invite stillness and reflection, even if only for a fleeting moment.

His winning series, taken across the Netherlands, turns to the street market as its subject, a space where people of all ages and backgrounds meet, exchange a few words, share warmth, and move on. In capturing these small, unhurried encounters, Bouma preserves something increasingly rare in contemporary life: a genuine sense of togetherness.

Wildlife

'The Forest I Roam' by Alfred Minnaar

Minnaar's creative process often begins with observation and patience. Rather than simply documenting his subjects, he seeks to understand their behaviour, environment, and relationship with the surrounding ecosystem.

The winning images of a tiny goby living amongst coral were created to challenge our perception of scale and encourage viewers to look closer.

Rather than focusing solely on the fish, the photographer wanted to use it as a point of reference within a much larger world. By placing the goby within its environment, the reef itself becomes the subject, inviting viewers to imagine its vastness from the perspective of one of its smallest inhabitants.

For more information, visit the Hasselblad website.

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A fluorescent mosquito glowing pink and purple under ultraviolet (UV) light while an entomologist studies it through a microscope.

This fantastic image was taken by Shayanta Chowdhury, a Chemistry PhD student at Notre Dame University, Indiana, and recently won a Scientists at Work photo award from Nature, a major science journal publisher.

While Shayanta’s image is certainly well-crafted, it’s much more than a beautiful composition, capturing both the scientist and the science in the same frame, revealing a world of research few get to see.

“I wanted a photo where the scientist imaging the subject is also in the frame, along with the instrument being used," said Shayanta.

In the shot we see Lee Haines, an entomologist at the same university, analyzing a yellow fever mosquito through a microscope.

Haines is studying how the drug nitisinone can be used to kill blood-feeding insects, and the mosquito has ingested a sugary substance infused with fluorescent dyes, lighting up the dark laboratory.

“The UV illumination created striking colors from both the tiny mosquito and the condensation that formed beneath the cold petri dish: a pink-purple mosquito in a sea of blue, with water droplets reflecting the light in every direction," Shayanta explained.

To capture the image, Shayanta used a Sony A6700 with a Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 lens. His settings were ISO 2000, f/2.8, 1/250sec using the widest 18mm focal length.

“I focused on the mosquito on the screen, but also made sure Lee was in the same plane to have her on focus as well, given the shallow depth of field,” he said.

While Shayanta is a chemist, his work also involves using microscopes and lasers to analyze nanoparticles, giving him a unique appreciation for the beauty hidden within all scientific research.

Shayanta said: “Biological samples are usually also very beautiful under a microscope, because it reveals a world you can't see with your bare eyes."

Beyond the personal gratification, Shayanta hopes that winning the Scientists at Work award and the subsequent coverage will help people engage with science.

"I truly believe that art has the power to bridge the gap between scientists and other communities," he said. “If my image can spark someone's interest in what on Earth is going on, and can inspire them to ask more questions and be curious about science, that would be a big achievement."

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Marine ecologist and diver Robert Harcourt also won a Scientists at Work photo award in 2026. His underwater shot shows a fellow researcher collecting a bacteria sample from a whale shark.

Photo competitions in the internet age have the power to change lives for aspiring photographers, and that’s what Gunnar Hartmann, an amateur photographer and Biogeoscience student at the University of Koblenz, Germany, hopes will happen.

Hartmann recently won the Scientists at Work photo contest, an annual promotion by science journal publisher Nature, and, following the “unexpected win”, now has his sights set on professional wildlife and conservation photography.

“To be honest, I was not prepared for such a big win and the amount of public attention that came with it,” said Hartmann. “Photography has never been my main goal. But winning this award and receiving so much attention has made me realize that maybe the biggest impact I can have is to tell stories through my camera.”

The shot which has propelled Hartmann into recent wildlife and conservation photography limelight depicts migrating northern bald ibises in flight being guided by researchers from the Waldrappteam conservation program in a light craft. Hartmann used the Canon R7 paired with a Canon EF 70–200mm f/2.8L IS III USM lens, and opted for a 1/1000sec shutter speed, f/8 aperture and ISO 200.

Although primarily contracted by Waldrappteam for bald ibis conservation efforts, documenting the project on camera is what Hartmann felt created the most impact. “My main role was not photography, but field work. Photography was only a part of my work besides my other tasks but the one with the most passion! Sometimes so much that I forgot my other tasks and responsibilities.”

Hartmann hopes that the Scientists at Work award will help conservation projects build platforms and gain visibility, but also further his career ambitions. “Winning this award is a great honor for me, especially because I still have such a low profile," he said. “I do not even have a website or a real Instagram presence. I do not have the money or the skills for that yet, but those things may come with time.”

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The winning images from the 13th edition of the Photo Competition for United Nations World Oceans Day were recently announced, with the 2026 victors covering themes from underwater botanical gardens to curious deep-sea creatures.

