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2020 iPhone Photography Award Winners Once Again Proved That Striking Photos Can Be Taken Without An Expensive Camera (45 Pics)
You don't have to buy the most expensive gear in order to be an exceptional photographer—sometimes, all you need is an iPhone... and talent. And here's proof.
iPhone Photography Awards (also known as IPPAWARDS) is the first and the longest-running iPhone photography competition since 2007. Every year, this competition gives awards to the most spectacular photos taken on an iPhone or iPad. If you want to enter the competition, your photos should not be published anywhere previously and should not be edited on any desktop image processing program such as Photoshop. And that's basically it.
Recently, iPhone Photography Awards announced the winners of their 2020 competition and the photos are absolutely stunning. Bored Panda invites you to take a look and choose your favorites.
More info: ippawards.com
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Architecture: First Place, 'Duomo Di Milano', Milan, Italy By Haiyin Lin
Loki’s Lil Butter Knife 5 years ago (edited)
The diffuse lighting in this photograph is perfect. It looks a scene from an old postcard.
Simon Litton 5 years ago
Define "expensive". You can buy a decent camera for a lot less than an iphone.
Each year, iPhone Photography Awards announces a Grand Prize winner, as well as winners in 19 other categories, including Photographer of the Year, Abstract, Architecture, People, and Nature.
This year, Grand Prize Winner and Photographer of the Year Award went to Dimpy Bhalotia, who is a street photographer from the United Kingdom. To take this picture called Flying Boys, the photographer used an iPhone X.
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#2
Travel: First Place, 'Free From The Past', Varanasi, India By Kristian Cruz
Rodey Hamza Hamzah 5 years ago
Don't forget to share it once you are done with it.
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Eshaa Venkatesh 5 years ago
This is my city...and it is mesmerizing. Everyone needs to visit at least once.
Besides, this year's winners prove that in order to take an amazing photo, you don't even need to have the newest iPhone in your pocket. In fact, one winner scored a prize using an iPhone 4!
#3
Architecture: Third Place, 'Calpe Sunrise', Calpe, Spain By Jiandong Wang
joan-of-argh 5 years ago
HA I didn't even see that until I saw your comment!
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"This year marks the 13th Annual Awards with submissions from thousands of photographers from all over the globe. Dozens of winning photographs reflect powerful worldviews, from vast landscapes to a single tree, from city streets to remote desolation, from toil and hardship to a private moment in the sun," IPPAWADS team writes on their website.
#4
Trees: Third Place, 'Solitude Beauty', Ewa Beach, Hawaii By Chuyang Baideme
Kenny Kulbiski 5 years ago
That picnic table makes it. "You're alone and isolated but someone knew you'd be coming."
Bellatrix Lestrange 5 years ago
usually, there are tons of people there its very hard to find empty picnic tables on the beaches of Hawaii.
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Lisa Chambers 5 years ago
What a great surprise! I have been here many times and know this tree well.
averageperson 5 years ago
It's so simple it looks VERY photoshopped. It's probably genuine, tho.
Another cool thing about this competition is that people from all around the globe can participate in it. "Top-three winners in an additional 18 categories were awarded to photographers from almost every corner of the world, including Australia, Bahrain, Belarus, Canada, China, Colombia, France, Hong Kong, Italy, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Netherlands, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States," reads the website.
#5
Nature: First Place, 'Untitled', By Lisi Li
Lou Herout 5 years ago
i'm curious about what makes you say that. Shutter speed and color are effects that can be produced in-camera.
Load More Replies... Loki’s Lil Butter Knife 5 years ago
This has to be one of my personal favourites. It reminds me of a traditional sumi-e (black ink painting) painting.
#6
Sunset: Second Place, 'Twilight Reflection', Santa Catalina Mountains, Arizona By Joseph Cyr
Loki’s Lil Butter Knife 5 years ago
The sky looks like it is on fire- love how the photographer caught the reflection of the sunset in the water.
