“The Last Winter” series of 7 photographs by Marcin Giba. Overall Winner – ( Grand Prize). Photo © Marcin Giba / Minimalist Photography Awards 2026
The winners of the 2026 Minimalist Photography Awards have just been announced, celebrating the striking power of simplicity across 12 categories. Photographers from nearly 70 countries submitted more than 6,200 images, giving the judges no easy task when it came to selecting the winners.
This year, Polish photographer Marcin Giba was named Minimalist Photographer of the Year, earning the grand prize of €2,000 (approximately $2,318). His winning series, Last Winter, comprises seven evocative images captured between 2025 and 2026 in his hometown of Rybnik, Poland.
“I shot them using a drone and they capture the incredible forms nature has created on the frozen lakes,” he reveals. “I realize that the winter I remember from childhood—frosty and white—is becoming less frequent. Snow in the city is becoming a fleeting, almost ephemeral phenomenon.” He adds, “So when the conditions finally allow and I take flight, I feel like I’m documenting a vanishing beauty.”
Giba’s series also won 1st place in the Aerial Photography category. At first glance, it’s not quite clear what we’re looking at. Ice and snow shot from above looks just like deep blue nebulas in space, or like cells under a microscope. “These forms are not imposed on the landscape but discovered within it, creating an intriguing connection between nature and the human imagination,” the Minimalist Photography Awards explains. “Giba’s photographs move between landscape and abstraction, inviting viewers to look beyond what is immediately visible and find their own associations in the ice.”
Other winners include Vlada de Nooij, who won 1st place in the Conceptual category for her Prism of Perception series of surreal, folded portraits. Meanwhile, landscape astrophotographer Mihail Minkov won 1st place in the Night Photography category for his dreamlike series, The magic of the night sky over Atacama, where he captured some of the darkest night skies in the world.
“Minimalism continues to remind us that an image doesn’t have to be complex to be powerful,” says Milad Safabakhsh, founder of Minimalist Photography Awards. “The 2026 edition brings together photographers from around the world who find beauty and meaning in simplicity, space, light and silence. What I love about this year’s selection is how different each photographer’s approach is. Together, these images show how much minimalist photography has grown and how relevant and inspiring it continues to be today.”
Check out the winners below and find out more about the annual photo contest on the Minimalist Photography Awards website. And if you want to see more fantastic photography, check out the winners from 2025 here.
The winners of the 2026 Minimalist Photography Awards have just been announced, celebrating the striking power of simplicity across 12 categories.
Photo © Marcin Giba / Minimalist Photography Awards 2026
Polish photographer Marcin Giba was named Minimalist Photographer of the Year for his series of snow and ice images, titled Last Winter.
Photo © Marcin Giba / Minimalist Photography Awards 2026
Photo © Marcin Giba / Minimalist Photography Awards 2026
Photo © Marcin Giba / Minimalist Photography Awards 2026
Photo © Marcin Giba / Minimalist Photography Awards 2026
Photo © Marcin Giba / Minimalist Photography Awards 2026
Check out the other winners from the 12 different categories. First up: Abstract.
“Lines and Light in Antelope Canyon” by Lucia Cooper. 1st Place Winner, Abstract. Photo © Lucia Cooper / Minimalist Photography Awards 2026
“Calmerchroma” by Richard Bentley. 2nd Place Winner, Abstract. Photo © Richard Bentley / Minimalist Photography Awards 2026
“Calligraphy of Nature” by hyeong gyu ku. 3rd Place Winner, Abstract. Photo © hyeong gyu ku / Minimalist Photography Awards 2026
Aerial Photography
“In Between Forces” by Leszek Paradowski. 2nd Place Winner, Aerial Photography. Photo © Leszek Paradowski / Minimalist Photography Awards 2026