Organized by the United Nations Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, the competition coincided with the UN’s annual World Oceans Day this month, calling on photographers to highlight the “beauty of the ocean” across a range of categories.

New for the 2026 edition was the Connecting Oceans category, with Valentina Cucchiara (Italy) taking the crown. She captured an awe-inspiring shot showing a diver in the Cenote Nariz, a colossal subterranean aquifer in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula.

Cucchiara explained how the underwater cave system is the primary source of fresh water sustaining the “sprawling jungles, diverse wildlife, and human communities” of the region.

Images taken in Mexico also won the “Big and Small Underwater Faces” and “Underwater Seascapes” categories.

UK photographer Kaushiik Subramaniam came first in the former with a close-up portrait of a semi-submerged gray whale (top image) taken during an “incredibly special encounter” off the coast of Baja, California.

And Ysabela Coll (Dominican Republic) won the latter with a “dream-like” shot of an underwater botanical garden teeming with colorful lilies and small fish (above).

The scene took place in another cenote, with Coll saying that its beauty is a reminder of our responsibility to “protect these hidden ecosystems”.

Bruce Sudweeks (USA) captured the only winning scene from outside Mexico to claim the Above Water Seascapes category. Shot on Alaska’s Kodiak Island, it shows two bear cubs “frolicking” in a river.

In a contrasting frame of endearment and danger, Sudweeks explained how the cubs will “effortlessly select” salmon from the river, denying the fish the chance to reproduce.

You can view this year's winners of the Photo Competition for UN World Oceans Day, along with winners from previous competitions, at the World Oceans Day website.

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When Icelandair launched a competition to find "a really bad photographer", you might have rolled your eyes. Another viral marketing stunt, another excuse to mock people. But having looked through the winning pictures from Blanche Mortemard's portfolio, I think we can actually learn something.

Don't get me wrong: these photos are, in technical terms, not great. A harbor at night blurs into a smear of gold streaks because of an unsteady hand. A shot of a seagull is photobombed by a human ear. The Statue of Liberty transforms into a ghostly, smeary mess. These aren't artful mistakes; they're the kind of errors most of us spent our first year with a camera trying to avoid.

And yet none of these shots are boring. And that's the uncomfortable bit for anyone who's invested serious money on kit and serious time on technique.

As the national airline put it when launching its tongue-in-check search: "We want to prove that even the worst photographer can take great photos of Iceland." On the face of it, that's merely a good joke about a beautiful country being forgiving of bad photos. But scratch the surface a little, and it's also a direct challenge to the idea that great images require great photographers.

Look past the technical failures by Mortemard – who was chosen from over 127,000 applicants for her sheer lack of ability – and I argue there's something really interesting going on in her pictures.

The condensation-streaked window overlooking the snowy terrace, sunburst blasting through it, captures something a cleaner shot probably wouldn't: the actual experience of looking out from inside a warm building into blinding Nordic light. The motion blur in the harbor shot turns ordinary boat lights into something closer to brushstrokes. Even the photobombed seagull has a kind of deadpan comic timing to it.

Being present

I'm not arguing, of course, that Mortemard secretly a brilliant photographer. But I do think her shots separate clearly two things photographers tend to bundle together: technical competence and the ability to produce a photo people actually want to look at. She's failed at the first while stumbling, repeatedly, into the second.

And that gap poses an interesting question. Namely: how much of what we call "good" photography is technical skill, and how much is simply being present; pointing a lens at something worth seeing, and pressing the button?

As the campaign suggests, Iceland's landscapes were always going to do a lot of the heavy lifting here. Mountains, fjords and harbor towns are forgiving subjects; they look striking even when smeared, soft or backlit, because the shapes and light are already doing the work. In contrast, the same flaws applied to a dull car park would just look like… flaws.

For anyone who's obsessed over getting every camera setting right, it's a useful, humbling reminder that gear and technique are tools in service of something, not the something itself.

A sense of reality

And here's another thing these shots made me think about. In an era of AI-smoothed, algorithmically "perfect" travel imagery, technical incompetence might have accidentally become a way of making a picture feel real. Mortemard's photos can't be mistaken for generated content, precisely because they're so obviously shoddy. AI can do a lot, but it can't do that.

None of this suggests we should abandon craft, especially if we don't have acesss to such majestic scenery. But it doesn't remind me that – as the late Martin Parr and others have shown us – a seagull, a sunburnt beachgoer or a dropped ice cream can make for a more memorable photo than a beautifully composed but ultimately dull panorama. Mortemard didn't mean to make that point, but Iceland, it turns out, agrees with it anyway.

Sometimes, standard photography gear just doesn’t cut it. To get the shot, some creative technical modifications need to be made.

Robert Harcourt – a marine ecologist at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, and seasoned underwater photographer – proved that with this image, which recently won a Scientists at Work photography award.

