All About Photo Awards 2026: Winners Selected by Steve McCurry

Top Image: Window to the Past from the series 'Revolutionary Revelations' © Matt McClain, Photographer of the Year 2026

All About Photo is pleased to announce the winners of the 2026 All About Photo Awards – The Mind’s Eye, marking the competition’s 11th anniversary with acclaimed photographer Steve McCurry serving as juror. This year’s selection features 45 winning images that reflect the beauty, complexity, and urgency of the world today.

Representing 15 countries across four continents, the winning photographs demonstrate the wide range of contemporary photography. Chosen by McCurry, the final selection brings together documentary, conceptual, and poetic approaches, offering a vivid portrait of the medium as it stands today. From the United States to Spain, India to Indonesia, and China to France, the images travel across borders while remaining grounded in place, memory, and lived experience.

A Broad View of Photography Today

The 2026 winners present a layered and expansive view of contemporary photography. The selected images span subjects and settings as diverse as Colonial Williamsburg, the borderlands of West Africa, the grasslands of Tibet, and the urban energy of Mumbai, Havana, and Beijing.

Each work adds to a larger narrative shaped by human presence, cultural memory, and visual storytelling. Some photographs address urgent realities, while others explore identity, ritual, history, and the quiet beauty of everyday life. Together, they show how photography continues to function as a universal language—one that can record, question, and transform the world around us.

Top Prize Winners

First Place goes to Matt McClain for Window to the Past, a quiet and cinematic reflection on time and history. Captured through a misted window in Colonial Williamsburg, the image blends past and present into a single contemplative frame.

Second Place is awarded to Brooke Shaden for Obscura, a conceptual self-portrait that examines identity in the digital age and blurs the boundary between authenticity and performance.

Third Place goes to France Leclerc for Celestial Ladies, a striking composition that balances form, ritual, and coincidence in a moment of stillness.

Fourth Place, by Javier Arcenillas, captures an intimate scene aboard a Tunisian train, where light, color, and composition reveal solitude within motion.

Fifth Place goes to Beamie Young for Bringing Home the Birds, a poetic black-and-white photograph set in Cuba that evokes childhood, freedom, and tradition.

Merit Award Gallery

The Merit Award Gallery extends the story even further. Among the honored works are photographs that confront labor conditions, climate fragility, and political unrest, alongside images that turn toward spirituality, tradition, and cultural continuity.

Other works embrace a more poetic sensibility, capturing fleeting moments such as a cyclist reflected in a drop of dew, a diver suspended among whales, or a beam of light illuminating a remote chapel. These images remind us that the extraordinary often exists within the everyday, waiting to be seen.

The full Merit Award winners are: Tittu Shaji Thomas (India), Wahyu Budiyanto (Indonesia), Buck Holzemer (USA), Max Chu (China), Thaddäus Biberauer (Austria), Florian Wurzinger (Austria), Khaichuin Sim (Malaysia), Jordi Cohen (Spain), Shrikanth Poojari (India), Gavin Libotte (UK/Australia), Chris Yan (China), Zhang Lintao (China), Thibault Gerbaldi (France/United States), Jiri Kostal (Czech Republic), Takeshi Yamamoto (Japan), Andrew Newey (United Kingdom), Md Tanveer Rohan (United States), Eric Seidner (United States), Marco Di Marco (Italy), Prescott Lassman (United States), Gabi Steiner (Austria), Tommi Viitala (Finland), Cesare Simioni (Italy), Asako Naruto (Japan), Kerry Faulkner (Australia), Archie Cludven (China), Fenqiang Liu (United States), Robert Lie (Indonesia), Hervé Boutrouille (France), Marie Kent (France), Seppo Tuomaala (Finland), and Tebani Slade (Australia).

Steve McCurry’s Selection

In choosing this year’s winners, Steve McCurry presents not a single visual style, but a broad and nuanced view of photographic practice. His selections highlight images that are immediate yet timeless, grounded in specific moments while resonating more universally.

The result is more than a competition outcome. It is a collective visual narrative of the world as seen through the eyes of today’s most compelling photographers.

Recognition and Reach

Open to photographers worldwide and across all genres, the All About Photo Awards – The Mind’s Eye continue to champion visual storytelling, emotional depth, and originality. The 2026 winners receive $5,000 in cash prizes, along with international exposure through AAP Magazine, online exhibitions, and global media distribution.

