The 1839 Awards for Fine Art Photography have announced the winners of the 2025 Photographer of the Year contest. Established to honor the year photography was first introduced, the awards highlight the artists shaping the medium’s future.
This year’s contest drew entries from 79 countries, the broadest reach in the award’s history. Selected by an international panel of judges from leading museums, publishers, and institutions, the winners represent photography’s ability to document, question, and inspire.
More info: 1839awards.com | Instagram | Facebook
#1 Gold In Wildlife Category: “Emperor Family” By Risto Raunio
“Emperor parents are feeding their chick on the ice of Antarctica.”
Image source: © Risto Raunio
#2 Gold In Wildlife Category (Non-Professional): “Family Photo” By Chao Feng
“This bear family in Alaska gave me only a few seconds to take a family photo for them. And they never told me where to send the photo to, nor did I dare to ask.”
Image source: © Chao Feng
#3 Gold In Nature Category: “Blue Hour Guardian” By Alexander Tasho
“Just before sunrise, this cheetah lay perfectly still, deciding whether I was a threat or not before taking a drink. It felt like I’d stumbled into a painting, where even time had stopped to look.”
Image source: © Alexander Tasho
#4 Gold In Storytelling Category: “Venice Of Africa” By Mauro De Bettio
“Makoko, a floating slum in Lagos with over 300,000 residents, lacks infrastructure, education, and healthcare. Despite poverty and no official recognition, its people show resilience and unity, turning hardship into strength and fostering a deep sense of community.”
Image source: © Mauro De Bettio
#5 Gold In Macro Category (Non-Professional): “Open-Mouthed” By Fabi Fregonesi
Image source: © Fabi Fregonesi
#6 Gold In Underwater Category: “Our Ocean” By Brooke Pyke
Image source: © Brooke Pyke
#7 Gold In Landscapes Category: “An Arizona Moonrise” By Michael Mihaljevich
“Arizona’s iconic saguaro cacti stand tall against a backdrop of post-sunset pastels. The monthly full moon lays watch over the serene Sonoran desert on a calm and colorful moment of dusk.”
Image source: © Michael Mihaljevich
#8 Gold In Macro Category: “Mushroom Madness” By Panagiotis Dalagiorgos
“A close-up backlit photo of an Ameles heldreichi nymph. I took this photo in December 2024 on a mountain near Athens, Greece. I found a pine cone with a mushroom growing on it, picked it up, and placedit in front of my lens, framing it with the sun in the background.”
Image source: © Panagiotis Dalagiorgos
#9 Gold In Event Category (Non-Professional): “Round The Barrel” By Christopher Baker
“Barrel racing at the Limestone County Sheriff’s Rodeo in Athens, AL, USA.”
Image source: © Christopher Baker
#10 Gold In Underwater Category (Non-Professional): “Unexpected Voyager” By Daniel Halmi
“I captured this image on my third blackwater dive in the Gulf of Thailand. A rare close encounter with a juvenile female paper nautilus hitching a ride on a box jellyfish. This is believed to be the first photo evidence of a living Paper Nautilus in the Gulf of Thailand.”
Image source: © Daniel Halmi
#11 Gold In Nature Category (Non-Professional): “The Family” By Felix Larcher
Image source: © Felix Larcher
#12 Gold In Domestic Animals Category (Non-Professional): “Cow Lick” By Jennifer Newitt
Image source: © Jennifer Newitt
#13 Gold In Travel Category (Non-Professional): “Cormorant Fishing” By Jo Martindale
“This photo was taken of a traditional Chinese cormorant fisherman on the River Li in China.”
Image source: © Jo Martindale
#14 International Photographer Of The Year: “Dream” By Jaime Travezan
“Promotion for fashion designer Ade Bakare.”
Image source: © Jaime Travezan
#15 Gold In Travel Category: “Working The Salt Mines” By Steve Sorensen
“A lone soul working the salt mines of Peru. Having a human immersed in this level of color caught my eye.”
Image source: © Steve Sorensen
#16 Gold In People Category: “Transcendence” By Trevor Cole
“These people are inextricably connected to their livestock and are all pastoralists. They are inextricably connected to their environment, and the subsistence farming systems have a small ecological footprint. The images are taken in Central Equatoria and the Omo Valley of Ethiopia.”
Image source: © Trevor Cole
#17 Gold In Conceptual Category (Non-Professional): “Moon Game” By Adrian Limani
“This is my blend of creativity and surrealism, which invites you to dream beyond boundaries.”
Image source: © Adrian Limani
#18 Gold In Storytelling Category (Non-Professional): “The Day You Left Me” By Carlos F. Gomez Llavero
“In some cultures, when a loved one dies at home, their portrait is turned upside down to guide them to heaven and prevent their return as a ghost. Personal items may be placed nearby. This image is part of a series exploring death and its symbolism.”
Image source: © Carlos F. Gomez Llavero
#19 Gold In Street Category (Non-Professional): “Best Of Luck” By J Immanuel Yap
Image source: © J Immanuel Yap
#20 Gold In Aerial Category (Non-Professional): “Fairytale City” By Oleg Ilyin
Image source: © Oleg Ilyin
#21 Gold In Domestic Animals Category: “Beyond The Echo Of Their Gallop” By Hiroshi Kutomi
“Beyond the Echo of Their Gallop revives the splendor of retired racehorses and cinematic horses. Through adornment and portraiture, their resilience and beauty transcend time, reminding us that glory need not fade—it simply waits to shine again.”
Image source: © Hiroshi Kutomi
#22 Gold In Event Category: “Curvy” By Natalya Pyrogova
“Nazaré Winter session. Big waves for surfing. Due to the unique landscape and weather conditions from November to March, we can see the phenomenon of the gigantic waves. Surfers from all over the world come to the special camp to try their hand at crossing the ocean. The surfer in the photograph is Jose Carlos.”