Harcourt was diving with fellow marine scientist, Michael Doane, when he photographed Doane collecting a microorganism sample from a humongous whale shark at the Ningaloo Reef, off the coast of Western Australia.

While the composition itself is impressive enough, what’s equally interesting is Robert’s choice of gear. "I shot it with a Nikon Z8 in a Seacam housing (a fabulous housing) using a Nikonos 13mm underwater fisheye lens (20+ year old glass),” he explained.

The Nikonos R-UW AF Fisheye-Nikkor 13mm f/2.8 (often called the RS-13) is a legendary extreme wide-angle lens that is, in fact, closer to 35 years old.

Originally produced for the Nikon Nikonos RS, the world’s first autofocus underwater SLR system, the lens has gained something of a coveted status among underwater photographers.

But for Robert’s fisheye lens to work with his modern Nikon Z8 mirrorless camera, he first had it converted by Seacam. Then he was able to snap the award-winning image, opting for a 1/400 shutter speed, f/7.1, and Auto ISO.

Much like the legendary Nikon lens, Robert has a rich history in diving photography. “I have been taking underwater photographs with various systems since about 1980 when I put an Olympus Trip in an Ikelite housing,” he said.

“I’ve mainly taken photographs for personal interest but also to support marine science and conservation," he added. “Like all my images, I hope this photo enhances people’s appreciation for the magnificence of our underwater world and the need to understand it to protect it.”

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Having traveled extensively in Mexico and swam in cenotes (natural deep-water sinkholes), I can tell you firsthand just how incredibly picturesque they are.

The lilies that grow in these Mexican subterranean waterways are incredibly vibrant – but diver and underwater photographer Ysabela Coll doesn't just tell you, she also proves it in this stunning photograph.

Coll took the image while diving in a cenote, and it recently won the Underwater Seascapes category of the Photo Competition for United Nations (UN) World Oceans Day.

A wider part of the UN’s annual World Oceans Day campaign, the competition celebrates photographers that draw attention to oceans and the environmental challenges they face.

"Emerging from the darkness of a Mexican cenote, we entered this underwater garden teeming with colorful water lilies and small fish," said Coll.

"The sudden contrast transformed the scene into a dreamlike world, where light, color and life replaced the silence of the cave."

Coll was diving with a decade-old Nikon D500 in an underwater housing, using a Tokina AT-X 107 DX 10-17mm f/3.5 fisheye lens. She used a 1/160 sec shutter speed at ISO640, along with an f/10 aperture and focal length of 10mm (a 15mm equivalent, on Nikon's former flagship APS-C body).

I love how sharply the entire scene is focused, but also how the wide-angle field of view packs in so many exotically colored lilies.

Alongside her stepfather and equal ocean apasionado, José Alejandro Alvarez, Coll co-founded Álvarez+Coll – a fine art and conservation photography business focusing on the beauty of (and threats to) marine ecosystems around the world.

“Cenotes are vital freshwater reservoirs that sustain biodiversity and surrounding communities, yet pollution and climate change increasingly threaten their fragile balance,” said Coll.

This year's competition winners were announced during the UN World Oceans Day event on June 08 in New York.

You can view the 2026 winners online at the competition website, with four winning photos due to be printed for exhibitions around the world.

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The Sony World Photo Awards are known for being one of the largest photography competitions, attracting close to half a million entrants each year, but also for serving up some lucrative cash sums to winners.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the competition, with the 2027 awards offering $25,000 (£18,600 / AU$35,340) to the overall Photographer of the Year as well as $5,000 (£3,700 / AU$7,000) to the Single Image Competition and Sustainability Prize winners.

While the 2027 awards bring changes to two of the competition names – the Professional competition has rebranded as the Series competition, and the Open competition is now the Single Image competition – the structure, prizes, and recognition remain the same as in previous years.

Last year’s overall winner was Citlali Fabián for the series Bilha, Stories of my Sisters. Fabián, a London-based visual artist, hails from the Yalalteca Indigenous community in Mexico and, through her lens, explores themes of identity, migration, and connection.

She was chosen as the Photographer of the Year from over 430,000 entries across all the award’s competitions and, along with the cash prize, will showcase her winning work at this year’s awards exhibition.

Along with the Single Image and Series competitions, there’s also the Student Competition – for photography students – and the Youth competition – for entrants 19 years of age and under. However, instead of money, the winners of the latter three competitions snag Sony gear.

The Sony World Photo Awards 2027 is now open for submissions and is free to enter for all competitions. These awards are extensive and there are different closing dates for the different competitions, as well as various categories you can enter within each. Head to the awards website for more information.

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Sometimes, the best images create warring emotions – and that's certainly the case with a photograph that recently won the “Connecting Oceans” category of the Photo Competition for United Nations (UN) World Oceans Day.

Created by Valentina Cucchiara (Italy), the frame depicts a diver seemingly suspended in the water while navigating what looks like a bottomless cave. This is, in fact, Cenote Nariz, a huge subterranean aquifer located on Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula.

