“Pastoral Peoples and Practices” by Trevor Cole (Ireland). Winner.
“The Mundari veneer themselves with ash to protect their cows from insects. My series, Pastoral Peoples and Practices, illustrates how many people are inextricably connected to their livestock and beasts of burden. The people of the Ilemi triangle (the Omo valley of Ethiopia, Central and Eastern Equatoria, and Northern Kenya) are all pastoralists. Their bond with their livestock is inextricably connected to their environment, and their subsistence farming systems have a small ecological footprint.”
In celebration of the brilliant colors that surround us, AAP Magazine has named the winners of its photo contest focused on the hues found around the world. AAP Magazine #51: Colors is a look at the way 25 different photographers use color to produce stunning visual stories. Representing 16 countries and four continents, these images are a colorful look at life around the world.
Irish photographer Trevor Cole is the contest’s big winner thanks to his captivating portrait of a Mundari man partaking in the practice of covering himself in ash to protect his cows from insects. The award-winning photographer’s look at the traditions of pastoral people proves that excellent color photography can also be subtle. The intimate nature of the portrait is a testament to Cole’s dedication, who spent four years living in Ethiopia and has made annual visits for over a decade.
“There are clandestine shots which are often taken with a longer lens and are discreet but most of my ‘people’ based photography is a product of inter-personal moments,” he shares with AAP. “I like to spend time, talk, get to know those who are being photographed. I always ask and even when my efforts are rejected I always respect their choice. Sometimes, even with difficult subjects, spending a little time and using a little humor can yield positive results.”
Runner-up Laurin Strele captured the attention of judges with his portrait of a man in Aleppo dressed in vibrant yellow. The Austrian photojournalist captures the man’s relaxed spirit and effortless style as he leans against a red car. These are just two of the many exceptional photographs in this year’s contest.
Scroll down to view the vibrant images awarded in the contest and then head to All About Photo.com to enjoy even more incredible photography.
AAP Magazine has named the winners of its photo contest focused on the hues found around the world.
“Colors of Resilience” by Laurin Strele (Austria). Runner-Up.
“In Aleppo, Abu Zakkour — known locally as The Yellow Man — has dressed exclusively in yellow since 1983. Against the backdrop of a city scarred by war, he has become a living symbol of endurance and individuality. His bright presence turns ordinary streets into a declaration of joy and resilience, a reminder that identity can be an act of resistance.”
“Colors of Resilience” by Abdelrahman Alkahlout (Palestine). Third Place.
“Displaced Palestinians perform a collective prayer over the rubble of a mosque destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza. Amid the devastation, the vivid colors of the scattered prayer rugs stand in stark contrast to the gray ruins, symbolizing resilience, unity, and unwavering faith in the face of genocide.”
Li Sun (China). Merit Award.
“The key point of this Beholders project is to personify the surveillance camera. By using various color and posing them, those cameras’ imaginary roles, emotions and personalities are exposed to the audience. The surveillance camera is the city’s observer, but citizens who are observed seldom look the cameras face to face. Thus, I would like to create an equal relationship between people and surveillance cameras by photographing them from the perspective of portraiture. I hope to enable the audiences to face surveillance cameras right in front of them, and to figure out their ‘expressions’.”
Nazanin Alipour Jeddi (Iran/USA). Merit Award.
“The photography series Lingering Shadows is an attempt to capture the simple yet complex and hidden moments that women experience in their everyday lives. These images use the color blue to emphasize the often invisible fatigue—an endless cycle of tasks that, despite their importance, sometimes feel futile and unproductive. The dominant presence of blue conveys a deep sense of coldness and isolation. The goal of this series is to invite viewers to rethink the aspects of women’s lives that often go unnoticed. Simple moments, such as drinking tea, preparing food, or a brief pause amid the daily chaos, take on new meaning in these images, representing the emptiness, futility, and underlying complexities in these seemingly ordinary experiences. These photos are not only a personal narrative but also a reflection of the collective experience of women around the world.”
Yuan Su (United States). Merit Award.
“Indonesia is one of the most volcanic active countries in the world. When we visited, the volcano happened to be emitting smoke, and the morning light was beautiful, allowing us to capture this photograph.”
Oana Daian (Romania). Merit Award.
“Beneath our feet, natural vegetal fabrics, in the vibrant colors of autumn, sewn with silver thread. Each vein, each edge, sparkles with delicate frost, transforming the garden floor into a tapestry of warm and cold colors. The scene captures the moment when autumn meets the first signs of winter.”
Fabien Dendiével (France). Merit Award.
“I took this photo in Iowa in January 2024. For two weeks, I traveled across the Midwest, enduring extreme weather conditions.”
Vitaly Golovatyuk (Russia). Merit Award.
“With this series, I wanted to show my fascination of facade/interiors versus scale.”
Oksana Omelchuk (Ukraine). Merit Award.
“In this series, I deliberately moved away from the familiar palette of floral hues to explore emotion through color rather than form. Each image was manually hand-painted in a digital environment, not as retouching, but as an act of painting, shaping light and shadow as if with a brush. The flowers here become living organisms – translators of my inner states. Their tones shift from the cold shades of awakening, like life returning after frost, to rare and unexpected colors not typical for these species. Yet all these moods are bound by a single feeling – tenderness. It was within this fragile and luminous state that the entire series was born.”
Alejandra Nowiczewski (Argentina/Italy). Merit Award.
