The 1839 Awards Have Announced The Winners Of The 2025 Photographer Of The Year Contest (39 Pics)

"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."

"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."

"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."

"Emperor parents are feeding their chick on the ice of Antarctica."

"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."

"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."

"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."

"This photo was taken of a traditional Chinese cormorant fisherman on the River Li in China."

"This is my blend of creativity and surrealism, which invites you to dream beyond boundaries."

"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."

"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."

"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."

"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."

"A lone soul working the salt mines of Peru. Having a human immersed in this level of color caught my eye."

"Barrel racing at the Limestone County Sheriff's Rodeo in Athens, AL, USA."

"Promotion for fashion designer Ade Bakare."

"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."

"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."

"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."

"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."

"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."

"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."

"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."

"Mission in Rancho de Taos, New Mexico."

"Vintage Dior dresses."

"A hot day in Paris brings together the entire neighborhood to find a refuge from the sweltering conditions."

"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."

"'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."

"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."

"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."

"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."

"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."