From the terrifying composition to the inspiring messaging behind it, in my eyes, the scene is certainly a deserved winner.

The way in which the diver looks like nothing more than a bright speck among the sheer darkness is what has my heart beating faster than normal.

Cucchiara has emphasized the darkness with the diver's light and smart post-processing, but, regardless, I’m sure being in the underwater cave was a lot more intimidating than the image reveals.

Cucchiara used a Sony A1 paired with a Canon 8-15mm f/4L USM fisheye lens (via an EF-to-E mount adapter). She opted for a 15mm focal length, capturing the dark expanses of the cenote, a 1/60 shutter speed, and an f/6.3 aperture, along with an ISO 2500.

While I’m mostly gripped by the slightly scary composition, I’m also inspired by it.

Cenotes are a primary source of fresh water in Mexico’s southernmost state, but they are under threat from industrial megaprojects like the Maya Train, mass tourism, and land mismanagement, which directly pollute the water and damage the porous limestone caverns.

Commenting on her winning image, Cucchiara said these aquifers represent an “interconnected ancestral legacy that has nurtured life across countless generations,” and that it’s our responsibility to protect them.

The Photo Competition for UN World Oceans Day is a free annual contest. Each year, the event explores thematic categories encouraging photographers to creatively highlight environmental issues affecting marine ecosystems.

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The Scientist at Work photo competition, hosted by scientific journal Nature, is an annual contest that encourages scientists across all disciplines to share images to celebrate and showcase the “interesting, challenging, striking and colorful” projects that scientists undertake around the world.

Now in its seventh year, the 2026 competition saw five winning images – with Gunnar Hartmann, an undergraduate student in BioGeoSciences at the University of Koblenz in Germany, taking the overall crown.

Hartmann’s winning shot (top image) captured a pair of paragliding researchers guiding a flock of migrating northern bald ibises above the fields and olive groves of Jaén, southern Spain.

Hartmann photographed the scene while working with the Waldrappteam, an Austrian conservation and research group supporting the reintroduction of the ibises into Europe.

These birds once populated the lower reaches of the northern Alps, but human hunting and climate change drove them to extinction in central Europe.

In the image, we see two Waldrappteam scientists guiding the ibises on their northbound route by singing a rhythmic German tune.

Other above-land winning shots came from PhD students Haolun ‘Allen’ Tian and Shayanta Chowdhury. Tian, studying at Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada, used a drone to snap his colleague in a small boat passing through a toxic-looking layer of algae to collect water samples from Dog Lake, Ontario.

Chowdhury, gunning for his doctorate at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, captured an entomologist analyzing a yellow fever mosquito under a vibrant ultraviolet light. While Chowdhury is a chemistry student, the scientist in the frame is studying how the drug nitisinone can be used to kill blood-feeding insects.

Two underwater shots also made the winning cut. Marine ecologist Robert Harcourt captured marine biologist Michael Doane carefully collecting a skin sample from a whale shark at Ningaloo Reef, off the coast of western Australia.

And marine biologist Uli Kunz from Germany photographed two divers in the Saudi Arabaian Red Sea installing an incubation chamber over part of a coral reef, a vital underwater ecosystem in the region.

All scientists making no more than 25% of their income from photography can enter the Scientist at Work competition, with the winners judged by a panel of Nature staff.

The winning images are featured in a Nature issue in print and online, receive a year’s personal print and online subscription to the publication, and £500 or equivalent in a different currency (approximately $670 / AU$950).

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A great food photo is more than just a thoughtful composition of a well-presented meal; it captures the smell, taste and, sometimes, atmosphere of the location, while leaving your mouth watering.

The photo we're looking at here captures all these elements, presenting an excellent understanding of food psychology and travel photojournalism. It was shot by food and travel blogger Zaeem Jafri, and recently won the Food category of the National Geographic Traveller (UK) Photography Awards.

“I’d been told the best food in Korea is wherever you see a crowd of Ajummas [Korean term for a married or middle-aged woman] gathering, so when I spotted a large group pressing around a tiny stall in Namdaemun Market [Seoul], I was drawn in,” said Zaeem.

“What caught my eye first wasn't the food but the rhythm: a fresh batch of kimchi-mandu [traditional Korean dumplings] would emerge from the steamer, triggering a chaotic few minutes as people grabbed box after box, and then calm… until the next batch arrived,” he added.

With a Nikon Z6 and Tamron f/2.8 28-75mm in hand, Zaeem joined the queue, lifting his camera over the people in front to snap the frame at the moment a fresh tray brought a “rush of steam that engulfed the entire stall, and everyone’s eyes became completely fixated on the dumplings.”

Zaeem opted for a 1/160 shutter speed and an f/4 aperture, which perfectly rendered the crowd (which was “closing in”) slightly out of focus, and the wafting steam as it rose.