“The Long Shadow” by Christopher Harrison. 3rd Place Winner, Aerial Photography. Photo © Christopher Harrison / Minimalist Photography Awards 2026
Architecture
“Wall House #2” by Frank Loddenkemper. 1st Place Winner, Architecture. Photo © Frank Loddenkemper / Minimalist Photography Awards 2026
“Curves in Colour” by Louis Philippe Provost. 2nd Place Winner, Architecture. Photo © Louis Philippe Provost / Minimalist Photography Awards 2026
“Guggenheim Museum” by Martin Santbergen. 3rd Place Winner, Architecture. Photo © Martin Santbergen / Minimalist Photography Awards 2026
Conceptual
“Prism of Perception” by Vlada de Nooij de Nooij. 1st Place Winner, Conceptual. Photo © Vlada de Nooij / Minimalist Photography Awards 2026
“Our Blues” by Hardi Budi. 2nd Place Winner, Conceptual. Photo © Hardi Budi / Minimalist Photography Awards 2026
“Groundshapes” by Monique van Laake. 3rd Place Winner, Conceptual. Photo © Monique van Laake / Minimalist Photography Awards 2026
Fine art
“controlled silence” by Steffen Reichardt. 1st Place Winner, Fine Art. Photo © Steffen Reichardt / Minimalist Photography Awards 2026
“Aligned Forms” by Sonia Aumiller. 2nd Place Winner, Fine Art. Photo © Sonia Aumiller / Minimalist Photography Awards 2026
“Pastel Sentinels” by Michael Jurek. 3rd Place Winner, Fine Art. Photo © Michael Jurek / Minimalist Photography Awards 2026
Landscape
“Tuscan Cypresses” by Gianfranco Bove. 1st Place Winner, Landscape. Photo © Gianfranco Bove / Minimalist Photography Awards 2026
“The Quiet Desert” by Andrew Mielzynski. 2nd Place Winner, Landscape. Photo © Andrew Mielzynski / Minimalist Photography Awards 2026
“Between shadows” by Andrea Rosin. 3rd Place Winner, Landscape. Photo © Andrea Rosin / Minimalist Photography Awards 2026
Long Exposure
“Highway to nothing” by Tadej Cerkvenik. 1st Place Winner, Long exposure. Photo © Tadej Cerkvenik / Minimalist Photography Awards 2026
“Pfahlwerk” by Rainer Lüdecke. 2nd Place Winner, Long exposure. Photo © Rainer Lüdecke / Minimalist Photography Awards 2026
“Forgotten Venice” by Alessandro Tagliapietra. 3rd Place Winner, Long exposure. Photo © Alessandro Tagliapietra / Minimalist Photography Awards 2026
Night Photography
“The magic of the night sky over Atacama” by Mihail Minkov. 1st Place Winner, Night photography. Photo © Mihail Minkov / Minimalist Photography Awards 2026
“In the Rain” by Rolandas Urbonavicius. 2nd Place Winner, Night photography. Photo © Rolandas Urbonavicius / Minimalist Photography Awards 2026
“Sentinel of the Void” by Peter Orton. 3rd Place Winner, Night photography. Photo © Peter Orton / Minimalist Photography Awards 2026
Open
“Guggug / Peek-a-boo” by Iris Dahan. 1st Place Winner, Open. Photo © Iris Dahan / Minimalist Photography Awards 2026
“Dreaming to fly” by Ewa Przeździecka. 2nd Place Winner, Open. Photo © Ewa Przeździecka / Minimalist Photography Awards 2026
“Lines and shadow” by Łukasz Jaracz. 3rd Place Winner, Open. Photo © Łukasz Jaracz / Minimalist Photography Awards 2026
Photomanipulation
“Early Warning” by Shirin Town. 1st Place Winner, Photomanipulation. Photo © Shirin Town / Minimalist Photography Awards 2026
“For all mankind” by Katerina Belkina. 2nd Place Winner, Photomanipulation. Photo © Katerina Belkina / Minimalist Photography Awards 2026
“Instruments” by Juergen Potocnik. 3rd Place Winner, Photomanipulation. Photo © Juergen Potocnik / Minimalist Photography Awards 2026
Portrait
“El ultimo Vaquero en la Tierra” by Wiktor Franko. 1st Place Winner, Portrait. Photo © Wiktor Franko / Minimalist Photography Awards 2026
“A Quiet Breath” by Grit Brune. 2nd Place Winner, Portrait. Photo © Grit Brune / Minimalist Photography Awards 2026
“A Small Measure of Peace” by Giandomenico Veneziani. 3rd Place Winner, Portrait. Photo © Giandomenico Veneziani / Minimalist Photography Awards 2026
Street
“On the Lookout” by Marco Wilm. 1st Place Winner, Street. Photo © Marco Wilm / Minimalist Photography Awards 2026
“重庆 The Void” by Nina Papiorek. 2nd Place Winner, Street. Photo © Nina Papiorek / Minimalist Photography Awards 2026
“Athens 2025 – Olympic stadium” by Samuel Ioannidis. 3rd Place Winner, Street. Photo © Samuel Ioannidis / Minimalist Photography Awards 2026
