TEHRAN - The International Photography Awards (IPA) 2025 has announced the winners, with 10 photos by Iranian photographers in the list.

For selecting the winners of the 2025 Photography Competition in the professional and non-professional/student categories, a stellar international jury of renowned photography experts judged more than 14,000 entries from 100 countries, ILNA reported.

Two Iranian photographers won 1st Place prizes in two categories: Mehrdad Oskouei for “Amidst the Rubble of Disaster” in the Analog, Film, Photojournalism category, and Arlen Keshishian for “Perspective” in the Fine Art, Collage category.

Oskouei’s photo is about the earthquake in a village near the city of Qazvin in Iran. A boy searches in confusion for other family members and his belongings, and school supplies, hours after his house was destroyed.

Keshishian’s “Perspective” is a fine art photo montage collection that reflects the photographer’s personal view of various subjects. The image was shot in his home studio and artistically edited to express a unique meaning.

Seven photographers from Iran won the 2nd Place prize in various categories. Ehsan Moradi won the prize in the Editorial, Press, Environmental section for “Water is not the source of life”.

The photo is about deep and drinking water in Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan Province, which, in addition to being contaminated with soil, is contaminated with eight heavy elements.

It is one of the top 5 selections by the jury member Alex Ng. “This is a simple and concise photograph: a girl in the wilderness and a bucket of murky water. The composition is straightforward, the lighting soft, yet behind it lies an extraordinary and troubling story. The most captivating element is the girl’s helpless gaze into the camera, which touches the heart of every viewer. In the lower diagonal of the frame sits that bucket of cloudy water—hard to imagine it is the drinking water she must carry away, heavily polluted and prompting deep concern for the people who live here,” he wrote about the photo.

Hadi Dehghanpour won the 2nd Place prize in the Event, Social Cause category for “Petition Writing,” which shows protesters against the spread of war in the Middle East signing a street petition.

In the Fine Art, Landscape category, Mehdi Parsaeian won the 2nd Place prize for “Peak of Light,” depicting the Caracal Desert in the city of Yazd, where the sands stretch like peaks of light towards God. 

In the photo, the artist tries to capture a dramatic atmosphere that captures the feeling of loneliness and solitude with God.

Masoumeh Rahimi is another winner of the 2nd Place prize, who won it for “The Commotion” in the People, Self-Portrait category.

The self-portrait consists of several photos, all captured and edited with a mobile phone camera. The density of migratory birds can refer, in addition to beauty, to the influx of thoughts of the subject, who is the photographer herself.

Two photographers from Iran, Abolghasem Khoshro and Majid Hojati (nicknamed Maho), were the recipients of both 2nd Place and 3rd Place prizes for their works.

Khoshro won the 2nd Place prize in the Fine Art, Architecture category for “Niavaran Palace,” showing a unique inside look at the historical palace complex situated in the north of Tehran.

His 3rd Place prize was in the Fine Art, Minimal, Minimalism category for “Legend 1,” which shows Legend, a purebred German horse kept at a farm in the suburbs of Alborz Province.

Hojati’s “Eid morning day” won the 2nd Place prize in the People, Traditions, Culture category. Taken in Hamedan City during Eid al-Fitr prayer at a mosque, the photo shows a polite boy, dressed in stylish clothes, playing behind his mother while Muslim women are saying prayers.

“Nowruz, the ancient heritage of Iran” is the title of the other photo by Hojati that won the 3rd Place prize in the People, Traditions, Culture category. The photo shows five little girls in colorful traditional dresses, all holding a red rose, and laughing, on the occasion of the new year.

Nowruz, the first day of the solar new year, coincides with the first day of spring and is one of the oldest celebrations left over from ancient Iran. 

Every ethnic group in every corner of Iran celebrates Nowruz in its own way. From Haftsin tables to local dances and new clothes, all are signs of a common culture that recognizes differences and emphasizes coexistence and peace. 

In 2010, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution designating March 21 as equivalent to the first day of Farvardin as International Nowruz Day under the title of Culture of Peace.

The International Photography Awards conducts an annual competition for professional, amateur, and student photographers globally, creating one of the most ambitious and comprehensive competitions in the photography world today.

The mission is to salute the achievements of the world’s finest photographers, discover new and emerging talent, and promote the appreciation of photography.

The category winners in both professional and amateur levels, listed here, will compete for IPA’s top two awards, which will be announced at the annual IPA Awards Gala. The main professional prize is International Photographer of the Year, selected from the 11 professional category winners and earning the coveted IPA Trophy and a cash prize of $10,000. The 11 category winners in the non-professional/student categories will compete for the title of Discovery of the Year. The winner will also be awarded the IPA Trophy and a $5,000 cash prize.

IPA is a sister-effort of the Lucie Foundation, 501(c) 3 non-profit, charitable foundation whose mission is to honor master photographers, discover and cultivate emerging talent, and promote the appreciation of photography worldwide. The annual programming of the Lucie Foundation is funded largely through the International Photography Awards, including the signature event, the Lucie Awards.

*** Photos: 
“Nowruz, the ancient heritage of Iran” by Majid Hojati
“Peak of Light” by Mehdi Parsaeian
"Legend 1" by Abolghasem Khoshro 

SS/SAB