Reaching for Heaven, Merit Award; "Three years ago, I visited relatives in a remote village," Archie Clouven remembers. "Most of them were either young children or old people as the youth went out to the big cities for work. They had a look of serene contentment in their eyes as they watched the sunset. On my way home, I saw fishermen returning from their catch, bathed in the sunset."

Archie Cludven, China - All About Photo Awards 2026

The annual international All About Photo Awards has announced the winners of its 2026 competition, celebrating the year’s most compelling visual storytelling from photographers across the globe.

Under the title “The Mind’s Eye,” the 11th edition of the awards was judged by renowned photographer Steve McCurry. According to organizers, the winning images offer “a vivid snapshot of contemporary photography — one that moves fluidly between documentary, conceptual, and poetic approaches.”

The theme draws inspiration from legendary French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson, who famously described photography as the alignment of “one’s head, one’s eye, and one’s heart.”

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Open to photographers of all levels and styles, the awards recognizes images that are not only artistically striking but also socially, culturally and environmentally meaningful.

Founded in 2015, the All About Photo Awards has grown into a respected global platform for both emerging and established photographers. The 2026 winners receive $5,000 in cash prizes.

This year’s winning photographs span locations across the world — from the historic streets of Williamsburg in the United States to the grasslands of Tibet and the vibrant urban landscapes of Mumbai, Havana and Beijing. Together, the images explore themes of memory, identity, culture and daily human experience.

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First Place was awarded to American photographer Matt McClain for his image “Window to the Past.” Captured through a misted window in Colonial Williamsburg, the photograph presents a cinematic meditation on time and history, blending past and present into a haunting reflection on memory and legacy.

The 2026 winners highlight the continuing power of photography to document the world with empathy, artistry and emotional depth.

All About Photo Awards Overall Winner

This image, “Intern, Megan works in Margaret Hunter’s Millinery Shop in Colonial Williamsburg,” is one of a story looking at the life of founding father, Thomas Jefferson, who was a resident of Williamsburg in different periods of his life.

“I came across the scene with the misty window which was caused by the outside heat and humidity,” Matt McClain explained.

Devotees of the Celestial Church near the Benin/Togo border sit and visit after church, dressed in the white attire and hat they wear for the service. “I noticed these women resting and chatting, presumably after attending a service, sitting in front of a gray wall where white circles had been painted," France Leclerc says. “I was amazed by the juxtaposition of the hats and the circles.”

“This image belongs to what we call street photography,” Javier Arcenillas explains. "It’s a spontaneous picture of a woman sleeping peacefully in a train car traveling from Carthage to the Tunisian capital. There’s no intention behind it other than to capture a beautiful moment stolen from time.”

In Casablanca, a neighborhood of Havana, Cuba, two boys walk home carrying caged birds. The cages, likely handmade from wood or wicker, hold small songbirds commonly kept in Cuban households.

Housing wild birds in cages is a long-standing and widespread tradition in Cuba, dating back to Spanish colonial times. These birds are typically kept for their singing and are often seen on balconies and porches in urban neighborhoods.

The practice remains a common aspect of daily life, valued for the sense of beauty and familiarity it brings to the home.

The Finalists of All About Photo Awards

A young girl displays her feathered spear in the Amazon during an Ayahuasca Ceremonia in the Nanay River in Peru.

High in the Himalayan foothills of central 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 practice this ancient and sacred tradition have been passed down through the generations. But now both the number of bees and traditional honey hunters are in rapid decline as a result of increased commercial interests and climate change.

Nepal’s fast-growing tourism industry has started attracting tourists wanting to experience honey hunting in the foothills of Himalayas. This influx of tourists trekking the world famous Annapurna circuit has also stimulated interest among trekking agencies in organizing ‘staged’ honey hunting events.

The Himalayan cliff bee is essential for the pollination of high-altitude plants and their rapidly decreasing population puts these ecosystems in jeopardy, threatening the food base for the entire region.

After a busy day of prayers, study and doing the daily chores, the young monks of Phugtal Gompa love nothing more than to relax by playing football.

Phugtal is an ancient Buddhist monastery perched on a sheer cliff in the southeast corner of the Zanskar Valley in the Himalayan region of Ladakh, Northern India. Nestled around a natural cave, its secluded location provides an ideal sanctuary for monks seeking peace and solitude for meditation.

During the winter, when deep snow makes roads impassable, the frozen rivers in the Zanskar region are used to transport vital supplies to the remote monasteries.

A frayed and torn American flag flies at half-mast beneath a brooding, stormy sky.

This image raises a poignant question: Is it a commentary on our country’s present condition, or does it serve as a reminder that we have endured dark days before and that despite these challenges, the people have always come together for decency, humanity, and democracy?

And the flag still stands.

The Lambe-Sujo e Caboclinhos is one of the most fascinating popular street theaters in Brazil, deeply rooted in the state of Sergipel.

This cultural manifestation is a living and epic representation of a painful piece of history, yet one of great resistance: the escape of enslaved people and the formation of the quilombos (maroon communities).

On one side are the Lambe-Sujos (painted black with a mixture of sugarcane molasses and charcoal), representing the Black quilombolas in search of freedom.

On the other side are the Caboclinhos (painted red with urucum and wearing headdresses), who represent the indigenous people hired by plantation owners to recapture the fugitives.

The Buraidha market, located in central Saudi Arabia, is the largest and oldest camel market in the world. The sheer number of animals and the chaotic atmosphere is no doubt overwhelming.

But what particularly caught France Leclerc’s eye was the unique method used to transport some of the camels.

The image reflects the fusion of the past and present in Saudi Arabia.

For years, Fenqiang Liu has sought to photograph Florida birds in their natural habitats, using the surrounding elements to create poetic compositions.

One spring morning at Kraft Azalea Garden in Winter Park, a Great Egret flew past a natural frame he had long imagined. “Eventually, the egret passed by once more, the morning sun filtering through its elegant wings, completing a scene I had long envisioned.”

Along the Thu Bon River in Hoi An, Vietnam, a local woman patiently mends a huge net by hand. Her hand gesture captured in this photograph serves as a link to the generations of fishers who have come before her.

“I found this spot in the labyrinth of narrow alleys in Harar, Ethiopia, where time seems to linger between the silent walls," Gabi Steiner says. “I waited patiently until a young girl appeared. Her steps were quick and determined. And just as quickly as she had come, she was gone again, leaving behind only the echo of her movement.”

In the vast blue of the open ocean, a free diver shares a quiet moment with a group of curious Sperm Whales.

Moving gracefully through the water, the diver appears almost to dance as the giants glide past, their immense forms contrasting with the delicate human silhouette above them.

Encounters like this reveal the calm intelligence and curiosity of these ocean giants, reminding us how small we are within their world and how privileged we are to witness it.

In Menilo Village, Tuban, Indonesia, a morning scene is captured in the reflection of dew clinging to the roadside grass.

Using macro photography, the tiny reflection reveals the silhouette of a cyclist passing through the still-quiet village road, a part of the tropical landscape and the daily activities of villagers at sunrise.

The competition is open to photographers worldwide. See the overall winners and finalists of the All About Photo Awards 2026 – The Mind’s Eye, here.

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