Bold and vibrant: Winners of the 2025 Color Photography Contest announced

2025 Color Photography Contest winners The 2025 Color Photography Contest winners have been announced, highlighting colorful diversity around the world. The contest, hosted by the 1839 Awards, aims to celebrate images that honor color photography and elevate the art of photography worldwide. This year's panel consisted of judges from the Whitney Museum of American Art, Phaidon Press, Vanity Fair, Artsy, University of Zurich, Dwell, Christie’s, and more. "Among the works entered into this year’s contest, those images that evoke emotion, challenge perception, and offer windows into entirely new realities rose to the top," the contest organizers explained. The contest selects three professional and three non-professional overall winners. It also selects winners of 14 different categories, including animals, architecture, conceptual, landscapes, people, photojournalism and more. Participants could submit a series of two to five images to be judged as a group, or choose to enter individual photographs. You can see the winning series and photographs, as well as more of the category winners, on the 1839 Awards 2025 Color Photography Contest website. 1st Place Professional Overall Winner Artist: Nicola Fioravanti IG handle: @hacklabo Title: Morocco, Sentimental Atlas Description: This project is a heartfelt tribute to the country I hold dear. In Morocco, colors are not merely seen, but experienced. It is also a deeply personal journey, one that seeks to understand the land where the woman I love was born. 2nd Place Professional Overall Winner Artist: Jatenipat Ketpradit IG handle: N/A Title: TSAM · The Dance of Gods Description: A sacred Tibetan Buddhist ritual, Tsam embodies the divine battle betweengood and evil. Through intricate masks, lavish costumes, and precise choreography, monkschannel wrathful deities to purify and protect. This series unveils the mystique of Mongolia’s rarest masked dance tradition. 3rd Place Professional Overall Winner Artist: Abdelrahman AlkahloutIG handle: @abd.pix96Title: Unbroken Spirit: Worship Amid DestructionDescription: A powerful scene of Palestinian civilians praying on the rubble of a mosquedestroyed by Israeli airstrikes. Under a smoke-filled sky, they continue their worship in a place once a sanctuary of peace, now reduced to ruins—symbolizing resilience amid relentless destruction. 1st Place Non-Professional Overall Winner Artist: Diana Cheren Nygren IG handle: @dianacherennygrenphotography Title: Mother Earth Description: I have mounted scenes of habitation behind acrylic, set within futurelandscapes shaped by climate change. Painted frames allude to Earth's next chapter. Scenes of human habitation set against a future post-human landscape ask whether humanity can adapt to what is in store for the planet. 2nd Place Non-Professional Overall Winner Artist: Xuejun Long IG handle: N/A Title: Journey of Life 20 Description: The photo shows a group of flamingos flying over Lake Magadi in Kenya.Once a freshwater lake, it has now become a highly concentrated salt pan that is severelyalkaline and toxic to most forms of animal and plant life – except for flamingos, which prefer to forage on the surface. 3rd Place Non-Professional Overall Winner Artist: Trina O’Hara IG handle: @trinaoharapainter Title: Flowers for Caravaggio Description: For seven years I immersed myself in Caravaggio's world. I copied (in paint)his entire body of work. I made it my mission to see all of Caravaggio's paintings in the flesh. His vision shaped mine. Now, when sunlight hits a vase of flowers, I don't just see it, I see life through Caravaggio's eyes. Gold - Architecture, Professional Artist: Svetlana Fadeeva IG handle: @fadeevaphotography Title: Doha Description: This photo was taken in the morning on the grounds of the Qatar National Museum, designed by French architect Jean Nouvel. Gold - Film/Analog, Professional Artist: William Mark Sommer IG handle: @williammarksommer Title: Pink Donut Description: Home can be found in many places from the house you live in to the localdonut shop. I remember as a child being amazed by all the donuts in the case, all the color and sizes, and how my father loved the pink ones. Through this nostalgic memory, I was brought home. Gold - Nature, Professional Artist: Carla Rhodes IG handle: @misscarlarhodes Title: Dancing In The Moonlight Description: Gliding like a ghost in the moonlight, a flying squirrel dances across the starrysky, while the moon casts abstract shadows on my house. After months of late nights andobsessive observation, I made the image I envisioned—a single frame revealing the hiddenmagic just beyond our windows. Gold - Landscapes, Professional Artist: Stuart Chape IG handle: N/A Title: Glacial blue Description: This series was photographed from a light aircraft and captures the bluewaters of braided blue glacial rivers flowing into lakes from the high mountains of theAoraki/

Apr 30, 2025 - 16:02
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Bold and vibrant: Winners of the 2025 Color Photography Contest announced

2025 Color Photography Contest winners

grid of nine color photographs separated by white line

The 2025 Color Photography Contest winners have been announced, highlighting colorful diversity around the world. The contest, hosted by the 1839 Awards, aims to celebrate images that honor color photography and elevate the art of photography worldwide.

This year's panel consisted of judges from the Whitney Museum of American Art, Phaidon Press, Vanity Fair, Artsy, University of Zurich, Dwell, Christie’s, and more. "Among the works entered into this year’s contest, those images that evoke emotion, challenge perception, and offer windows into entirely new realities rose to the top," the contest organizers explained.

The contest selects three professional and three non-professional overall winners. It also selects winners of 14 different categories, including animals, architecture, conceptual, landscapes, people, photojournalism and more.

Participants could submit a series of two to five images to be judged as a group, or choose to enter individual photographs. You can see the winning series and photographs, as well as more of the category winners, on the 1839 Awards 2025 Color Photography Contest website.

