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One Shot, Endless Stories: Discover The Powerful Winning Images From The 2025 Photo Contest (45 Pics)
“Although humans see reality in colour, for me, black-and-white [photography] has always been connected to the image’s deeper truth, to its most hidden meaning,” once said Peter Lindbergh, and the winners of the 2025 One Shot Photo Contest could probably be a very good proof of it.
After a year rich with powerful visual storytelling, the Exposure One Awards proudly unveils this year’s most striking captures—an unforgettable tribute to black-and-white photography at its most raw and poetic. Selected from thousands of entries, these images stand out for their daring composition, emotional depth, and exceptional artistic vision.
More info: exposureoneawards.com | Instagram
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Timeless Nocturne #4 - Icon | Gold In Non Professionals Category | Category Winners
Sounds like a single note played on a piano, balanced composition with internal dynamics. Сonceptual timeless feminine figure in a graphic minimalist style, sensuality in a surreal majestic geometric idea.
Inspired by Ralph Gibson, Irving Penn, Ray Metzker, Trent Parke, Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton.
Among the standout winners is Joanna Steidle’s “Another World”—a surreal aerial capture that feels like it was taken on another planet, yet it reveals the strange beauty found just off the coast of New York. Equally unforgettable is Caroline Peppiatt’s “SWAMP IDYLL,” a hauntingly beautiful moment of quiet wonder, captured while paddling through the still, untamed swamps of Florida. And Grzegorz Bys stuns with “Mirror,” a masterstroke of street photography—where everyday life and poetic reflection collide in perfect harmony.
What sets this contest apart isn’t just the caliber of the work—it’s the world-class jury behind it as well. Experts from the Leica Gallery, SF MoMA, Photo Basel, AIPAD, and Aperture brought their discerning eyes to the judging process, lending an unmatched level of credibility and curatorial excellence.
Shaggy | Gold In Professionals Category | Category Winners
Home is where the herd is.
This picture of the cow with the hair in his eyes and his tongue sticking out is just too cute! I love it!
Another World | 3rd Place In Professionals Category | Contest Winners
Featured here is a top-down drone photograph of a fever of cownose rays approaching a school of menhaden fish. Taken just 150yards from the coast of New York.
Up To Here And No Further | Gold In Non Professionals Category | Category Winners
Veil Of Grace
A great egret draped in breeding plumage of elegant aigrettes curls its neck, giving me just a peek of one eye highlighted in the setting sun. In color, the lores around the eyer are a brilliant green, another hallmark of the great egrets' breeding season. This image conveys drama and mystery.
It took me a minute to be able to recognize what I was looking at. The egret is very mysterious in this picture!
Repose | Gold In Professionals Category | Category Winners
If BP cannot show the photograph uncensored, then it should not post it at all. These black bars are absurd. Art is not pornography. The naked body is not obscene.
Fur-Sister | Silver In Non Professionals Category | Category Winners
A portrait capturing a moment between my daughter and our dog which narrates the special relationship they share. It is visible how much love and joy they bring one another and how much my daughter cherishes her precious fur- sister.
A beautiful moment between a child and her best friend, her dog. Beautiful!
The Rooster's Crow | Gold In Non Professionals Category | Category Winners
A rooster crows in La Libertad, El Salvador, where poverty and luxury stand side by side. Smoke rises from burning trash - the only waste management locals have. Despite the area's tourist appeal, residents still struggle with limited clean drinking water.
Metamorphic | Gold In Non Professionals Category | Category Winners
The beginning stages of metamorphosis as I let go of what was and what I thought was meant to be. Today I accept that my life and my dreams are suspended like a chrysalis while my tears wash down the drain.
Been there. This photo took me by surprise. I guess I never let it go after all.
The Last Cormorant Fishermen Of Guilin, China | Gold In Professionals Category | Category Winners
River Li in Guilin, the Cormorant Men fish without the aid of a rod, hook or bait, instead, using a method which was first practiced in 960 AD by using a bird known as a cormorant. Tethered, the cormorant will dive for fish returning to the fisherman on the surface with their prize catch.
