Fleeting Moments and Unusual Perspectives: Pure Street Photography Awards 2026 Winners

Aug 10, 2026

A young child with a dark, painted face and head covering stands between two adults in the rain, all with wet, glistening skin. — Grand Winner of the Black and White category – ‘A cultural legacy passed down from generation to generation. At the heart of the Lambe Sujo and Caboclinhos Festival in Sergipe, a young boy looks out at the world through the lens of his heritage. Surrounded by his elders, he carries on his skin and in his expression the resilience, pain, and beauty of one of Brazil’s most powerful folk traditions.’ | Cesare Simioni

The winners of the Pure Street Photography Awards 2026 have been announced — a competition created to celebrate photographs defined by honesty, observation, and humanity.

Selected from 1,582 photographs submitted by photographers from 50 countries, the internationally judged awards celebrate eight winning photographers and 158 finalists whose work will be presented at India’s largest dedicated exhibition of contemporary street photography, to be held at Jawahar Kala Kendra (JKK), Jaipur, from November 20 to 22, 2026.

There were two categories: Open and Black and White. The Open Category was judged by Fiona Shields, Head of Photography at The Guardian, while the Black & White Category was judged by internationally acclaimed street photographer Rui Palha.

All judging was conducted through a completely blind process, with each photograph reviewed by the respective category judge without access to the photographer’s name, nationality, gender, biography, or any other identifying information.

Five men in Royal Navy submarine service uniforms stand outside a building, some holding glasses of beer and one smoking a cigarette. — First Place in the Black and White category – ‘I was walking through Westminster [London] when I happened upon the scene. Seeing the young submariners together in such a relaxed, unguarded moment drew me in. It was as though the weight of their morning obligations had been lifted, replaced by the simple joy of friendship and shared experience.’ | Chris Mozyro

A black-and-white shot of a subway platform where a blurred figure walks past a train car with an open door, revealing a woman standing inside. — Second Place in the Black and White category – A fleeting glance between passengers on a New York City subway. ‘For me, the strongest street photographs are not about documenting events. Strong street photography often preserves ambiguity.’ | Jonathan Varjabedian

A person with an umbrella walks down a rain-slicked street between buildings during a heavy downpour. — Third Place in the Black and White category – ‘Taken during the rainy season in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico, this image was made in the middle of a sudden downpour that transformed the street into a temporary river. I had taken shelter in a bar, but the intensity of the storm pulled me back outside to witness the scene. I used a GoPro instead of my main camera, trusting its resilience against the rain while allowing me to move quickly and stay close to the ground. The resulting image captures both the violence and poetry of the moment: the weight of the rain, the emptiness of the street, and the solitary figure moving through the storm.’ | Sven Delaye

A double exposure photograph shows a crowd of people outdoors overlaid with the interior of a vintage car, including its window frame and door handle. — Grand Winner of the Open category – Taken at one of France’s most prestigious horse derbies “Prix de Diane”. | Daniel Kashi

A low-angle shot shows a crowd of people, with hands raised in the foreground, surrounding a woman holding a large, decorated loaf of bread above her head. — First Place in the Open category – ‘This photograph was made during a religious celebration in Southern Italy. While the crowd gathered around a sacred ritual, I was less interested in documenting the event than in experiencing it from within. I pressed the shutter at the exact moment when the raised hands framed the scene, transforming the photograph into a physical encounter rather than a distant observation. The image became a collision of faith, emotion, bodies, and gestures, where every element contributes to conveying a shared human experience.’ | Leone Von Dizic

A person in a pink patterned bucket hat and matching outfit takes a selfie in front of a brick building, while a man in a tan jacket walks nearby. — Third Place in the Open category – Photographed in front of Tokyo Station. | Taichi Naitou

People walk through a sunlit, shadowed interior space toward a distant, illuminated crucifix on a wall. — Fourth Place in the Open category – This photograph was taken at the entrance of the Cathedral of Catania in October 2025, just a few minutes before sunset… The image explores how light and shadow can briefly transform a familiar place, oﬀering a diﬀerent perspective on a fleeting moment. | Marco Cajazzo

Pure Street Photography Awards is part of the wider Pure Photography Awards (PPA) platform, which celebrates photography by humans, for humans, through thoughtfully curated awards and exhibitions. It includes Pure Portrait Photography Awards, Pure Dog & Cat Photography Awards, Pure Minimalist Photography Awards, Pure Comedy Photography Awards and Pure Street Photography Awards.

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