Winners of the 11th annual competition were announced today. The contest (not affiliated with Apple) celebrates the quality of camerawork mastered by iPhone users. This year, submissions included less selfies and food photos, focusing more on faraway places and capturing the human experience.
Competition founder Kenan Aktulun told the Wall Street Journal, “I don’t think iPhones will replace other cameras, but users are definitely getting more fluent in visual storytelling.”
Photographers across the globe are taking poignant portraits, stunning landscapes, and even works of abstraction with striking compositional skill, patience, and photo-editing prowess. Grand prize winner Jashim Salam won photographer of the year with his portrait of throngs of people gathered in his native Bangladesh to watch an outdoor movie. Children sit transfixed at the front of the crowd, making any viewer wonder—what movie is it?
U.S. artist Robin Roberts won first place in the animal’s category with her funny and touching shot of a frizzy-haired terrier. Raised in a Buddhist monastery in Hunan China, the little fellow lives in the Shaolin Temple and has almost disturbingly wise eyes. Almost.
The top prize for architectural photography went to Massimo Graziani of Italy. His high-contrast black and white view down a seemingly endless corridor of archways is both graphic and a little dizzying.
Spain took first place in the lifestyle category. Natalia-Garces’ colorful shot of a woman skateboarding (we only see one part of a leg) is a great study in texture. A patterned grate or rubberized ground (it’s difficult to tell) plays off the chevron pattern on the bright turquoise skateboard and the rider’s black floral tights.
Not to be overlooked, first place in the people category went to Swiss photographer Jonas Wyssen. His shot of tourists posing in front of a chapel in Brazil in their swimsuits is both fun and very expertly composed.
For more about the iPhone photography awards, visit.
