1st Place Winner: “Začudno” by Lidija Novković
In 2025, the One Exposure Awards shifted to pure black‑and‑white, creating a nature photography showcase that feels strikingly different.
The absence of color amplifies every shadow, texture, and emotional beat in each winning image. Across categories ranging from wildlife to fine‑art experimentation, the contest highlighted nature in its most elemental form. Lidija Novković earned 1st Place with “Začudno,” a low‑angle giraffe portrait that transforms the familiar into something mythic. Mark Fernley’s 2nd Place image, “Crowned in Dust and Shadow,” captures a young lion moving through glowing dust in a moment of quiet strength. In 3rd Place, Thomas Brummett’s “The Murmur of a Thousand Suns” turns a forest into a dreamlike, breathing world through layered exposures. Together, the 30 monochrome winners show that stripping away color can reveal nature’s rawest and most powerful truths.
More: One Exposure Awards, Instagram
2nd Place Winner: “Crowned in Dust and Shadow” by Mark Fernley
3rd Place Winner: “The Murmur of a Thousand Suns” by Thomas Brummett
Abstract – Gold: “Ripple Effect” by RJ Muna
Abstract – Silver: “Headin’ Home” by Bayliss Ward
Aerial – Gold: “Flight Lines” by Holly Kirkland
Aerial – Silver: “The Road of Serenity” by Yu Hsuan Su
Animals – Gold: “Under a veil of algae” by Jana Hejzlarova
Animals – Bronze: “Majesty in Focus” by Saleh Alshamali
Earth’s Textures – Gold: “Whispers of the Forest” by Alex Aldaco
Earth’s Textures – Silver: “Drink it In” by Christina Ford
Humans & Nature – Gold: “Stairway into Fog” by Alan Lemire
Humans & Nature – Silver: “A walk in Paris” by Veronique Vial
Land – Gold: “Naturally Unfolding” by Michael Paul
Land – Silver: “Balancing Boulders” by Alan Lemire
Light & Shadow – Gold: “Ghost of the Savannah” by Caesar Sengupta
Light & Shadows – Silver: “The Breathe Of Silence” by Pierluigi Gualano
Minimalism – Gold: “A Lone Lodgepole” by Evan Watts
Minimalism – Silver: “Dew” by Alan Lemire
Ocean – Gold: “The sardine run” by Frederico Cerdeira
Ocean – Silver: “Force” by Eduardo Esses Gritzewsky
Other – Gold: “Flower Portraits” by Stéphane Garnavault
Other – Bronze: “First Lessons” by Holly Kirkland
Pattern & Form – Gold: “Lake Ice” by Robert Nowak
Pattern & Form – Bronze: “Calligraphy” by Holly Kirkland