Shooting in aperture priority with auto ISO, the camera selected a sensitivity of 160 – and it looks like Zaeem used a little bit of creativity in post-production to dodge and burn, drawing attention to the woman holding the tray of fresh treats.

“It felt like a miniature stage show coordinated by the vendor in the photograph,” said Zaeem. “Those dumplings go from steamer to mouth in seconds, and I love how this photograph captures the energy of the moment.”

What I love is the journalistic storytelling of Zaeem’s creation and also how much it makes me want to explore this Seoul market and try the kimchi-mandu dumplings. But I’m going to stop looking at the photo because I’m getting hungry.

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A new photography competition is offering photographers the chance to win one of Sony's most capable APS-C cameras – the A6700 – along with magazine and online publications.

The Decanter Wine Photography Competition 2026 is now open for entries, inviting you to explore the world of wine.

But this isn't just about vineyard landscapes or neatly arranged bottles – the brief is much broader, covering lifestyle moments, creative compositions and abstract interpretations.

How to enter to win exposure and gear

Deadline
Entries must be submitted online, between June 01 and August 31 2026

Open to
Open only to UK and US residents with one entry per category permitted

Categories
- Wine landscapes
- The enjoyment of wine
- Wine in the bottle, and/or glass
- Abstract/creative

Enter now
Decanter Wine Photography Competition 2026 – Entry form

A winner and two runners-up will be selected in each category, with one overall winner chosen from the category winners by a panel of expert judges.

Selected images will also be featured in Decanter magazine and online, giving you the chance to gain both exposure and recognition alongside prizes.

Top Prizes

The headline prize is a Sony A6700 camera kit, including the E PZ 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS II lens, worth $1,598 / £1,449.

We rated the A6700 as one of the best hybrid cameras for travel photographers and content creators, thanks to its 26MP APS-C sensor, advanced AI-powered autofocus and strong 4K video performance. It's a compact rangefinder-style camera – with a viewfinder!

Lightweight and compact, it's designed for creators who want professional features in a portable body – making it especially appealing for anyone shooting both stills and video on the move.

Alongside the camera kit, winners also receive wine-related prizes, magazine subscriptions, and premium access to Decanter content and events.

Find more information on the Decanter website.

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A sea turtle with a human handprint. A koala hit by a car. The 2026 Environmental Photography Award recognized some of the most heartbreaking wildlife images of the year – and now those images are going on an international tour.

The Environmental Photography Awards presented by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation were packed with fantastic compositions that not only demonstrated an eye for creativity and storytelling but also environmental custodianship.

Inaugurating the ceremony was Prince Albert II of Monaco, whose foundation launched the annual awards in 2021 to recognize photographers raising awareness of environmental protection.

The 36 winners, runners-up, and honorable mentions are now part of an international exhibition that will allow art aficionados, wildlife lovers, and conservationists alike to see the photographs in person, beginning with an open-air gallery on the Promenade du Larvotto in Monaco until July 30.

The exhibition will be traveling internationally; additional locations have not yet been announced. A book of the winning images is expected to follow.

View more of the images from the Environmental Photography Awards and the stories behind the stunning images

German photographer Britta Jaschinski took the overall Environmental Photographer 2026 Award as well as the Changemakers category for her image Handprint on Sea Turtle.

Snapped under ultraviolet light, it reveals a handprint left on a sea turtle's shell by an unsuccessful poacher. Jaschinski captured the shot while “on the hunt” for smugglers with wildlife forensic experts aiming to disrupt illegal wildlife trading.

“The photographs presented at Larvotto bear witness both to the fragile beauty of the living world and to the urgency of the challenges to which we must collectively respond,” said Romain Ciarlet, vice-chairman and CEO of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation.

Fernando Faciole, whose image Born for the Ocean, Fated to the Flames captured the Humanity versus Nature category award, was the only other winning photographer in attendance.

Like Jaschinski’s shot, his depiction of shark fins confiscated from illegal shipments in Brazil being incinerated is a stark reminder of the human impact on marine ecosystems.

Three other photographers from the 2026 selection were also congratulated by Prince Albert II.

This included Luca Eberle, runner-up in the Forests category; Lucas Bustamante, runner-up in the Polar Regions category and honorable mention in the Forests category; and Estebane Rezkallah, honorable mention in the Polar Regions category.

Some 10,000 entries are made to the Environmental Photography Awards each year, with an international jury of professional photographers selecting the overall winner, five category winners, a Public Award, and a Students’ Choice Award.

The 2026 finalist images will be exhibited in an open-air gallery on the Promenade du Larvotto in Monaco until July 30.

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After scooping a Highly Commended honor in the major Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, 15-year-old Parham Pourahmad continues his award-winning rise in wildlife photography.

