Winner of Istanbul Photo Awards is a painful reminder of photojournalism’s role in documenting humanity’s darker moments

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The winner of the the Istanbul Photo Awards 2026 has been announced and it's a stark reminder of photojournalism's role in capturing humanity's darker moments as well its brighter ones

A woman dressed in a Burka holds an emaciated child in her arms.
(Image credit: Haitham Imad)

Photography plays a crucial role in capturing both the happier, nostalgic moments in human history as well as the darker, destructive ones, and the announcement of the Istanbul Photo Awards 2026 is a stark reminder of this.

Entitled ‘Gaza, No Hope’, the overall Photo of the Year, as well as Single News category winning image, taken by Palestinian photographer Haitham Imad, depicts an emaciated two-year-old child, Sham Qudeih, lying exhausted in her mother’s arms at Nasser Hospital in the southern Gaza Strip.

Tariq Zaidi came first in the Story Sports category with his series on Nuba wrestling in Sudan, which included this image (Image credit: Tariq Zaidi)

While Imad wins the grand prize of $6,000, the bigger achievement is surely that his photojournalistic work has helped humanize and maintain awareness of the ongoing devastation we’re all witnessing in Gaza, albeit through screens from the luxury of our peaceful homes.

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The Istanbul Photo Awards is organized by Turkish state-run news agency Anadolu and 2026 marks the twelfth year of the international news photography contest. This year saw over 19,000 entries from around the world, with 26 photographers receiving awards across 10 categories.

Although the most-publicized winning images of the competition tend to be hard-hitting emotionally, not all depict scenes of crisis.

SWpix photographer Alex Whitehead won the Single Sport category capturing this dramatic collision during the 2025 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Chile (Image credit: Alex Whitehead)

Other 2026 winners included Tariq Zaidi (Uk), whose series on Nuba wrestlers in Sudan won the Story Sports category, and Alex Whitehead (also UK), who captured the dramatic moment two professional Netherlands cyclists crashed at a world championship in Chile, which took first place in the Single Sports category.

All category winners aside from the Single News winner (Imad) were awarded $3,000 and, this year, a total of $58,000 was awarded across 30 prizes. Winning images will be featured at international exhibitions and the annual İstanbul Photo Awards album.

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Alan Palazon
Alan Palazon
Staff Writer

I’m a writer, journalist and photographer who joined Digital Camera World in 2026. I started out in editorial in 2021 and my words have spanned sustainability, careers advice, travel and tourism, and photography – the latter two being my passions.

I first picked up a camera in my early twenties having had an interest in photography from a young age. Since then, I’ve worked on a freelance basis, mostly internationally in the travel and tourism sector. You’ll usually find me out on a hike shooting landscapes and adventure shots in my free time.

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