#7
Animals: Second Place, 'Flamingos', By Ji Li
#8
Nature: Third Place, 'Journey To The Lava Field', Hawaii, By Jiawen Wu
Lisa Chambers 5 years ago
I hope this is a result of zooming in, because at this distance your clothes would start to smoke and your shoes would melt.
#9
News/Events: First Place, 'Demons Lighting The Sky', Paterna, Spain By Fernando Merlo
#10
Landscape: Third Place, 'The Cloud', Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain By Dominic Dähncke
#11
Poty: Grand Prize Winner, 'Flying Boys', Banaras, India By Dimpy Bhalotia
Loki’s Lil Butter Knife 5 years ago
This photograph is gorgeous- I honestly don't know where to begin.
Eshaa Venkatesh 5 years ago
This is also my city... Banaras is also known as Varanasi or Kashi.
#12
Still Life: Third Place, '84,000 Statues Of Yakushi Nyorai', Shimane, Japan By Shinya Itahana
#13
Landscape: First Place, 'Untitled', Marble Canyon, Arizona By Liu Dan
Loki’s Lil Butter Knife 5 years ago
I really like how the use of black and white photography brings out all of natural patterns and textures in the canyon.
Lisa Chambers 5 years ago
This is always such a great sight to see. I marvel at what had to happen to make these.
#14
Landscape: Second Place, 'Duned', Zeeland, Netherlands By Nico Brons
#15
Trees: Second Place, 'Grow Upwards', Wuhan, China By Wei Xiong
#16
Poty: First Place, 'No Walls', India, By Artyom Baryshau
Diana Dodd 5 years ago
I find this to be a truly delightful wall. It brings the sky all the way to the ground! Love it!
#17
Children: Third Place, 'Through The Eyes Of The Children', San Carlos Pangasinan, Philippines By Mary Joy Loyola Ganitano
#18
Nature: Second Place, 'Kea At Mount Luxmore', Fiordland National Park, New Zealand By Avishai Futerman
#19
Other: Third Place, 'The Secret', Huntington, NY By Shāna Einhorn
#20
Floral: First Place, 'Lonely Morning Glory', Shenzhen, China By Peiquan Li
#21
Trees: First Place, 'Alone', Queensland, Australia By Glenn Homann
#22
Poty: Second Place, 'Untitled', Chengdu, Sichuan By Geli Zhao
#23
Abstract: First Place, 'Splattered Paint', Shanghai, China By Tu Odnu
Emilia Motoasca 5 years ago
Great photo! The colours reminded me of one of my 100 iPhone photo collages during the lockdown of this year. Day 29 - 16 April 2020 Photo collage of today: steam punk photos with some ants. I was so lucky to make some great photos with these thirsty ants... at first I was angry to have spilled the sweeten water meant for the butterflies. The sun, blue sky and our yellow terrace cover turned the water spot into a magic colored river where giant ants are drinking from the dark-yellow-golden oil-colored water... 2020-Colaj...cf0d10.jpg 
#24
Animals: First Place, 'Horses In The Storm', Iceland, By Xiaojun Zhang
#25
Floral: Second Place, 'Chrysanthemum', Zhongshan, China By Chikeung Poon
#26
Panorama: Third Place, 'Immersion', Meteora, Greece By Garrine Tsang
#27
Portrait: First Place, 'Beautiful Isolation', Ouarzazate, Morocco By Mona Jumaan
#28
Children: First Place, 'Cotton Candy', Vorontsovsky Park, Moscow By Ekaterina Varzar
#29
Lifestyle: Third Place, 'Devil’s Gold', Kawa Ijen Volcano, Indonesia By Liu Dan
Zulma Ruiz 5 years ago
There are some documentaries about this place, and the dangerous work that those men do, going up and down the mountains with sulfur on their backs, very sad.
Kenny Kulbiski 5 years ago
I think these guys are collecting sulphur. If it's what I read about it's a miserable, dangerous, low paying existence.