Parham was named the Youth winner in the prestigious Audubon Photography Awards for an image that freezes a Long-eared Owl in mid-air, wings fully extended. The jury says the image stood out for its "rich golden hues" with the "owl and the background complementing each other magically."

The young wildlife photographer based in Northern California shot both award-winning images exclusively with Nikon gear. His recent success was captured with one of the best DSLRs for beginners and a third-party lens – also found in his kitbag, the Nikon Z8.

Youth Winner

Shot info
Species: Long-eared Owl
Location: Fremont, California, United States

Tech details
Camera: Nikon D3500 + Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM | C
Exposure: 1/1000 secs, f/6.3, ISO 1800

Story behind the shot
Parham explains, "When I heard of a rare Long-eared Owl sighting at Coyote Hills Regional Park, I went to check it out. When I arrived before sunrise, I saw the owl looking for rodents in the park’s grasslands and marshes.

"It hunted on and off for the next hour, giving me ample time to take photos. The sun rose, shining beautiful colors all over the marsh.

"When the owl flew by, I framed it with its habitat to demonstrate the connection between the owl and its home.

"I appreciated the warm lighting and how the owl stood out despite appearing small in the frame."

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A Savanna Hawk waiting beside a raging wildfire to hunt animals fleeing the flames has won a major photography award. The image captures a rarely seen example of how wildlife adapts to extreme environmental conditions.

Taken in Cúcuta, Norte de Santander, Colombia, Luis Alberto Peña photographed the bird of prey positioned just metres from a wall of fire. He observed that it was waiting for rodents, snakes, and other animals disoriented by the blaze.

The shot earned the top prize in the Conservation category at the Audubon Photography Awards. It was captured on a bridge camera released in 2015, famous for its 83x optical zoom (24-2000mm equivalent).

Winner: Conservation

Image info
Species: Savanna Hawk
Image Location: Cúcuta, Norte de Santander, Colombia

Tech details
Gear: Nikon Coolpix P900 with fixed 24-2000mm f/2.8-6.5 lens
Exposure: 1/500 second at f/5.6; ISO 200

The story behind the shot
Peña explains, "I was photographing birds in a rural area when I came across this fire, which started as a controlled burn to clear rice crop residues but got out of hand.

"For many people who grow rice in this area, fires are a necessary practice for subsistence. However, these burns can also harm air quality and habitat, especially if they aren’t controlled.

"As I watched the flames, I noticed a Savanna Hawk. Attentive and patient, this bird never strayed from the dense smoke and heat; in fact, it returned again and again hoping to hunt disoriented animals fleeing the flames.

"I, on the other hand, eventually had to retreat. Before I left, I captured this visual testimony to one of the many ways that wildlife survives and adapts in the face of extreme environmental conditions."

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A charming close-up of a ring-necked parakeet has been judged the overall winner in a photographic competition aimed at London cyclists. Celeste Katz image was shot with the wide-angle lens of her iPhone 14 - and will be one of the images to be displayed at South Kensington tube station, in the UK capital.

Londoners were invited to take photos of city’s wildlife encountered across the capital while out on their bikes, using Santander Cycles’ two new nature-inspired Side Quest routes. The themed routes are designed to encourage people to discover lesser know parts of London's boroughs.

The new competition produced a varied collection of photographs showcasing wildlife living on the capital’s streets, parks and waterways. A panel of judges from Transport for London (TfL), Santander Cycles, and the Natural History Museum selected the five winning photographers. Each will receive an annual subscription to Santander Cycles self-service bike hire scheme worth £120, plus entrance to the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition.

The four other selected images are below…

These are the best photo competitions to enter in June 2026

Every year, the Kraszna-Krausz Book Awards celebrates the best titles in photography and filmmaking book publishing, and this year's entries have been whittled down to just seven finalists.

The shortlisted authors will now vie for the titles of Best Photography Book and the Best Moving Image Book, with the finalist themes covering an array of topics from war and cultural psychoanalysis to radical documentarism and explorations of the everyday.

Among the four shortlisted photography books is The Fold, a “critical visual and psychological investigation” into Orientalist and colonialist photographic practices that have shaped perceptions of Islamic culture.

Author Hoda Afshar, an Iranian artist, delves into the vast collection of portraits taken by French psychiatrist and photographer Gaëtan Gatian de Clérambault during visits to Morocco in the early years of the 20th century.

Red Horse by Sasha Kurmaz has also made the cut. In the book, the author documents her life in Ukraine post-2022 Russian invasion and how this is "constantly reshaped under the destructive power of war.”

Three titles have made the finals of the Best Moving Image Book, including Toward a More Perfect Rebellion: Multiracial Media Activism Made in L.A.

Through extensive interviews with "radical" Black filmmakers of the late 1960s and early 1970s, author Josslyn Jeanine Luckett sheds light on the work of socially engaged media activists who documented social upheaval in their communities.

Luckett’s competition includes Out There in the Dark by Katharine Coldiron, a “dynamic collection” of essays blending film criticism with memoir and fiction.

