Absolute Winner of the Black and Withe Photo Awards 2025 – The kingdom of flies, by João Coelho.
The raw power of black and white photography finds new voices in the winning works of the Black and White Photo Awards 2025. This year’s edition revealed a striking balance between intimate human stories and grand natural landscapes, showing once again why monochrome imagery remains timeless.
João Coelho, The Absolute Winner
The most prestigious title, Absolute Winner, was awarded to João Coelho for his haunting work The Kingdom of Flies. In this image, a man struggles against clouds of flies for scraps of discarded food. What could be mistaken for a post-apocalyptic vision is, in fact, the harsh daily life of those surviving on what others throw away. The photograph transcends documentary, becoming a universal statement on human dignity and resilience.
Mark Seawell, Runner-up
This year introduced a new distinction: the Runner-up award. The honor went to Mark Seawell for Where the Shadows Lie, a poetic capture of Arizona’s canyons where light dances across ancient textures. Seawell’s work transforms a landscape into memory itself—fragile, fleeting, unforgettable.
Special Awards
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Special Prize for Creativity: Electric Silhouette by Adebayo Rotilu, a futuristic portrait crafted entirely with laser beams.
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Special Award Master of Light: No Words by Roberto Corinaldesi, an emotionally charged portrait of a woman from India, isolated against a black background to magnify its dramatic force.
Category Highlights
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Architecture: Brilliant Design by Remuna Beca, a spiral staircase in Prague forming the shape of a lightbulb—an elegant fusion of structure and idea.
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Fauna and Flora: Leopard Jump Mono by Willem Kruger, capturing the raw intensity of a leopard escaping its mate’s claws in South Africa’s Sabi Sands.
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Landscape: The Wedded Rocks by Robert Bolton, a serene yet powerful image of the sacred Meoto Iwa in Japan, where sea and sky meet tradition.
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Portrait: Proud Artisan by Nur Tucker, celebrating the quiet strength of Anatolian pottery makers.
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Street: Trapped in a Frame by Yanitsa Genova, a moment of tension and poetry in the urban environment.
In addition, second-place winners and honorable mentions (Gold, Silver, Bronze) recognized the extraordinary breadth of talent across all five categories.
With a panel of renowned judges—Joel Tjintelaar, Julia Anna Gospodarou, Charles Paul Azzopardi, Kazutoshi Kawakami, and Spanish photographer Néstor Rodan—the Black and White Photo Awards reaffirm their mission: to celebrate photography as a timeless art of light, shadow, and story.
The 2026 edition will open on January 1st, inviting photographers from around the globe to once again redefine the boundaries of monochrome.
More information about the various finalists, awards, jury, etc. at: bwphotoawards.com