“Feline Harmony” by Karlynne Wintels. First Place Non-professional, Gold Non-professional Street
The reFocus Awards has announced the winners of its annual Black & White Photo Contest, and the results are incredible. With entrants from 49 countries, the winners are a powerful, exciting representation of photography talent worldwide. From a clever photo of cats to an artistic look at different body types, the images demonstrate the creative capabilities of black-and-white photography.
The contest, which has both Professional and Non-professional divisions, named two photographers as the overall winners. Karylnne Wintels topped the Non-professional division with her fascinating photo titled Feline Harmony. The Dutch photographer takes advantage of the high contrast that black-and-white photography provides when capturing a photo of black cats and white cats on light and dark backgrounds, respectively. Playing with negative and positive space, the striking image highlights her ability to put together a memorable composition.
In the Professional contest, Italian photographer Roberta Vagliani won for her arresting portrait of a classroom in Zanzibar. Taken from the back of the classroom, Vagliani captures the moment when a curious student turns to look directly into the camera.
“I look for images that tell a story or excite, which excite me,” she shares in an interview with reFocus. “I look for images where I am an integrated but hidden part of a scene. Where my emotions come out together with the image.”
Given her win, Vagliani's image also excited the judges, who included Gary Hershorn, deputy director of ohotography at ABC News; Aaron St. Clair, director of editorial content at Shutterstock; and Rizzoli editor Daniel Melamud.
Scroll down to see more of our favorite winners from the competition, and then head over to reFocus for the full winner's gallery and to read interviews with the photographers.
See some of our favorite winners of the 2024 Black & White Photo Contest.
“The Right to Know” by Roberta Vagliani. First Place Professional, Gold Professional Photojournalism
“Andalusian Stallion at Liberty” by Ida Kehoe. Gold Non-professional Domestic Animals
“Half Brothers” by Kyriakos Kaziras. Third Place Professional, Gold Professional Wildlife
“Romance in the Cottonwoods” by Michael Paul. Gold Professional Wildlife
“A Bite of the Big Apple” by Salvatore Corso. Gold Professional Event/People
“Hefezopf” by Felicitas Schwenzer. Third Place Non-professional, Gold Non-professional Film/Analog
“Winter at Cape Disappointment” by Patrick Campbell. Gold Non-professional Landscapes
Broken into Professional and Non-professional divisions, the competition is run by the reFocus Awards.
“Mors tua vita mea (Your death is my life)” by Christian Basetti. Gold Non-professional Architecture, Fine Art
“This Ain't My First Rodeo” by Kate Cash. Gold Non-professional People
“Aghori Sadhu, Varanasi, India” by David Stoltz. Gold Non-professional Portrait
“African Tribal Portraits” by Susan Greeff. Gold Professional People, Portrait, Travel
“The Quotidian Body” by Tobias Slater-Hunt. Gold Non-professional Fashion & Beauty, Fine Art
“Wave Washing on Iceberg, Antarctica” by Jeff Schewe. Gold Non-professional Landscapes
“Morning Light” by David Zlotky. Gold Professional, Film/Analog, Fine Art
