Photography

The rule-breaking winners of the 2020 Creative Photography Awards

The rule-breaking winners of the 2020 Creative Photography Awards
Commended, Animals/Pets. 'Living on the Edge'
Commended, Animals/Pets. 'Living on the Edge'
View 15 Images
Creative Photo Awards. Runner-Up, Animals/Pets. 'Who Owns The Fish'
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Creative Photo Awards. Runner-Up, Animals/Pets. 'Who Owns The Fish'
Overall Winner. 'Ping Pong Training'
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Overall Winner. 'Ping Pong Training'
Highly Commended, Architecture. 'Hospital'
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Highly Commended, Architecture. 'Hospital'
Highly Commended, Nature & Landscape. 'Big Cloud'
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Highly Commended, Nature & Landscape. 'Big Cloud'
Winner, Nature & Landscape. 'Morning View in Situ Patenggang'
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Winner, Nature & Landscape. 'Morning View in Situ Patenggang'
Commended, Animals/Pets. 'Living on the Edge'
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Commended, Animals/Pets. 'Living on the Edge'
Commended, Open Theme. 'Balances'
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Commended, Open Theme. 'Balances'
Winner, Conceptual. 'The Observing Collective'
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Winner, Conceptual. 'The Observing Collective'
Commended, Architecture. 'New York - Flatiron Crossing'
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Commended, Architecture. 'New York - Flatiron Crossing'
Commended, Animals/Pets. 'Scaredy Cat'
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Commended, Animals/Pets. 'Scaredy Cat'
Commended, Architecture. 'Achieve Dream'
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Commended, Architecture. 'Achieve Dream'
Highly Commended, Food & Beverage. 'The Broccoli Forest'
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Highly Commended, Food & Beverage. 'The Broccoli Forest'
Highly Commended, Architecture. 'Past'
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Highly Commended, Architecture. 'Past'
Winner, Architecture. 'Quarantine Life'
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Winner, Architecture. 'Quarantine Life'
Commended, Nature & Landscape. 'The Lone Tree'
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Commended, Nature & Landscape. 'The Lone Tree'
View gallery - 15 images

Focusing on the weird and experimental, the 2020 Creative Photo Awards aims to set new trends and reward visionary artists. This year’s winners are no exception, bending photographic techniques and processes to deliver some truly spectacular works of art.

The Creative Photo Awards is a smaller contest run by the same team managing the annual Siena International Photo Awards. The goal of this competition is to reward extreme experimentation, and to that end, there are no rules limiting how much a photographer can digitally manipulate their image.

“In this competition, everyone is free to use any technique,” the contest directions note. “Only the final effect counts. We break all the rules, and we want you to break them with us by creating new trends in art.”

Overall Winner. 'Ping Pong Training'
Overall Winner. 'Ping Pong Training'

Out of more than 24,000 submissions, spanning 16 categories, the overall top prize went to Indonesian photographer Hardijanto Budiman. His winning shot, titled Ping Pong Training, puts a sci-fi spin on his favorite sport, while another of Budiman’s entries featuring a compelling stand-off between two cats claimed a runner-up spot in the Animals/Pets category.

Creative Photo Awards. Runner-Up, Animals/Pets. 'Who Owns The Fish'
Creative Photo Awards. Runner-Up, Animals/Pets. 'Who Owns The Fish'

Other highlights include Bangladeshi photographer Mohammed Shajahan’s Architecture-category winning shot showing the intensity of local living quarters during a COVID-19 lockdown; a mischievous food-based play on a common overhead drone shot; and an amusing shot titled Scaredy Cat, playing on the cliche of jumping up onto a chair out of fear from a mouse.

Commended, Animals/Pets. 'Scaredy Cat'
Commended, Animals/Pets. 'Scaredy Cat'

Take a look through our gallery at more highlights from this incredibly creative photo contest.

Source: Creative Photo Awards

View gallery - 15 images
2 comments
2 comments
chuckygetslucky
Marvelous images! But, I'm puzzled. What exactly is "rule-breaking" about any of them?
HansPro
Great photos with very little manipulation spotted by the untrained eye… but alas… one thing I regularly notice from photographers getting into Photoshop is their glaring lack of environmental observational powers when it comes to creating artificial shadows! Case in point is the two cats and fish photo. The fake puffed-out cat shadow is soooo way out from reality that is destroys the whole cuteness of the composition. Damn! It takes at least 3-4 layers in Photoshop to create a genuine-looking shadow. There are lots of tuts online to learn this art… so no excuse for ‘Who Owns the Fish’ image boo-boo.