Founded in 2015, the competition has become a respected platform for emerging and established photographers alike. The annual award recognizes work that is not only visually compelling, but also socially, culturally, and environmentally resonant.

The title The Mind’s Eye is inspired by Henri Cartier-Bresson’s idea of the alignment of “one’s head, one’s eye, and one’s heart.” That philosophy remains central to the awards, underscoring an approach to photography where observation, emotion, and composition come together to create meaningful work.

Discover the 45 winning images here

Photo Contest: AAP Magazine 57 Portrait

MORE INFORMATION HERE

AAP Magazine#57 "Portrait" invites photographers to explore humanity in each of us. From the classic studio portraits to the rise of the selfie, the best portraits give a glimpse into somebody's soul, a connection formed across countries, cultures and ages.

We seek the submission of photographs that celebrate the aesthetic and conceptual considerations involved in the creation of the portrait: celebrate diversity, creativity, honesty and self-expression. Studio portraits, candid street shots, self-portraits, conceptual and fine art all welcome. With 7.57 billion people to choose from around the world, show us the ones that matter to you.

All genres, capture types, color and B&W, traditional and non-traditional photographic and digital post-production processes are welcome for submission.

Applications will be assessed on three criteria: creativity, originality and the visual / emotional impact of the image. The winners will be announced on All About Photo and social media.

Please send us a cohesive body of work or portfolio. Only a unified group of photos will be published in AAP Magazine.

Winners will receive $1,000 in cash awards, their winning image(s) or full portfolio published in AAP Magazine #57, extensive press coverage and global recognition.

All winners will have their work published in the 57th printed issue of AAP Magazine, a free copy of the magazine and their portfolio showcased in the Winners Gallery of www.all-about-photo.com.

Why enter All About Photo Competitions?

Elevate your career!
All it takes is one industry insider to change the course of your career. Share your work with our audience of editors, book publishers, gallery owners, festival directors, creative directors, curators, and online media publishers!

Permanent Exhibition on All About Photo online gallery
All About Photo is a leading platform in the photography industry showcasing the work of famous photographers as well as new talents. Don't miss the opportunity to be featured in our online gallery

International Press Exposure
Share your work with the world and catch the attention of diverse media outlets. We will promote each selected photographer on our website and on our social profiles.

Applications will be assessed on three criteria: creativity, originality, and the visual/emotional impact of the image. The winners will be announced on All About Photo and social media. Images that were previously published in AAP Magazine cannot be submitted again

MORE INFORMATION HERE

1st Place winner
Cash Prize: $500 (US Dollars).
Exclusive interview and winning image(s) or portfolio published in AAP Magazine, Volume 57: Portrait
One free copy of AAP Magazine that will be for sale and distributed on Blurb.com
Winning work showcased on the online Winners Gallery of All About Photo

2nd Place Winner
Cash Prize: $300 (US Dollars).
Winning image(s) or portfolio in AAP Magazine, Volume 57: Portrait
One free copy of AAP Magazine that will be for sale and distributed on Blurb.com
Winning work showcased on the online Winners Gallery of All About Photo

3rd Place Winner
Cash Prize: $200 (US Dollars).
Winning image(s) or portfolio published in AAP Magazine, Volume 57: Portrait
One free copy of AAP Magazine that will be for sale and distributed on Blurb.com
Winning work showcased on the online Winners Gallery of All About Photo

Particular Merit Mention
The next seventeenth winners (ranked from 4 to 25) will have their best image(s) or portfolio published in AAP Magazine Volume 57: Portrait
They will receive one free copy of the magazine that will be for sale and distributed on Blurb.com and their portfolio showcased in the Winners Gallery of www.all-about-photo.com
MORE INFORMATION HERE

All About Photo Presents ' Alpine Hiatus: The Snow No Longer Tastes Like Snow' by Filippo Poli

All About Photo is proud to present Filippo Poli as the winner of the April 2026 Solo Exhibition with his project Alpine Hiatus: The Snow No Longer Tastes Like Snow. The series will be featured exclusively on All About Photo throughout April 2026.