1st Place Professional Overall Winner

orange alley with person by-Nicola-Fioravanti-hacklabo

Artist: Nicola Fioravanti

IG handle: @hacklabo

Title: Morocco, Sentimental Atlas

Description: This project is a heartfelt tribute to the country I hold dear. In Morocco, colors are not merely seen, but experienced. It is also a deeply personal journey, one that seeks to understand the land where the woman I love was born.

2nd Place Professional Overall Winner

tibetan buddhist monks in costume Jatenipat-Ketpradit

Artist: Jatenipat Ketpradit

IG handle: N/A

Title: TSAM · The Dance of Gods

Description: A sacred Tibetan Buddhist ritual, Tsam embodies the divine battle between
good and evil. Through intricate masks, lavish costumes, and precise choreography, monks
channel wrathful deities to purify and protect. This series unveils the mystique of Mongolia’s rarest masked dance tradition.

3rd Place Professional Overall Winner

palestinian civilians praying in mosque rubble.jpg-Abdelrahman-Alkahlout-abd.pix96

Artist: Abdelrahman Alkahlout
IG handle: @abd.pix96
Title: Unbroken Spirit: Worship Amid Destruction
Description: A powerful scene of Palestinian civilians praying on the rubble of a mosque
destroyed by Israeli airstrikes. Under a smoke-filled sky, they continue their worship in a place once a sanctuary of peace, now reduced to ruins—symbolizing resilience amid relentless destruction.

1st Place Non-Professional Overall Winner

pink desert mountain landscape in frame with house photograph on top-Diana-Cheren-Nygren-dianacherennygrenphotography

Artist: Diana Cheren Nygren

IG handle: @dianacherennygrenphotography

Title: Mother Earth

Description: I have mounted scenes of habitation behind acrylic, set within future
landscapes shaped by climate change. Painted frames allude to Earth's next chapter. Scenes of human habitation set against a future post-human landscape ask whether humanity can adapt to what is in store for the planet.

2nd Place Non-Professional Overall Winner

white birds glying over red landscape with blue lake-CC-Xuejun-Long

Artist: Xuejun Long

IG handle: N/A

Title: Journey of Life 20

Description: The photo shows a group of flamingos flying over Lake Magadi in Kenya.
Once a freshwater lake, it has now become a highly concentrated salt pan that is severely
alkaline and toxic to most forms of animal and plant life – except for flamingos, which prefer to forage on the surface.

3rd Place Non-Professional Overall Winner

vase of red orange flowers on tile table-CC-Trina O

Artist: Trina O’Hara

IG handle: @trinaoharapainter

Title: Flowers for Caravaggio

Description: For seven years I immersed myself in Caravaggio's world. I copied (in paint)
his entire body of work. I made it my mission to see all of Caravaggio's paintings in the flesh. His vision shaped mine. Now, when sunlight hits a vase of flowers, I don't just see it, I see life through Caravaggio's eyes.

Gold - Architecture, Professional

qatar national museum with two people

Artist: Svetlana Fadeeva

IG handle: @fadeevaphotography

Title: Doha

Description: This photo was taken in the morning on the grounds of the Qatar National Museum, designed by French architect Jean Nouvel.

Gold - Film/Analog, Professional

pink donut on diner table in light

Artist: William Mark Sommer

IG handle: @williammarksommer

Title: Pink Donut

Description: Home can be found in many places from the house you live in to the local
donut shop. I remember as a child being amazed by all the donuts in the case, all the color and sizes, and how my father loved the pink ones. Through this nostalgic memory, I was brought home.

Gold - Nature, Professional

flying squirrel repeated against night sky

Artist: Carla Rhodes

IG handle: @misscarlarhodes

Title: Dancing In The Moonlight

Description: Gliding like a ghost in the moonlight, a flying squirrel dances across the starry
sky, while the moon casts abstract shadows on my house. After months of late nights and
obsessive observation, I made the image I envisioned—a single frame revealing the hidden
magic just beyond our windows.

Gold - Landscapes, Professional

blue glacial rivers weaving down from mountains

Artist: Stuart Chape

IG handle: N/A

Title: Glacial blue

Description: This series was photographed from a light aircraft and captures the blue
waters of braided blue glacial rivers flowing into lakes from the high mountains of the
Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park in New Zealand. The blue colouration of the water is due to fine silt particles in the water.

Gold - People, Non-Professional

person in sea of blue fishing net from above

Artist: Arkadiusz Wójcik

IG handle: @awophotographingtheworld

Title: In the net

Description: In the early morning we planned to shoot in a small fish market. Meanwhile, we met a group of people sewing and repairing fishing nets. They do this once every few months so we were extremely lucky

Gold - Animals, Non-Professional

four tigers wade in water

Artist: David Vaughn

IG handle: @davidvaughnphotos

Title: Family Portrait

Description: Southern India looking for the tiger to photography and this mother and 3 cubs drinking from a small pond and I had to wait until they all looked my way and then it happened.

Gold - Event, Non-Professional

two men engulfed in flames for ritual

Artist: Dylan Tom

IG handle: @dylantom10

Title: Fire Gods of The Malabar Coast

Description: Theyyam is a Ritual art form practiced in Kerala,India. It enacts the life and legend of local heroes who became martyr for the cause of the people and later revered as
Demigods. Fire is a main protogonist which depicts the life and life after death of the legend. the act takes places deep in the.

Gold - Photojournalism, Non-Professional

metal gate in front of barren desert

Artist: Jeremy Skirrow

IG Handle: @undrgrain

Title: Dust and Despair: A Coastal Cry for Water

Description: In rural Peru, around 40% lack reliable water access. Communities like
Huanchaco rely on costly, unreliable truck deliveries due to poor infrastructure. Despite APEC 2024, rural areas face water and waste challenges, deepening inequality and harming agriculture, businesses, and daily life.