Winning entry from the CEWE Photo Award 2021 Landscapes category bags German photographer a generous cash prize, plus photography kit and CEWE products
Leading lights from the photography industry gathered in Berlin to celebrate the winners of the CEWE Photo Award 2021 – the world’s largest photo competition.
Twelve talented photographers were rewarded for their achievements in 10 categories, which were themed around ‘Our World is Beautiful’, a call to search for the good in times of increasing global conflict.
The CEWE Photo Award 2021 received over 606,289 entries from 170 countries; submissions were made online, and each entrant could enter up to 100 images. The competition is open to all photographers – professionals, hobbyists, amateurs and everyone in between.
The winning image, of a frozen lighthouse, was shot by Manfred Voss from Germany, and topped the Landscapes category.
Manfred will now enjoy a holiday of his choice worth €15,000, plus €7,500 of photography equipment and €2,500 of CEWE products.
And the second to 10th place winners each receive €5,000 of photography equipment and €2,500 of CEWE products.
Although the prizes were very generous, organisers CEWE was keen to stress that these awards are not a commercial event – 10 cents of every photographic submission went to charity, so €44,815.20 was donated to SOS Children’s Villages in 2019.
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In 2020 the company donated to institutions in Germany and selected international projects to promote creativity and talent among children and young people.
Established for over 50 years, CEWE is the largest photo printing service in Europe, delivering millions of photo products each year including wedding photobooks, greetings cards and holiday snaps.
View the winning entries of the CEWE Photo Award 2021
The president of the CEWE Photo Award jury was world-renowned photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand.
Other judges included music photographer Christie Goodwin; expedition photographer and filmmaker Ulla Lohmann; Dr Christian Friege from Cewe; photojournalist Kai Pfaffenbach; landscape photographer Martin Rak; and Petra Horn, a board member of SOS Children's Villages Worldwide.
“The jury came to a clear conclusion, as this unique shot shows in an unrivalled way that even when the world is in flux, beauty emerges.
“The choice to shoot early in the morning in unique soft lighting, the wonderful variation in tone, the perfect crop using the classic golden ratio and the warm-yellow light from the lighthouse proudly contrasting with the otherwise icy-blue cool tones all combine to create the perfect shot.
“The photographer has elicited something very special from the scene and created this magical mood and quality we see in the photo.
“CEWE Photo Award juror Ulla Lohmann summed up the magic of this photograph: ‘It looks like something from a fairytale.’
“With this extraordinary photograph, Manfred Voss from Germany was able to win not only the ‘Landscapes’ category but ultimately also the overall victory.”
Niall is the editor of Digital Camera Magazine, and has been shooting on interchangeable lens cameras for over 20 years, and on various point-and-shoot models for years before that.
Working alongside professional photographers for many years as a jobbing journalist gave Niall the curiosity to also start working on the other side of the lens. These days his favored shooting subjects include wildlife, travel and street photography, and he also enjoys dabbling with studio still life.
On the site you will see him writing photographer profiles, asking questions for Q&As and interviews, reporting on the latest and most noteworthy photography competitions, and sharing his knowledge on website building.
