National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest 2015
The travel arm of the National Geographic Society received more than 17,000 entries, with one image making it to the top spot: a spectacular photo of divers suspended in the water as they swim near a humpback whale. It was shot by Anuar Patjane Floriuk, from Mexico, near Roca Partida, an island off the west coast of Mexico.
Titled "Whale Whisperer", Floriuk told National Geographic: “The photo wasn’t planned … I was taking photos near the head of the whale, and all of a sudden she began to swim toward the rest of the diving team. The divers gave the whale and her calf space, and I just clicked at the moment when the flow and composition seemed right.”
Grand Prize – "Whale Whisperer" by Anuar Patjane Floriuk
Second Place – "Gravel Workmen" by Ahmed Al Toqi
Third Place – "Camel Ardah" by Ahmed Al Toqi
Merit – "Kushti, Indian Wrestling" by Alain Schroeder
Merit – "Romania, Land of Fairy Tales" by Eduard Gutescu
Merit – "White Rhinos" by Stefane Berube
Merit – "Highlanders" by Bartłomiej Jurecki
Merit – "Catching a Duck" by Sarah Wouters
Merit – "Sauna in the Sky" by Stefano Zardini
Merit – "A Night at Deadvlei" by Beth McCarley
Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2015
Now in its seventh year, the Royal Observatory Greenwich astronomy photo contest received a record number of entries: over 2,700 from 60 countries, across a range of categories.
The overall winner was French photographer Luc Jamet with his picture of the drama of the total solar eclipse of 20 March 2015, 100 metres above the wintry valley of Sassendalen in the Norwegian territory of Svalbard.
Overall Winner – "Eclipse Totality over Sassendalen", by Luc Jamet, France
Runner Up – "Sunderland Noctilucent Cloud Display" by Matt Robinson, UK
Highly Commended – "River of Light" by Martin Campbell, UK
Aurorae category
Winner – "Silk Skies" by Jamen Percy, Australia
Runner-Up – "April Aurora" by Kolbein Svensson, Norway
Highly Commended – "Sumo Waggle Adventure" by Arild Heitmann, Norway
Galaxies category
Winner – "M33 Core" by Michael Van Doorn, Netherlands
Our Sun category
Winner – "Huge Prominence Lift-Off" by Paolo Porcellana, Italy
Runner-Up – "Totality Ends" by David Wrangborg, Sweden
People and Space category
Winner – "Sunset Peak Star Trail", by Chap Him Wong, Hong Kong
Highly Commended – "Interaction" by Tommy Eliassen, Norway
Planets, Comets and Asteroids category
Winner – "The Arrow Missed the Heart" by Lefteris Velissaratos, Greece
Stars and Nebulae category
Winner – "The Magnificent Omega Centauri" by Ignacio Diaz Bobillo, Argentina
Joint Runner-Up – "Orion Mega Mosaic" by Tom O’Donoghue and Olly Penrice, Ireland
Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year category
Winner – "A Celestial Visitor", by George Martin, UK, aged 15
Runner-Up – "Mega Moon" by Ethan Chappel, USA, aged 15
Special Prize: The Sir Patrick Moore Prize for Best Newcomer
Winner – "Orion DT" by David Tolliday, UK
CBRE Urban Photographer of the Year 2015
The CBRE Urban Photographer of the Year competition encourages amateur and professional photographers to capture the essence of the urban environment through the brief of "Cities at Work". This year saw over 21,000 entries from 113 countries.
Oscar Rialubin from the Philippines was named the 2015 winner for his image "Xyclops", which shows a watch repairman at work in Doha, Qatar.
