Incredible Winners of 2025 reFocus Awards Color Photography Contest

“Ring of Fire, and Ice” by Liam Man. Overall Professional Winner.
“A ‘Ring of Fire’ solar eclipse reaches annularity as two intrepid ice climbers summit the mighty Glacier Leones. A drone illuminates the ice’s textures and colors, battling fierce winds that whip up plumes of snow that burn in the sun’s rays.”

“Colors of Devotion” by Mohammed Alim. Overall Winner, Non-professional
“A beautiful gathering of women in prayer, their colorful mukena creating a stunning pattern of faith and unity. Each color and design tells a story of devotion, capturing a peaceful moment of togetherness and spiritual grace.”

“Desert Oasis” by Collin Blaney. 2nd Place, Non-professional
“A sunset adventure in an unusual place.”

“The Lake” by Masoud Mirzaei. 2nd Place Overall, Professional

“The Supercell” by Uwe Schellscheidt. Gold, Non-professional, Nature
“A thunderstorm formed a supercell including a small and short tornado in Texas. The light blue area is where the hail comes out.”

“Iranian girl” by Kristina Makeeva. Gold, Professional, Conceptual
“A woman is not decoration. A woman is not a shadow. A woman is not a ghost through which one can see the environment. She should not hide in the walls of buildings.”

“Rose Couture” by Patti Gary. Gold, Professional, Still Life
“Rose Couture celebrates the elegance of aging. Dried roses, with petals curled into rich folds, resemble elaborate gowns. Their colors—deep magenta, blush, ochre, seafoam—reveal unexpected beauty. This series honors grace, resilience, and color in transformation.”

“Shadow basketball III” by Kateryna Polishchuk. Gold, Non-professional, Aerial
“Basketball court with the tree in the middle. Urban park, Kharkiv, Ukraine”

“Liquid Soul n°7712 Extinctions” by Gaëtan Changeur. Gold, Professional, Abstract
“I create visual worlds blending abstraction and nature through fluid forms born from the interaction of water, pigments, and light. In a studio setting, I photograph these dreamlike landscapes, questioning the boundary between the natural and the artificial, the real and the imagined.”

“Blue Swallow” by Mark Sommer. Gold, Film/Analog, Professional
“Seeing Route 66 change from boom to bust, season to year surviving the loss of the surroundings and the bypass of old routes, The Blue Swallow survives as a living part of history for the nostalgic traveler that seeks the roadside relics that convey of America’s passing culture.”

“Pink Niqab, 2020 De Tweede Sekse” by Jaimy Gail. Gold, Professional, Portrait
“This photo shows four women across three generations wearing a pink niqab. By replacing black with soft pink, the niqab sheds its oppressive image, symbolizing femininity and tenderness. The work challenges stereotypes, humanizes the garment, and sparks dialogue on cultural diversity, and symbolism.”

“Crestline Queen” by Elijah Barnes. Gold, Professional, Portrait

“All the World’s My Stage” by Dmytro Geshengorin. Gold, Non-professional, Street
“Waiting for a train I noticed that the opposite platform looked like a theater stage with all the commuters having arranged themselves perfectly for a brief moment and I quickly took the shot. In the glass door you can even see my reflection taking the photo.”

“Earth’s Galaxy” by Navaneeth Unnikrishnan. Gold, Professional, Nature
“Beneath the earth lies a glowing realm, where bioluminescent glowworms create a galaxy-like spectacle. This image captures the awe of exploration, blending the soft glow with the cave’s textures, highlighting nature’s fragile, otherworldly beauty in a moment of quiet wonder.”

“Come Together at The Issac Theatre Royal” by Chris Pegman. Gold, Non-professional, Event
“This image was shot during a spectacular show by ‘Come Together’ (a collective of finest NZ artists) of Led Zep IV. I used my ultrawide non-fisheye lens to capture band, crowd, and venue. The venue is a building that has been rebuilt following the Christchurch earthquakes of 2010 & 2011.”

“The elephant herder” by Sarah Wouters. third Place Overall, Non-professional.
“The mahout and his elephant at Ban Ta Klang village of Surin province, Thailand. The villagers raise elephants like a friend. They sleep under the same roof as the owner until the elephants become similar to being a part of the family. This has caused a strong bond between humans and the elephants.”

“Where Water Once Was” by Octavio Campos Salles. third Place Overall, Professional
“Dozens of caimans lie motionless in a shrinking mud pool, awaiting the return of the rains in the heart of the Pantanal at the peak of the dry season.”