It sounds like an animal abuse, but what do I know. "A crucial piece of equipment is the "kubi-wa," a snare made of hemp or other cord that is tied around the base of each bird's neck. This snare is tight enough to prevent the cormorant from swallowing larger fish but loose enough to allow smaller fish to pass, ensuring the birds receive a portion of the catch."
Sierra Rains | Gold In Professionals Category | Category Winners
Late Autumn rain showers lash the Sierra Mountains in California, as viewed from the White Mountains. Sept 30, 2011, Canon 5D.
Staircase | Gold In Non Professionals Category | Category Winners
Coming Home | Gold In Non Professionals Category | Category Winners
A small leopard cub perched on its termite mound waiting for the mother to return from a k**l and staring out at the horizon. There was a male leopard in the area which makes you appreciate how even small cubs can survive in adversity.
Mom said if I'm good while she gets groceries I can have a snack.
Wonderland 2 | Gold In Professionals Category | Category Winners
Beneath | Gold In Professionals Category | Category Winners
This image series reflects a complex web of unspoken truths and hidden emotions. This art of concealment protects us, shielding our true selves from the world's scrutiny. Vulnerability is a delicate, fragile state — one that exposes our innermost fears, desires, and pain.
I wish the names were with the titles; I’d like to know whether the artist who shot this photo also shot the first one of the lady with the black-painted arms and the bleached hair. Besides, it’s good giving recognition and not simply showing the photos.
Swamp Idyll | 3rd Place In Non Professionals Category | Contest Winners
Steamy, early morning August.
Miners | Gold In Non Professionals Category | Category Winners
Each descent into the mine is a battle with death, constantly vigilant against cave-ins and explosions. For meager wages, they can only continue to trade their lives and health for their family's basic needs, struggling to survive on the edge of poverty and danger.
Love Of My Life | Gold In Non Professionals Category | Category Winners
This is the artist Jan D’Esopo with her parrots, amongst them Campece the white cockatoo and the “Love of her life”. When I entered the scene, the electricity broke down and in the seconds when she called the emergency, the scene was just illuminated by the light of the phone.
Sparkling Serpentine Purification | Gold In Non Professionals Category | Category Winners
Building roof taken to capture an Escher like image.
Ballerina | Gold In Professionals Category | Category Winners
The Queen's Wave | Gold In Professionals Category | Category Winners
Naturally Unfolding | Gold In Professionals Category | Category Winners
At the foot of Wyoming's Tetons the waning day brings a cast of characters together to mingle for a moment of refreshingly untouched nature.
Flame Of Tears | Gold In Non Professionals Category | Category Winners
Still life of a ripe onion resembling a flame.
Newspaper | Gold In Non Professionals Category | Category Winners
I had to look at this several times, as I thought it was a photo of Ana de Armas reading the paper on a subway. Tricky and cool!
Strings Of Contrasts | Gold In Non Professionals Category | Category Winners
As the winter sun set, I wandered a quiet street, captivated by the intricate dance of high-tension cables against the sky. Their stark lines weaved a metallic web, contrasting the fading light. A simple yet mesmerizing reminder that beauty exists in the overlooked, waiting to be seen.
Foodfighting Hares | Gold In Non Professionals Category | Category Winners
Utmost cold night in Norway -30 degrees Celcius. Hares fighting for the food a holiday house owner puts out for them.
Under No Roof | Gold In Non Professionals Category | Category Winners
Flying Nets Of China | Gold In Professionals Category | Category Winners
Point Of Light | Gold In Professionals Category | Category Winners
Hammerhead Shark In Action | Gold In Non Professionals Category | Category Winners
Through The Eyes | Gold In Non Professionals Category | Category Winners
Making Round Boats | Gold In Non Professionals Category | Category Winners
In southern Vietnam, small man-sized round boats are often used as “ferries” to carry fishes from large fishing boats to the shore. These man-sized round boats are first weaved using bamboo strips via interlocking patterns. They are then coated with paraffin for a water-proofed finish.
Behind The Veil | Gold In Professionals Category | Category Winners
Sometimes we are reluctant to face our true selves because of our fear, doubt, pain, and failure. But every transformative journey begins with a single courageous step — the moment we dare to look within. The path to self-discovery isn’t just a journey — it’s an awakening to our highest potential.