Overall winner – "Xyclops" by Oscar Rialubin, taken in Doha, Qatar
Americas Regional Winner – "Winter Work" by Christopher Martin, taken in Alberta, Canada
Asia-Pacific Regional Winner – "Poultry Prepared for Market" by Peter Graney, taken in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Europe, Middle East and Africa Regional Winner – "Couple Policemen" by Armen Dolukhanyan, taken in Kharkov, Ukraine
Mobile Category
Winner – "Blizzard Days" by Cocu Liu, taken in Chicago, USA
A selection of "Hourly Winners"
"Managing Influence" by Pedro Guimarães Lins Machado, taken in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
"General Compartment" by Sujan Sarkar, taken in Kolkata, India
"Waiting for Tourists" by Grzegorz Piaskowski, taken in Varanasi, India
"Crossroads" by Joshua Charow, taken in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, USA
"Morning Shift" by Jan Košťál, taken in Sitakunda, Chittagong, Bangladesh
"Sumo" by Lukasz Kazimierz Palka, taken in Tokyo, Japan
"Construction on Call" by Geoff Williams, taken in Birmingham New Street Station, UK
"Old School" by Goran Jovic, taken in New York, USA
"Cleaning the Western Wall" by Louis Capeloto, taken in Jerusalem, Israel
"Workers" by SHM Mushfiqul Alam, taken in Dhaka, Bangladesh
"Dog Walker" by Johanna Siegmann, taken in Malibu, California, USA
"In Between Work" by Ankit Narang, taken in New Delhi, India
"Underground" by Mario Pereda Berga, taken in Shinjuku Station, Tokyo
"Wine" by David Martin Huamani Bedoya, taken in Lima, Perú
"Mannequins" by Katia Morichetti, taken in Brescia, Italy
"Oriental Fast Food" by Marcos Sobral, taken in Beijing, China
Sony World Photography Awards 2015
The Sony World Photography Awards announced American photographer John Moore as the overall winner and professional photographer of the year with his photo project “Ebola Crisis Overwhelms Liberian Capital”.
Moore’s hard-hitting series centred on the human tragedy of the Ebola epidemic in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, the epicentre of the deadly disease. Other winners were awarded in 13 professional categories and also in open, youth, and student awards.
Current Affairs Photographer of the Year – "Sister's Grief" by John Moore
Current Affairs Photographer of the Year – "Blue Room" by John Moore
Travel Photographer of the Year – "Aerial Views Adria" by Bernhard Lang
Travel Photographer of the Year – "Aerial Views Adria" by Bernhard Lang
Campaign Photographer of the Year – "Shooting ball" by Sebastian Gil Miranda
Campaign Photographer of the Year – "Ball religion" by Sebastian Gil Miranda
People Photographer of the Year – "La Ville Noire – The Dark Heart of Europe" by Giovanni Troilo
Student Focus Photographer of the Year – "On the way to the edge" by Svetlana Blagodareva
Student Focus Photographer of the Year – "On the way to the edge" by Svetlana Blagodareva
Sport Photographer of the Year – "Las Valkyrias de Bolivia" by Riccardo Bononi
Sport Photographer of the Year – "Las Valkyrias de Bolivia" by Riccardo Bononi
Architecture Photographer of the Year – "Intimate Room, Targsor Penitentiary, Romania, 2011" by Cosmin Bumbut
Architecture Photographer of the Year – "Intimate Room, Tulcea Penitentiary, Romania, 2013" by Cosmin Bumbut
Arts & Culture Photographer of the Year - "Tweeting Prom" by Aristide Economopoulos
Arts & Culture Photographer of the Year – "Dance Floor" by Aristide Economopoulos
Contemporary Issues Photographer of the Year – "Butterflies chapter 3 photo 4" by Scott Typaldos
Contemporary Issues Photographer of the Year – "Butterflies chapter 3 photo 6" by Scott Typaldos
Landscape Photographer of the Year – "Mt Kenya 1934" by Simon Norfolk
Landscape Photographer of the Year – "Mt Kenya 1934" by Simon Norfolk
Lifestyle Photographer of the Year – "Ethnic Yi People Living in the Great Liangshan Mountains of China" by Li Fan
Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2015
The top spot for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition was taken by a photo of two foxes showing the struggle for life in the subarctic climes of Cape Churchill, Canada, beating more than 42,000 entries submitted from across 96 countries.
Winner – "A tale of two foxes", by Don Gutoski from Canada
Winner, Young Wildlife Photographer – "Ruffs on display" by Ondrej Pelánek from the Czech Republic
Winner, 15-17 years old – "Flight of the scarlet ibis" by Jonathan Jagot from France
Winner, Birds – "The company of three" by Amir Ben-Dov from Israel
Winner, Amphibians and Reptiles – "Still life" by Edwin Giesbers from The Netherlands
Winner, Underwater – "A whale of a mouthful" by Michael AW from Australia
Winner, From The Sky – "The art of algae" by Pere Soler from Spain
Winner, Urban – "Shadow Walker" by Richard Peters from the UK
Winner, Impressions – "Life comes to art" by Juan Tapia from Spain
World Press Photo 2015
The 58th annual World Press Photo Contest was won by Danish photographer Mads Nissen, a staff photographer for the Danish daily newspaper Politiken, represented by Panos Pictures.
Nissen’s picture shows Jon and Alex, a gay couple, during an intimate moment in St Petersburg, Russia. The photo is part of a larger project by Nissen called “Homophobia in Russia”, highlighting the increasing difficulties that lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) people face in Russia, including legal and social discrimination, harassment, and even violent hate-crime attacks.