Image source: © Natalya Pyrogova
#23 Gold In Photojournalism Category (Non-Professional): “The Sigh Of History” By Christian Moorman
“Part of a series exploring the lives and work of Guyana’s sugar cane cutters on the Rose Hall Sugar Estate, where my grandfather worked for over 10 years. Cane cutters are paid very little for their hard, dangerous work, approximately 7 USD per ton of cane.”
Image source: © Christian Moorman
#24 Gold In Landscapes Category (Non-Professional): “Le Mont – Saint – Michel. Foggy Morning” By Rolandas Urbonavicius
“I aimed to capture Mont Saint Michel shrouded in morning mist and create a photograph that reflects its ethereal beauty. Using various filters, I added a surreal touch to the image, showing the subtleties of an early summer morning.”
Image source: © Rolandas Urbonavicius
#25 Gold In Still Life Category (Non-Professional): “My Garden” By Turid Martinsen
“During the months of the pandemic, my garden became a source of photography. I pictured the flowers next to each other like individuals waiting for a group portrait, replacing the contact we missed. Many insects are also enjoying my garden during a time when insect-dead is a danger to nature.”
Image source: © Turid Martinsen
#26 Gold In People & Portrait Category (Non-Professional): “Malleable Souls” By Zewen Lai
“Malleable Souls explores the fragile states of identity in transition, drawing from psychology and photography. Inspired by Jung’s word-association experiments, the portraits depict teenagers by the sea — a symbolic threshold — tracing subtle shifts where the unconscious quietly shapes who we are.”
Image source: © Zewen Lai
#27 Gold In Abstract Category: “Starfighter” By Christiaan Van Heijst
“A lone Starfighter rests in a surreal salt desert, its polished fuselage echoing a time when speed and altitude defined the edge of possibility. Set against a stark, alien-like horizon, the image merges past ambition with timeless isolation.”
Image source: © Christiaan Van Heijst
#28 Gold In Minimalism Category: “San Francisco De Asis” By Kent Flora
“Mission in Rancho de Taos, New Mexico.”
Image source: © Kent Flora
#29 Gold In Still Life Category: “American Bodegónes” By Liz Obert
“This body of work reflects on mortality, the human condition, and our culture’s obsession with materialism. Through imagery inspired by Dutch and Spanish paintings, it expresses the transience of our existence by exploring our shared relationship with food.”
Image source: © Liz Obert
#30 Gold In Architecture Category: “Details” By Svetlana Fadeeva
“This photo was taken in the early morning on the grounds of the Qatar National Museum. I wanted to highlight the dynamic curves and bold colors to emphasize the architectural design’s movement and vibrancy.”
Image source: © Svetlana Fadeeva
#31 Gold In Fashion & Beauty Category (Non-Professional): “Carbon Copy” By Claudia Zeien
“Vintage Dior dresses.”
Image source: © Claudia Zeien
#32 Gold In Film/Analog Category (Non-Professional): “A Chance To Cool Off” By David Dranoff
“A hot day in Paris brings together the entire neighborhood to find a refuge from the sweltering conditions.”
Image source: © David Dranoff
#33 Gold In Minimalism Category (Non-Professional): “Heads Or Tails” By Jodi Frediani
“Rare, flat, calm seas, 3 sleek northern right whale dolphins bow-riding our whale watch vessel, and the generosity of a stranger who insisted I take her spot at the crowded rail, enabled me to capture this atypical image. Shot in color, black and white adds to the surreal simplicity of the moment.”
Image source: © Jodi Frediani
#34 Gold In Abstract Category (Non-Professional): “IKEA Deconstructed” By Keith Gerard Bovair
Image source: © Keith Gerard Bovair
#35 Gold In Architecture Category (Non-Professional): “Toy City” By Woohyun Jung
“In Seoul, skyscrapers once felt suffocating, like walls enclosing me. Through photography, I reimagined them—flattened into playful, geometric patterns. What once oppressed me became light and rhythmic. This work reflects my search to face urban reality not with fear, but with freedom and joy.”
Image source: © Woohyun Jung
#36 International Discovery Of The Year: “Embodied Syntax” By Li Tung
“Three nude figures interlock in silent cohesion, their headless forms blurring the boundary between human and construct. This composition invites a meditation on the body as language through consciousness, emotion, and memory persist.”
Image source: © Li Tung
#37 Gold In Street Category: “Oath To A Dream” By Alexandru Măciucă
“‘Oath to a Dream’ is my Collection of Diptychs I’ve created over the years. Every Shot is Candid, Capturing Raw, Authentic Moments. I love pairing images that elevate and enhance one another, creating a deeper visual narrative. And sometimes just for the pure visual aspect of it.”
Image source: © Alexandru Măciucă
#38 Gold In Aerial Category: “Photography Of Overhead Liner’s Symmetry” By Yevhen Kostiuk
“P.O.O.L.S. – Photography of Overhead Liner’s Symmetry – offers a rare top-down view of cruise ships, highlighting their symmetry, clean geometry, and tiny bow pools. It’s not glossy marketing, but a visual study of design, structure, and detail often missed by passengers.”
Image source: © Yevhen Kostiuk
#39 Gold In Conceptual Category: “Objects Of Desire” By Nora Hegedus
“Objects of Desire is a series dedicated to objects in the work of two major painters of the Surrealist movement, Salvador Dalí and René Magritte. It is an attempt to capture what struck me in their works and a declaration of love for the everyday objects I have always felt compelled to transform.”
Image source: © Nora Hegedus
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