1st Prize Shannon Culpepper

“Stoic” - Yellowstone National Park, Montana USA
This image was taken in Lamar Valley in Yellowstone National Park during a snowstorm. This parent bison is trudging along ahead while her two juvenile bison (out of the frame) are playing tag in the snow and not following along behind her. © Shannon Culpepper

2nd Prize Lou Fischer

“Winding Road” - Door County Wisconsin, USA © Lou Fischer

3rd Prize Sanghamitra Sarkar

“Eyes of the Sea – A Bajao Child’s World” - Southeast Asia
This black-and-white photograph portrays a child from the Bajao (Bajau) tribe, the legendary sea nomads. Wearing improvised diving goggles, the child emerges from the water with a calm, curious gaze, symbolizing a life shaped by the ocean. In the background, a small wooden boat carries other villagers across the rippling sea, while stilt houses rise along the horizon, grounding the scene in a floating maritime culture. The image reflects the deep bond between the Bajao people and the sea, where childhood, survival, and tradition are inseparably intertwined. © Sanghamitra Sarkar

Finalist Leonard Drorian

“Anika” - Berlin, Germany, 2020
Fashion portrait work shot in Berlin, Germany. © Leonard Drorian

Finalist Guillaume St-Amand

“Lost in the dunes” - Morocco
The nomad of the desert © Guillaume St-Amand

Finalist Dimple Agarwal

“Sunrise” - Bagan, Myanmar, 2026
A country that was once the richest part of the British Empire now languishes under military rule, crushed further by Western sanctions. At sunrise, in dusty, beautiful Bagan, a town dotted with about 3000 stupas and temples, this family sat down to have their morning meal. © Dimple Agarwal

Finalist Ingetje Tadros

“The boatman” - Niger
A boatman gazes over the Niger River, a quiet moment amidst the flow of life. Niger 2024 © Ingetje Tadros

Finalist Mike Szpot

“The World Is Yours” - New York, USA, 2022
Mist Garden at Flushing-Meadows Corona Park, Queens, 2022. © Mike Szpot

Finalist Lux Corvo

“Stupa Stupa” - Kathmandu, Nepal, 2024
A solitary figure moves through the foreground of a stupa, briefly intersecting with the architectural structure and suspended prayer flags. The image contrasts movement and stillness, placing human presence against a monumental and geometric backdrop. © Lux Corvo

Finalist Bela Doka

“Jineteras” - Havana, Cuba, 1997
The Special Period in Time of Peace (“Período especial”) in Cuba was a euphemism for an extended period of economic crisis that began in 1989, mostly due to the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The period radically transformed the Cuban society and its economy, as it decreased the use of cars, and overhauled industry, health, and diet countrywide. A time during which most people were forced to live without the many goods they had become used to. © Bela Doka