Also among the finalists is June Givanni: The Making of a Pan-African Cinema Archive by Onyeka Igwe. The book is a deep dive into Pan-African cinema history, partially through the memories of BAFTA Award-winning curator and film programmer June Givanni.

The winners of the 2026 Kraszna-Krausz Book Awards will be announced at the end of June 2026, with the 2027 Awards opening for entries in November 2026. All titles that made the longlist will be displayed across a two-day celebration of the photobook, July 4-5.

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I love how science photography competitions often bring together exceptional photos from an array of disciplines, be it wildlife, macro photography, or landscapes, and encourage photographers to capture our world in an incredibly creative way.

The Beaker Street Science Photography Prize is no exception, and this year's finalist images were recently shortlisted. The competition is part of the wider Beaker Street Festival, Lutruwita’s (Tasmania’s) annual celebration of science and culture, with judges hunting for images highlighting how science "shapes our understanding of the world".

Among my favorites of the finalists is Bows And Blows, captured by Saskia Sparshott. A mesmerizing seascape shot layered with depth, the frame begins with rock pools in the foreground, crashing waves in the midground, and a vibrant double rainbow in the background.

No stranger to awards finals, Sparshott won the People’s Choice Award at the 2020 edition of the Beaker Street competition with her illustrious image of bioluminescence, Into the Sea of Blue. Two years later, her image Feeling a Little Deflated was shortlisted at the 2022 awards.

I’m also a big fan of Madi McLatchie’s image Endangered, which starkly depicts a huddle of baby emperor penguins, the species recently being listed as ‘endangered’ on the IUCN Red List.

Not only do the subjects themselves make this a great shot – McLatchie, an Antarctic research scientist, says that emperor penguins are “sentinels of climate change in Antarctica” – but the use of just gray, black, and white, along with negative space, ties well into the narrative.

Finally, take a look at Ephemeral Blue, an image of Mycena interrupta, quietly growing on decaying wood. The photographer, Ryan Shan, said that the saprotrophic fungus plays a “vital role in breaking down organic matter and returning nutrients to the ecosystem.” I particularly like how well Shan has balanced the vivid colors, harmonizing the blues, whites, and browns.

The 27 finalists were selected from over 100 entries by a panel of scientific experts and photographers. The winner will be chosen via a public vote, with the top 12 images exhibited in Nipaluna/Hobart at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery from August 6–17.

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There's something special about creating photos with a used camera that has years of stories behind it. But using a camera that has belonged to one of the most lauded fine art photographers of his generation, that’s just incredible.

Well now, Ralph Gibson, the esteemed monochrome photographer, has teamed up with camera resale site MPB and online photography magazine Blind to give one lucky winner his personal Leica Typ 246 rangefinder along with his Summilux 50mm f/1.4 ASPH lens.

Gibson has exclusively used Leica cameras since 1961 and, for the past 15 years, the Leica Typ 246 and Summilux 50mm prime combination has been his go-to setup.

The Leica M Monochrom (Typ 246) is a specialized, full-frame digital rangefinder that shoots exclusively in black-and-white. By omitting the traditional color filter array, its 24-megapixel CMOS sensor renders detailed micro-contrast and achieves solid low-light performance.

And the Summilux 50mm f/1.4 ASPH is a Leica native prime lens known for exceptional center sharpness and subject separation.

Gibson’s original Leica camera gear is only one half of the giveaway; he’s also sending the winner a signed copy of what is perhaps his most famous book: Light Years – a major retrospective monograph covering the artist's career from 1960 to 1991, with all images taken using Leica models.

The giveaway is free to enter and opens on June 10, with entries closing July 10. What a fantastic opportunity to not only gain an iconic Leica camera but to use the exact camera that has been in the hands of one of photography’s greats and that has captured so many award-winning shots.

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Now that we're almost halfway through the year, BBC Culture felt it was a ripe time to share its picks for the best photos of 2026 so far. The list includes everything from hard-hitting press photography to stunning landscapes and creative, world record-attempting aerial shots.

There are the two images in particular that I want to focus on from the BBC’s list, and I'm curious to know whether you agree with its selections and my analysis—and what photos you would have chosen instead.

While it's not the strongest image on a purely compositional level, it's difficult to deny the significance of this photograph showing captured Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, arriving in Manhattan under DEA custody.

From a compositional perspective, I'm not convinced that the presence of the ousted president alone is enough to earn it a place on the list. But from a storytelling and historical record perspective, it certainly is.

For those who don't know, Maduro was the leader of Venezuela for 13 years (2013–2026), during a prolonged economic and humanitarian crisis. The leader and his wife were arrested in a US raid in January and are facing several charges.

He long appeared untouchable, even by the US, so seeing him seemingly powerless and finally answering for his alleged crimes is a powerful moment, especially for the Venezuelan people.

