“Hearts Content Road, Gianna” by Logan White.
International Photographer of the Year and Professional Winner, Portrait.
“Hearts Content Road refers to a series of surreal and allegorical portraits taken in Upstate New York, exploring the dual nature of fantasy—a realm that provides both escape and excitement, yet harbors its own shadows of uncertainty.”
The 1839 Awards, named after a watershed year in the history of photography, continue their mission to celebrate the ever-changing art of photography. This contest encourages photographers to push the creative limits of their practice, resulting in a wide array of images from all over the world. From the abstract and artistic to the narrative and documentary, the winners capture the boundless possibilities of this medium.
Aiming to spotlight both emerging and established photographers, the 1839 Awards are divided into Professional and Non-Professional competitions, with 15 and 14 individual categories, respectively. For the 2024 edition, the contest received entries from 60 countries, which were weighed in on by judges from world-class institutions, including the The New York Times, Getty Images, and Centre Pompidou, among others.
This time, the winner of the Professional competition was Logan White, who earned the title of International Photographer of the Year. His whimsical image, titled Hearts Content Road, Gianna, was taken in upstate New York and explores the duality of fantasy through a playful trompe l’oeil composition.
Meanwhile, photographer Matthew Portch was named International Photographer and Discovery of the Year as the winner of the Non-Professional competition—an accolade he says he is “very honored” to receive. His image, aptly titled Buried Car, CA, presents an eerie landscape that touches on places that seem frozen in time after all their residents are long gone.
“From a series of portraits of queer youth navigating their identity in a changing world to still lives that add new dimensionality to the subject, this year’s top honorees are among our most talented group of winners yet,” the 1839 Awards announces.
Scroll down to see some of the best images from the competition and follow the 1839 Awards on Instagram to stay up with key dates and information regarding the 2025 edition.
Take a look at some of the best winning images from the 2024 edition of the 1839 Awards’ Photographer of the Year Contest.
“Buried Car, CA” by Matthew Portch.
International Discovery of the Year and Winner, Non-Professional, Landscapes.
“From an ongoing series, Lost America examines a quiet stillness in a forgotten landscape that is, in a sense, ‘on pause’. Places appear frozen in time, their inhabitants absent or long since departed. Ardently stagnant in appearance, the spaces yearn to instill a melancholic feeling of familiarity.”
“Cold Square” by Dominik Gottwald.
Winner, Professional, Film:Analog.
“Because of the polar bears, space of movement in Longyearbyen was a limited. I don’t feel like carrying a gun, which would have given me more freedom. But on the other hand, it gave me a different freedom. To concentrate on a defined area. So I walked around in a cold, but colourful square.”
“A Dog’s Life” by Alicia Rius.
Winner, Professional, Domestic Animals.
“Like humans, dogs form attachments to their personal belongings, offering a glimpse into their identity.The objects they carry, keep, & even eat shape their daily lives, revealing their happiness, pride, and vulnerability. Capturing these cherished items in one image exposes the dog’s heart and life.”
“Crosswalk” by Yongseok Chun.
Winner, Professional, Aerial.
“The camera captured various images of citizens crossing the pedestrian crossing.”
“Circus” by Algis Griskevicius.
Winner, Professional, Conceptual.
“Cirkas, a photographic series that might look full of absurd components at first: the bulky bodies of the models stuck in poses defying gravity, sculptures of titans replaced by real people holding the roof of a Lithuanian farmhouse, or the first Lithuanian cosmonaut flying his wicker rocket.”
“An Office with a View” by Christiaan Van Heijst.
Winner, Professional, Event.
“Long exposure, wide-angle shots taken from the flightdeck of the Boeing 747, cruising along the upper atmosphere.”
“The Great North” by Enrico Curti.
Winner, Professional, Landscapes.
“Galactic Bee” by Pedro Luis Ajuriaguerra Saiz.
Professional, Winner, Macro.
“Bee Close Up.”
“Singing Bird” by Ching Kai Lee.
Professional, Winner, Minimalism.
“The bank is clothed in verdure, but it is the bird, singing loudly upon the rock on the surface of the river, that catches the eye.”
“Desert Drag” by Katelin Kinney.
Winner, Professional, People-Culture.
“This project is a collaboration with local Drag Queens & Kings in Arizona. I wanted to bring attention to drag as an art form and celebrate that it has stretched far and wide even to the edges of the southwest desert.”
“Cafuné” by Rafael Fabrés.
Winner, Professional, Photojournalism.
“A group of teenagers having fun in a soccer field at Complexo da Penha, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 07th, 2015.”
“Honey Hunters of Nepal” by Andrew Newey.
Winner, Professional, Travel.
“High in the Himalayan foothills of Nepal Gurung honey hunters gather twice a year, risking their lives to harvest the honey from the world’s largest honeybee. For hundreds of years, the skills required to practise this ancient and sacred tradition have been passed down through the generations.”
“Whale Dreams” by Remuna Beca.
Winner, Professional, Underwater.
“A baby humpback whale pauses at the surface in a graceful upside-down ballet in the South Pacific. A dream-like scene, which I hope inspires a greater fascination for the wonders of our ocean and the dream to experience and protect it.”
“Wishes” by Geert Weggen.
Winner, Professional, Wildlife.
“Red squirrel with dandelion seeds blowing in the wind.”
“By the Ocean” by Mykola Myronov.
Winner, Non-Professional, Film:Analog.
“It doesn’t matter how rich you are, what car you drive and how many friends you have in your life. We are all naked and alone by the ocean. Going to the coast, we become naked and find ourselves one on one with the ocean. Only in such moments we can stop and see who we really are.”
“Jump!” by Yevhen Kostiuk.
Winner, Non-Professional, Travel.
“Tunnel view” by Ross Steensland.
Winner, Non-Professional, Landscapes.
“When planning a trip across the Western United States, I based my route and timelines on my astrophotography bucketlist. And the top of that list was Yosemite. Planning showed that the Cygnus region with all of its red Hydrogen Alpha nebula and the Great Rift would line up right above Tunnel view.”
“I.D.” by Evan Murphy.
Winner, Non-Professional, People-Portrait-Storytelling.
“‘I.D.’ emphasizes on queer youth; displaying stories of modern day romantic connections, societal impacts, and self liberation. Through a series of subjects, each frame narrates the journey of an LGBTQ individual navigating the intricate landscape of self and society.”
“The Taste of Memory” by Astrid Reischwitz.
Winner, Non-Professional, Still Life.
“The series explores personal and collective family narratives woven through still life compositions, intertwining threads of home, heritage, and identity. Embroidered fragments from old dish towels from my village in Germany now speak of loss and the gradual disappearance of cultural rites.”
“Sport. Colors & Shades” by Yevhen Kostiuk.
Winner, Non-Professional, Minimalism.
“Dreamtime” by Michael Potts
Winner, Non-Professional, Underwater.
“Dinner is Served” by Reed Fowler.
Winner, Non-Professional, Wildlife.
“This photo was taken at Brooks Falls in Alaska. The salmon were not jumping much that day, but I managed to capture the perfect shot when one did. From the color of the salmon to the way the bear is lunging with its mouth wide open, there is nothing I would change about my dream shot.”