The Crooked Cross | Gold In Professionals Category | Category Winners
The roof and steeple of St. Francis Xavier Church in Grand Marais, MN, which was part of a North East Minnesotan Ojibwe settlement from the 1880s-1930s. The perfectly symmetrical roofline is topped by one imperfect feature - a cross that tilts.
At The Cattle Auction | Gold In Professionals Category | Category Winners
South American Portfolio.
Almost every possible facial expression is captured here in one picture!
Bikers | 2nd Place In Professionals Category | Contest Winners
High contrast, tension, and kinetic energy. BMX riders merge with the geometry of space, creating a rhythm of visual symphony where strength, speed, and architecture blend into a single motion.
On The Ice | Gold In Non Professionals Category | Category Winners
Pause Clope | Gold In Non Professionals Category | Category Winners
A woman next to Beaux-Arts Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland. She wanted to smoke a cigarette but the weather was very windy that day so she had to hide between two walls. This photo shows the exact moment when she lit her cigarette.
Mirror | Gold In Non Professionals Category | Category Winners
Timeless Nocturne #3 - Wind Of The Wasteland | 1st Place In Non Professionals Category | Contest Winners
Sounds like a single note played on a piano, balanced composition with internal dynamics. Сonceptual timeless feminine figure in a graphic minimalist style, sensuality in a surreal majestic geometric idea.
Inspired by Ralph Gibson, Irving Penn, Ray Metzker, Trent Parke, Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton.
Purification | 2nd Place In Non Professionals Category | Contest Winners
On a deserted beach, a group of believers meet with their Pastor to free themselves from the evil spirits that have taken hold of them. The liberation is only complete when they dive into the sea, lovingly led by the Pastor as he invokes God's presence to witness their purification.
This is a very powerful picture. I am amazed that the waves don't knock them down. They look quite strong!
A Soul With A Thousand Suns | 1st Place In Professionals Category | Contest Winners
Symbolizing humility, poise, and the fulfillment of wishes, chamomile carries a powerful message of hope and strength. By embracing chamomile's gentle energy, we can tap into its ancient power to attract love, happiness, and positivity into our lives.
Silver Whisper | Gold In Professionals Category | Category Winners
Wet plate collodion print of Ellie.
Rise Of Bokator | Gold In Professionals Category | Category Winners
Bokator is one of the greatest Angkorian martial arts which Khmer people used to defend in war. This is the performance of Bokator during the event ceremony which takes place in Cambodia.
Kritsa Generations | Gold In Non Professionals Category | Category Winners
Kritsa, Crete (Greece).
I really loved most of these photos, though I was often put off by the pretentious, cloying, clichéd, and/or sentimental paragraphs that accompanied quite a few; there was one instance where I’d loved and been moved to tears by a photo and then wildly turned off by the accompanying text. I even tried to go back to appreciate the photo again after finishing them all but was unable to recapture the adoration I’d initially felt. I really wish those had been left off so the photos could speak for themselves and we could see what we see without the influence of some artist who thinks he/she is “deep” by spouting some worn-out tropes, overused clichés, and/or characterized a photo in a way that seems incorrect (or flat-out wrong). Still, I’ve bookmarked the page and called it “🚫Descriptions,” and hope that when I get around to using it that I understand that I’m trying to tell myself not to read the accompanying text. ☺️
Agreed. Descriptions of what i'm seeing are more helpful than those waxing poetic about what I should feel.
Load More Replies...I really loved most of these photos, though I was often put off by the pretentious, cloying, clichéd, and/or sentimental paragraphs that accompanied quite a few; there was one instance where I’d loved and been moved to tears by a photo and then wildly turned off by the accompanying text. I even tried to go back to appreciate the photo again after finishing them all but was unable to recapture the adoration I’d initially felt. I really wish those had been left off so the photos could speak for themselves and we could see what we see without the influence of some artist who thinks he/she is “deep” by spouting some worn-out tropes, overused clichés, and/or characterized a photo in a way that seems incorrect (or flat-out wrong). Still, I’ve bookmarked the page and called it “🚫Descriptions,” and hope that when I get around to using it that I understand that I’m trying to tell myself not to read the accompanying text. ☺️
Agreed. Descriptions of what i'm seeing are more helpful than those waxing poetic about what I should feel.
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