Tag: winner

Luis Casdevall

Mother
Spain

Jury Statement

This photograph is my choice for the top award, as it is by far the most complete work in the contest, achieving an exceptional balance between composition, content, and emotion. Its greatest strength lies in its profound humanity—quiet, intimate, and gripping. The composition is both precise and meaningful: the faces of the mother and baby draw the viewer in, while their hands and legs are tenderly entangled with the other sleeping child. This physical closeness becomes a visual language of care, protection, and belonging, transforming a private moment into a lasting image.

Nikos Economopoulos

Farshid Tighehsaz

A father under silent snow

Jury Statement

To me it’s a soft beautiful portrait of a man resigned to the fate of having his photo taken. In general, he doesn’t like it, but a snowflake blinds him in one eye and as he quickly reflects on the rights of man, he says to himself “why not?” He thinks that after all, “the photographer is just doing his job and he might see something beautiful in me. I’m proud and a little sad with so much dignity.” So, be it. However, the texture of the snow on the man’s coat and on his hair match so perfectly that maybe it’s a statue that fell from the sky.

Bruce Gilden

Tuna Angel

A Mother’s Shield

Turkey

Argus Paul Estabrook

A Sight More

South Korea

I heard myself screaming, falling toward the earth. Suddenly, the roller coaster eased off, and I recognized the Seoul skyline. Fear gave way to joy while the wind streaked tears across my face. I was finally home! How was this possible? Then I woke up. It was the kind of dream that felt hopeful while in it, but a nightmare upon waking. Soon after, I came back to Korea to reclaim my past life. It had been four years. Stepping into my old haunts, I found they vibrated with a surreal intensity. The air swirled with ghost notes, casting never-ending crescendos. At times, it felt like my entire being was transposed into an invisible, whiplashing symphony. This time, the roller coaster wasn’t a dream. It was an emotion. It was an awakening in my chest, pulsing in sync with the city. Together, we were alive. But what kind of life? As a Korean-American Gyopo, was I truly born between the cracks of shadows and storms I couldn\’t name? Was this confusion the only light through which I could see my authentic self? I returned home thinking it would be a sight for sore eyes. Instead, I found it a sight more than I remembered. A sight more than I was ready to confront. And a sight more of myself in the chaos than I am still ready to admit.

Tavepong Pratoomwong

The Smooth Criminal

Edwin Carungay

A Great Divide offers a warm and candid glimpse into several beloved community celebrations within Oaxaca, México, where tradition and devotion blend through Catholic and indigenous practices. The zancudos, or mosquitoes in English, are stilt-walking performers who parade and dance through their community, their towering figures and long shadows resembling the slender legs of mosquitoes are excitedly celebrated. The priestly figures of Santo Tomás Jalieza are a rebellious form of adoration pursuing community members to douse with “holy” water and ash. The masquerade and devilish costumes significant to some of these communities lends to more of the mischievous and unexpected. From early afternoon, and late into the sunset, these community members catapult the spirit and energy of pre-Lenten traditions cherished for generations, and igniting the passion to practice it for those yet to come.

Mikhail Tkachevskii

Big Bog

USA

I chose this portrait as the winner because I find interesting the interaction between the city in the background and the wary expression on the boy’s face. To me this kid is a real product of the city.

Bruce Gilden

Majid Hojati

ALTERNATIVE WAY OF BOARDING TRAIN

Deba Pradad Roy
India

The Kennedy

Marc Taeuber

A Photo Noir As in a film noir, the Kennedy Bridge in Bonn becomes a stage for dark fantasies in the gloomy black-and-white photographs. With the deep black in my streetphotography based pictures I want to make it impossible for the viewer to escape from the magical attraction of the night. In the style of magical realism, I am not interested in pure depiction of reality, but in using my photographs for the imagination of a story, of something invisible.