The International Photography Awards is a massive, sprawling photo contest attracting thousands of entries spanning dozens of categories. From alien-like insects and cute pet snaps, to thrill-seeking extreme spots and majestic landscapes, this is one photography contest with something for everyone.
With a name derived from the Latin word for light – "lux" – the Lucie Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to cultivating photographic talent around the world. In 2003 the organization launched the International Photography Awards (IPA) to comprehensively celebrate every aspect of modern photography.
And comprehensive this competition is, with 13 main umbrella categories from which dozens of smaller sub-categories arise. The larger umbrella categories broadly encompass all facets of modern professional photography. Fine Art, Editorial/Press, Advertising and Event photography are all covered, but it’s in the the sub-categories that the granular specificity of this immense contest appears.
The Architecture category, for example, is broken up into eight separate sub categories, including targets as specific as Bridges, Interior and Industrial. Nature is even more segmented, with 11 sub-categories spanning everything from Flowers and Trees to Astrophotography and Seasons.
Following this announcement revealing the umbrella category winners, two yet-to-be-announced overall Photographer of the Year winners will be awarded in an online event later this year.
"In these unprecedented times, this year's entries reflect some of the biggest challenges facing our generation – not the least of which is dealing with a virus which, for the first time, is an event that has affected every person on earth in some way,” says Hossein Farmani, founder and president of the IPA. “We see photography at its best – whether covering the Covid pandemic, or the world’s uprising against injustice – the images captured are breathtaking. I can easily say these are the best images I have seen in the last decades."
As well as offering a top three in each individual sub-category, the jury also presents a vast selection of honorable mentions. Ultimately this amounts to hundreds of celebrated images each year, certainly fulfilling the brief of delivering a comprehensive global photography competition.
Highlights in each category and sub-category consistently deliver some genuinely spectacular images. In Nature we see first-place winner in the Other sub-category deliver a striking shot of a blue snake gulping down a massive frog, while first place in Nature / Wildlife presents a truly majestic portrait of a lion.
Other highlights include some frighteningly precarious extreme sports snaps, a stunning shot of a storm front in Kansas, and a sublime composition blending old and new architecture.
Take a look through our gallery at more highlights from the expansive 2020 International Photography Awards.
Source: IPA
