We’ve seen plenty of photo contests in 2023. We shared the winners, shortlisted, and People’s Choice images; talked about controversies, smiled, and cried to thought-provoking, funny, and devastating photos. Just yesterday, we shared the last photo contest article of 2023. And to celebrate all these remarkable images, we bring you another wrap-up of this year. Let’s take a look at 20 winners of some of the major photo contests of 2023.

Sony World Photography Awards

The 2023 Sony World Photography Awards announced the winners, and this year’s Photographer of the Year is Portuguese photographer Edgar Martins. Martins’ touching series, Our War, is a heartfelt tribute to his friend Anton Hammerl, a photojournalist who tragically lost his life during the Libyan Civil War in 2011.

World Press Photo

A devastating image of an injured pregnant woman being carried to safety after a bomb hit the maternity hospital in Ukraine was named World Press Photo‘s Photo of the Year 2023. Evgeniy Maloletka took the photo, showing the immediate aftermath of the Russian airstrike in Mariupol, Ukraine.

International Landscape Photographer of the Year

The winners of the International Landscape Photographer of the Year 2023 have been announced. Tony Hewitt, an Australian photographer, took first place with his captivating abstract and painterly landscapes.

International Wedding Photographer of the Year

The 2023 International Wedding Photographer of the Year (IWPOTY) competition announced its winners. Tara Lilly, a wedding photographer based in Whistler, Canada, was named the Grand winner for capturing a heartwarming, once-in-a-lifetime moment!

Environmental Photographer of the Year

This year’s winner of the 2023 Environmental Photographer of the Year contest is Maurizio di Pietro, a professional photographer from Italy. He captured an image of an insect food experiment that has intrigued the judges and sparked concerns regarding our future.

Nature Photographer of the Year

Jacquie Matechuk, a talented Canadian nature photographer, took first place in The Nature Photographer of the Year 2023. Her stunning image shows a spectacled bear in a lush green landscape, giving it a dreamy and painterly feel.

Nikon Small World

Hassanain Qambari, with the help of Jayden Dickson, was announced as the winner of the 49th annual Nikon Small World Photomicrography contest. Their impressive image of a rodent optic nerve head not only catches the eye but also has significant potential in the study and possible reversal of diabetic retinopathy, a condition that affects one in five people with diabetes worldwide.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year

The winners of the 2023 Wildlife Photographer of the Year (WPOTY) contest were announced by the Natural History Museum in South Kensington. Among nearly 50,000 photos from 95 countries, Laurent Ballesta took home the top prize. His breathtaking photo titled The Golden Horseshoe shows an ancient crab and three golden trevallies.

European Wildlife Photographer of the Year

The overall winner of the European Wildlife Photographer of the Year is Spanish photographer Javier Aznar González de Rueda. He captured a stinkbug’s maternal behavior, making me hate stunkbugs a little less. He did the impossible. :)

Weather Photographer of the Year

Francisco Negroni of Chile took the top prize in the 2023 Standard Chartered Weather Photographer of the Year competition with his photo A Perfect Cloud. The photograph depicts two rings of lenticular clouds surrounding the snow-covered peak of Villarrica, Chile’s most active volcano. The clouds, resembling UFOs, are lit up by the fiery orange glow of the lava, resulting in a stunning and otherworldly scene.

Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards

The funniest photo contest in the world, The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards, always puts a smile on our faces. The overall winner of the 2023 competition is Jason Moore for his amusing, heartwarming, and funny capture of a kangaroo playing air guitar.

Siena International Photo Awards

The Siena International Photo Awards winners always stir up emotions. Salwan Georges, an Iraqi-American photographer and journalist, won the 2023 Photographer of the Year with his winning photo Georgy, which captures the pain and futility of war.

Ocean Photographer of the Year

The Ocean Photographer of the Year 2023 also shared some fantastic images with us. The first place was awarded to Jialing Cai, a 25-year-old marine biologist and amateur photographer, for her stunning photograph of a paper nautilus on a piece of ocean debris.

Astronomy Photographer of the Year

A team of amateur astronomers led by Marcel Drechsler, Xavier Strottner, and Yann Sainty made a surprising discovery: a huge plasma arc next to the Andromeda Galaxy. Scientists are now investigating the newly discovered giant in a transnational collaboration. It could be the largest such structure in the nearby environment in the Universe. But other than being scientifically remarkable, it also brought them first place in the 2023 Astronomy Photographer of the Year.

World Sports Photography Awards

World Sports Photography Awards celebrates the best sports photography by the best sports photographers. This year’s overall winner is Patrick Smith, who captured a “heavenly” photo of a golfer in the clouds.

International Portrait Photographer of the Year

The overall winner of the International Portrait Photographer of the Year is Forough Yavari of Australia. Her portraits are inspired and focused on women and their lives and experiences. Gentle and tough at the same time, her photos brought her the first prize in this competition.

iPhone Photography Awards

The iPhone Photography Awards (IPPAWARDS) is one of those photo contests that remind us that a phone is enough to take a stunning photo. The overall winner of the 16th competition is Ivan Silva from Mexico, with a gorgeous portrait of a young boy standing “at the top of the world.”

Nature’s Best Photography

Nature’s Best Photography (NBP) shows us the beauty, but also the cruelty of nature. This year’s overall winner is Luis Vilariño of Spain with his amazing image of an active Icelandic volcano.

Epson International Pano Awards

The Epson International Pano Awards crowned José D. Riquelme from Spain as its overall winner for 2023. His surreal Icelandic landscape landed him first place as Open Photographer of the Year, and he has also secured the top spot in the Nature/Landscape category with three of his photos.

Dog Photography Awards

Last but not least, we bring you a young photo contest. Founded in 2021, the Dog Photography Awards stole our hearts the moment we first saw its winners. While it doesn’t only have one winner, I’ll share my absolute favorite. It was taken by Anna Averianova and it took the first place in the Studio category.

We hope to enjoy plenty more stunning images in 2024, and of course – share them with you. You can take a look at more photo contest articles on this link. Also, make sure to check out our most popular and most discussed articles of 2023.