Jeff Schewe | 1st Place | Jeff Schewe is a renowned, award winning photographer with almost 50 years of experience in both commercial and fine art photography, based in Chicago, Illinois. He is a graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology, 1978 to 1979, with a Bachelor of Science with Highest Honors in Professional Photography. Transitioning from a background in painting, Schewe has made significant contributions to the field through his expertise in digital imaging and fine art printing. A pioneer in the use and development of Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom, Schewe’s influence extends to both his technical innovations and his approach to photography.

Peter Zelei | 2nd Place |  Peter is a self-taught visual artist, born in 1970 and based in Budapest, Hungary. Throughout his life, he has explored various forms of art, including poetry, music, and painting, the latter of which he continues to practice alongside photography. Since 2012, he has been creating staged conceptual photographs that explore the world of the human unconscious, the hidden, uncharted dark forest of the soul. For him, art is a form of self-exploration and inner dialogue, a continuous process of understanding himself through images. His process is entirely self-contained: he builds the sets, designs the lighting, and acts as his own stylist.

Kaat Stieber | 3rd Place | Kaat Stieber is a fine art photographer whose work merges modern surrealist elements with the visual richness of the Dutch Renaissance. Her background in theatre and costume design is evident in the creativity and refined craftsmanship of her images. Kaat is currently focused on creating still lifes, to which she adds a unique twist by incorporating animals, particularly birds, that adopt human characteristics. These compositions function as modern fables, highlighting everyday human behaviour and adding a layer of subtle humour.

Liam Man | Honorable Mention | Liam Man is a British photographic artist whose work combines technology, art, and reality. His signature work with drone mounted lighting transforms natural landscapes into otherworldly visions that border on reality. Self taught, Liam has earned recognition as a Sony and Epson Ambassador, and his images have won many prestigious awards, including Open Photographer of the Year at the Sony World Photography Awards. Exhibited worldwide, a highlight was a solo exhibition at the 2025 UN World Expo. His work has been featured on platforms including the BBC, CNN, and Forbes.

Won Jang | Honorable Mention | Won Jang is a photographer who works exclusively with film, not out of nostalgia or ideology, but simply because a camera once came into his hands and stayed. He knows what makes a photograph “good” in the conventional sense: perfect light, composition, clarity. Yet those ideals rarely move him. What captures his eye instead are the accidents, the stray light that lands where it shouldn’t, the crooked frame, the moment that escapes control. His work embraces imperfection as truth. Regrets, mistakes, and fleeting details become metaphors for the way life unfolds: uneven, unpredictable, sometimes tender in its failures. In each image, he searches for a trace of narrative, something that might stir another person’s imagination, if only for an instant.

RIK ROOS, EDWARD OLIVE, DINA GOLDSTEIN, JOXE INAZIO KUESTA GARMENDIA, DINA BELENKO, AUGUST LANGHOUT, CRISSIAL, AGA SZYDLIK, BRIAN CASSEY, MARJORIE SALVATERRA, LUCA ONNIS, ANTONELLA CUNSOLO, ANJA STOLL, FRASER BOSSONS, SAYAN BISWAS, SABINA GRAMS, KATT STIEBER, ALDONA DMOWSKA, JAIME NISENBAUM, MEIKO JANKE, EMILY LARSEN, MICHELE CHICHIERCHIA, MIKE EUBANKS, LEX LUCAS, ANDREA LONDON, TOMMY ARMSTRONG, PHILIPP SCHMIEJA, ANDREA MORI, ROBERT KOZAKIEWICZ, ANA PAULA DE C SALLES, LORENZO VITALI, MICHEL KHAROUBI, KLAUS LENZEN, KATARZYNA ADAMOWICZ, SARA MARKESE, MONIQUE VAN LAAKE, TORU TAKAGI, KAREN NUMME, RACHEL NIXON, GABI COÊLHO, ANDREA ESPOSTO, ELLIE DAVIES, DAVID READ, OLIWIA NIEMCZYCKA, THEO DECKER, GIULIA FUSETTI DALDOSSO, ANA GARRIDO SANTOS, GIEL KETTING, KSENIIA MELANINA, AXELLE DUDOUET, JEAN-CLAUDE BISE, PETRA TRIVILINO, JÜRGEN HAMMERMANN, JOHN KOSMER, MICHAEL PACHIS, STEFANO LOTUMOLO, JULIE FOWELLS, LISA POWERS, DUNCAN PETRIE, LARYSA LIMAN, TYRREL JONNS, LENA DAVIS, JILL SUTHERLAND, ORCHID LI, HANS MARTIN DÖLZ, AFREED ALI, PAOLA FRANCESCA BARONE, CÉDRIC BRION, MICHA NUSSINOV, HENRY FERNANDO, NINA KRUEGER