#30
People: First Place, 'Knitting To Heal Wounds', Ayacucho, Peru By Omar Lucas
#32
Abstract: Third Place, 'Silent Architecture', Shanghai, By Tod Chen
#33
Architecture: Second Place, 'Palm Tree Series #5', Los Angeles, California By Emilia Kashfian
#34
Animals: Third Place, 'The Empty Quarter', United Arab Emirates, By Anna Aiko
Kenny Kulbiski 5 years ago
Agreed . Hope we're both proved wrong but I don't think I like this one.
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Diana Dodd 5 years ago
The Saluki is a standardised breed developed from sighthounds – dogs that hunt primarily by sight rather than scent – that was once used by nomadic tribes to run down game animals.
Fieke Engelen 5 years ago
Maybe it was found like that. Now someone is going to make it healthy.
#38
Series: First Place, 'Tattooed Women', Mindat, Myanmar By Liu Dan
Loki’s Lil Butter Knife 5 years ago
I always find it really fascinating to see how other cultures view beauty.
#40
Travel: Second Place, 'Eye Spy', Katoomba, Nsw, Australia By Anthony Ginns
#42
Poty: Third Place, 'Sheikh Of Youth', Baghdad, Iraq By Saif Hussain
#43
Children: Second Place, 'Chinlone', Myanmar, By Dan Liu
#44
Still Life: First Place, 'The Wine Bottle And The Seven Chouriços', Santa Maria Dos Olivais, Portugal By Joao Cabaco
#45
Floral: Third Place, 'Untitled', By Hao Wen
Add New Image
What do you think ?
Brendan 5 years ago
It's true, all he needed was an iPhone...oh yeah, and years of experience with PhotoShop.
Loki’s Lil Butter Knife 5 years ago
I was actually curious if the photographers were able to use PhotoShop to edit their photographs for this contest. The contest website says that photos should not be altered in andy "desktop" processing program like Photoshop. However, the photographers are allowed to use IOS apps.
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Computernaut 5 years ago
"...Striking Photos Can Be Taken Without An Expensive Camera" Yeah, right. Like iPhones aren't expensive. Worse than just being expensive, they're also overpriced; you don't even really get what you pay for.
Chris DiFonso 5 years ago
There are times, such as when something like this is posted, that I think that Bored Panda is an (unpaid?) advertiser for Apple. Other posts, I think BP is an advertiser for Disney.
mph seti 5 years ago
Yeah, this really should be "smartphone photos" not "iPhone photos" The other phone companies have cameras too, and some are better than what Apple offers.
Load More Replies... Shea Fujishima 5 years ago
What part of not expensive is an iphone? Next time gather up pictures taken on 200$ point and shoot cameras.
Dorothy Cloud 5 years ago
I wasn't that impressed by the subject matter after the first 4 or so.
Brendan 5 years ago
It's true, all he needed was an iPhone...oh yeah, and years of experience with PhotoShop.
Loki’s Lil Butter Knife 5 years ago
I was actually curious if the photographers were able to use PhotoShop to edit their photographs for this contest. The contest website says that photos should not be altered in andy "desktop" processing program like Photoshop. However, the photographers are allowed to use IOS apps.
Load More Replies... Computernaut 5 years ago
"...Striking Photos Can Be Taken Without An Expensive Camera" Yeah, right. Like iPhones aren't expensive. Worse than just being expensive, they're also overpriced; you don't even really get what you pay for.
Chris DiFonso 5 years ago
There are times, such as when something like this is posted, that I think that Bored Panda is an (unpaid?) advertiser for Apple. Other posts, I think BP is an advertiser for Disney.
mph seti 5 years ago
Yeah, this really should be "smartphone photos" not "iPhone photos" The other phone companies have cameras too, and some are better than what Apple offers.
Load More Replies... Shea Fujishima 5 years ago
What part of not expensive is an iphone? Next time gather up pictures taken on 200$ point and shoot cameras.
Dorothy Cloud 5 years ago
I wasn't that impressed by the subject matter after the first 4 or so.
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