This next shot depicts some 10,000 Bodo dancers dressed in traditional attire preparing to perform the "Butterfly Dance" at Sarusajai Stadium in Guwahati, India, with the performance ultimately earning a Guinness World Record.

I love how the faces and colors seem to merge together, with the individuals forming a giant stitched tapestry, but I'm not sure it's the best aerial shot I've seen in 2026.

It's certainly among the strongest contenders, but if I were handing out the award for best drone photograph I’ve seen this year so far, I'd give it to this travel photography awards-nominated image instead, which, although not record-setting, has a stronger narrative in my view.

Whether or not you agree with the BBC's selections—or with my own analysis—I think we can all agree that both photographs are strong and the people who captured them know what they're doing.

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While all of us serious photographers grind for the slightest recognition of our best work, Iceland Air is about to sling US$50,000 (approximately £37,500 / AU$71,000) to a terrible photographer.

Back in March, the airline opened a competition in search of a “really bad photographer” to be sent on an all-expenses-paid, 10-day trip to, ironically, what is one of the most beautiful countries on Earth, for a marketing campaign, and offered the cash prize for their efforts.

After slogging through more “questionable compositions” than imaginable, the airline announced last week that its search had come to an end, proudly naming 28-year-old Blanche Mortemard of Paris, France, the worst of the worst.

Speaking to DPReview, the airline said: "Blanche Mortemard... impressed the judges with her admirable lack of skills and knowledge of basic photography."

Mortemard was chosen from precisely 127,642 applicants who submitted a “mountain of bad photos” and endured 2,000+ hours of screening to be crowned Iceland Air’s terrible photographer, having been shortlisted as a finalist alongside 12 other photographers whose photos were awful at best.

Her application includes photos of a Statue of Liberty overexposed to white, blurred city lights, and an unusual guest appearance of someone's ear in the corner of a shot.

Commenting in an Instagram post on her victory, Mortemard said “there was some seriously tough competition” and that she’d do her “absolute worst to make you proud!”

In the same victory post, she said her mission is now to “fully commit and let confidence and autofocus fight it out.”

A $50,000 travel photography assignment is a dream for many photographers. But the campaign intentionally went in the opposite direction of most photographer searches. As Icelandic Air puts it, "We want to prove that even the worst photographer can take great photos of Iceland."

The resulting photos could spark an interesting conversation on the balance between photography skills and epic locations. I'm eager to see what sort of images the winner comes back from the trip with.

Iceland Air has commented that now the “fun part” begins as Mortemard’s “lack of skills” gets put to the test, although the exact ten days over which the trip will take place haven’t yet been announced.

However, as Blanche sets out on her adventure this summer, it won’t be long before we are “treated” to her horrendous or, perhaps, iconic photography, which the airline says you can follow along with on its social media.

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A striking black-and-white photograph of a shepherd guiding hundreds of sheep through swirling dust has been honored at the 2026 World Food Photography Awards, sponsored by Tenderstem Bimi Broccolini.

Captured by photographer Serkan Dogus, en route back toward the pastures of Mount Nemrut in southeastern Turkey, the image transforms an everyday farming ritual into a scene that feels almost cinematic.

The 2,150m mountain is famous for its colossal stone heads and ancient Greco-Persian statues, which have earned the site UNESCO World Heritage status.

Framed through clouds and dust, illuminated by dramatic natural light, the viewer feels alongside the shepherd. The monochrome treatment strips away distractions, drawing attention to the movement, atmosphere and scale of a journey that is repeated every day by local shepherds and their flocks.

Food in the Field Category Winner

Dusty Journey by Serkan Dogus
Gear: Sony A7R III + FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens
Exposure: 1/400sec, f/8, ISO 100

"Every morning, hundreds of sheep arrive in the village from the high pastures of Mount Nemrut for milking," Dogus explains.

"After the milking is completed, at sunset, the sheep set out once again toward Mount Nemrut, and their dusty journey begins."

The image demonstrates exceptional compositional control in a scene that is constantly moving and impossible to direct. However, Dogus managed to position the shepherd at the center of the frame as the flock spreads outward through the dust.

Natural light plays an equally important role. The low sun cuts through the airborne dust, creating layers of contrast that separate the subjects from the background and gives the scene remarkable depth and dimension.

Converting the image to black-and-white further strengthens its impact. Without color competing for attention, the viewer is drawn to the textures, silhouettes and patterns created by the animals, dust, and landscape.

Dogus created an image that feels timeless, cinematic and immersive while documenting an everyday moment of rural life.

See the World Food Photography Award winners

Dogus' award-winning image and all over 200 winners of this year's competition are on display from June 03-07 at the Mall Galleries in London, England. A selection of the images hand-picked by Fortnum & Mason will be displayed at its iconic store in London Piccadilly from June 09.

For more information and to see all winning images, visit the World's Food Photography Awards website.

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