In Alpine Hiatus, Italian photographer and architect Poli captures the Alps caught between memory and transformation. Returning decades after childhood winters in the Aosta Valley, he finds snowfields replaced by reservoirs, snow cannons, and infrastructure. By juxtaposing his family’s archival black-and-white photographs with contemporary color images, Poli explores the emotional and environmental erosion of a once-familiar landscape.

The project blends architectural precision with poetic restraint, documenting both loss and resilience. Alpine Hiatus is a meditation on climate change, memory, and the shifting bond between humans and landscape. Through this exhibition, All About Photo continues to highlight photographers whose work addresses urgent global themes through a personal lens, offering viewers a quiet yet powerful act of witness.

'Alpine Hiatus' is on view at the Showroom of All About Photo through April 2026.

Discover the exhibition 'Alpine Hiatus'

Discover the 25 winners of AAP Magazine 55 Women

The marginalization of women in the history of photography is rooted in a long-standing tendency to undervalue their creative voice. For decades, women were more often seen as muses or assistants, rather than as artists shaping their own vision. Early visual culture reinforced this imbalance, portraying women as passive figures, while limiting both their representation and their role behind the camera.

Yet throughout history, women have continuously challenged these boundaries—using photography to document, question, and redefine how the world is seen.

With its 55th edition, AAP Magazine celebrates the strength, resilience, and creative power of women through the work of 25 selected photographers. Among them, 17 women are joined by 8 men, representing 12 countries across 3 continents, whose diverse approaches form a compelling tribute to the theme.

From fine art to street photography, documentary to portraiture, the selected works offer a wide range of perspectives—some intimate and introspective, others outward-looking and socially engaged. Together, they create a rich and nuanced dialogue on how women are represented and empowered through photography today.

The Winner is Silvia Alesssi (Italy) with the series 'The Cut'

The Second Place Winner is Natalya Saprunova (France/Russia) with the series 'Boreal People'

The Third Place Winner is Angelika Kollin (Estonia) with the series ‘You Are My Mother’

The other winners featured in the Merit Award’s Gallery are: Somenath Mukhopadhyay (India), Ezio Gianni Murzi (Italy), Ron Cooper (United States), B Jane Levine (United States), Aline Smithson (United States), Donna Gordon (United States), Alain Schroeder (Belgium), Mandy Ross (UK), Justin Roque (France), Oscar González (Costa Rica), Leonie van der Helm (Netherlands), Sebastian Sardi (Sweden), Nina Nelson (United States), Valentina Sinis (Italy), Beth Stahn (United States), Jelisa Peterson (United States), Mary Dondero (United States), Oksana Zhila (Russia), Ingetje Tadros (Netherlands), Leonor Benito de la Lastra (Spain), Clark James Mishler (United States) and Cheryl Clegg (United States).

The top three winners will receive a prize of $1,000, and all winning photographs will be prominently featured in the All About Photo Winners Gallery and published in the printed issue of AAP Magazine #55: Women Discover all the winners here

New Call for Entries: Win a Solo Exhibition this May

More information here Maximize Your Exposure: Enter the Solo Exhibition Competition for a Month-Long Online Showcase

At All About Photo, we celebrate extraordinary photography that inspires, transforms, and connects with us on a deeper level.

WHY ENTER THE SOLO EXHIBITION?

Global Reach: Showcase your work to a wide international audience through one of the most dynamic photography platforms online.

Open to All Genres: Whether you work in photojournalism, street photography, fine art, landscape, or portraiture — all categories and subjects are welcome. Unleash your creativity.

For All Photographers: Open to professionals and enthusiasts alike. Submit a cohesive body of work or portfolio that reflects your unique vision.

EXCLUSIVE BENEFITS

• Featured Solo Exhibition — Presented for an entire month across our Home Page, Competition Gallery, and Exhibition Directory
• Exclusive Interview — Share your story and insights with a global audience
• Permanent Online Presence — Your exhibition remains accessible indefinitely + a dedicated portfolio page featuring up to 20 images
• Social Media Exposure — Promotion via Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter
• Dedicated Newsletter Announcement — A special edition sent to our international subscribers
• International Press Coverage — Guaranteed features on Bored Panda, Visura, and Photophiles Magazine
• Sell Your Work Commission-Free — Connect directly with collectors and keep 100% of your sales

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Open Theme
Submit 6–14 images
Flat fee: $45

Only cohesive projects or portfolios will be considered for a Solo Exhibition.

More information here