“This image belongs to Four Colors and One Movement, a project that relates, through images, four colours to the transformative movement whereby each of them changes negative qualities into positive ones during meditation within the Buddhist tradition. In it, colour symbolism is frequently used to present abstract concepts through visual images. Thus, blue transforms anger into wisdom of patience; yellow transforms pride into wisdom of balance; red transforms the delusion of attachment into the wisdom of discernment; and white transforms the delusion of ignorance into the wisdom of ultimate reality. In addition, the images created try to capture symbolic representations from nature which are related to the qualities mentioned above. Anger is represented by thunder and by Vajrapāni, one of the main Bodhisattvas, whose colour is blue. He wields lightning and is also known as ‘Thunder’.”
Anna Matysiak (Poland). Merit Award.
“The inspiration for the photo were the works of the great artist René Magritte, who often used simple, realistic forms and placed them in strange situations. The title of the photo suggests that it shows a girl. But how do we know? Can we be sure? Is what we see always the same as what really is? The message of this photos is to encourage the viewer to reject obvious associations and think for a moment. Find the hidden meaning that is deep in our souls. Add our own ending to an unfinished story.”
In addition to the winners, over 20 incredible photos were given a Merit Award for their quality.
Mayowa Akande (Nigeria). Merit Award.
“This portrait series presents Ladé not as an individual subject, but as a vessel for a shared narrative — one that speaks to the layered realities of many African immigrants. It reflects the ongoing negotiation of identity, the weight of displacement, and the quiet resilience required to navigate constant movement: across borders and policies, between cultures and cities, and through shifting versions of self.”
Erhan Coral (Turkey). Merit Award.
“In a small Ethiopian town, a man stands by a turquoise wall, his straw hat and colorful glasses reflecting a quiet pride and individuality. Between color and shadow, fashion becomes a subtle act of self-expression amid the rhythms of everyday life.”
Neşe Arı (Turkey). Merit Award.
“Life in Varanasi begins in the early hours of the morning. People gather at the sacred Ganges River to perform their rituals. The riverbank is always bustling and vibrant; along the ghats, one can see people bathing, praying, and washing their clothes. In this frame, life flowing through the colorful laundry stretching toward the sky tells the viewer the endless stories of Varanasi’s people.”
Thibault Gerbaldi (France/USA). Merit Award.
“Sadhus embody spiritual renunciation amid the city's vibrant chaos. Draped in saffron robes, they meditate and perform rituals by the Ganges, navigating narrow alleys, bustling ghats, and cremation grounds. In this sacred city, where life and death intertwine, their presence reflects a timeless quest for transcendence.
Varanasi, one of Hinduism's holiest cities, holds unparalleled significance as a gateway to moksha, or liberation from the cycle of rebirth. The Ganges, considered a lifeline of spirituality, cleanses sins and connects devotees to the divine. Here, ancient traditions and rituals thrive, making Varanasi a living embodiment of faith and eternal devotion.”
Eric Davidove (United States). Merit Award.
“No diamond, no dugout, no problem. In these photos, baseball uniforms appear where you least expect them. The mix of team spirit and urban moments blurs the boundary between play and reality.”
Olivier Jarry-Lacombe (France). Merit Award.
“In this region of southern Spain, the waters of the Rio Tinto, near the copper mines, are laden with heavy metals. They take on incredible colors when seen from the sky, incredible but evil colors… – Rio Tinto, Andalusia.”
Benjamin Littler (United States). Merit Award.
“This was shot during the height of the pandemic. I work as a bartender so I was among the first to be laid off. With endless free time and government money, I spent my days walking or riding my bike around the empty streets of Salt Lake City, UT making photographs. This was one of those mornings.”
Marijn Fidder (Netherlands). Merit Award.
“At The Dorna Centre Home for Autism, Brass for Africa offers inclusive music lessons that provide children with autism and intellectual disabilities a place where they truly belong. In Uganda, where these children often face discrimination, music becomes a powerful tool for self-expression and connection.
As the lessons progress, children from the surrounding community without disabilities join in, creating a truly inclusive space. Together, they learn, play, and build friendships, breaking down barriers and celebrating their differences. For all the children, music is more than just learning an instrument. It is a path to inclusion and belonging.”
Jan Janssen (Netherlands). Merit Award.
“Antanas, the man in the photo, let me into his world, a home with less luxury, but everything counts. That morning, I was invited to participate in a food parcel campaign organized by MAX Netherland. His calm demeanor, the tranquility of the surroundings, the red cloth. They are symbols of dignity in a world that seems hopeless to many. The power of connection lies not in possessions, but in the small details of our existence. And I felt the pain. Not for what I saw, but for what we often choose not to see. Perhaps happiness begins with appreciating the ordinary.”
Jesús Umbría Brito (Spain). Merit Award.
“Retaguardia is a photographic project that dwells in the edges of mass society, in the periphery of the normative, in its penumbra. Far removed from dogma and convention, it unfolds a portrait of post-pandemic youth identified with the counterculture surrounding punk music and aesthetics: a mosaic of faces and expressions that seek each other in the mirror of the past to shape their present. From there, the author weaves a dialogue between times and generations.”
Thaddäus Biberauer (Austria). Merit Award.
“I don’t plan series in advance. They emerge naturally over time as I notice patterns or emotional threads between certain images. A single photograph may belong to more than one series if it resonates with different aspects of my work. What excites me most is just being in the process with my camera and watching how images start to relate to each other without planning it.
These images were taken between 2024 and 2025. They don’t form a series but they are connected by a strong focus on color. I see color as more than a visual element. It carries mood, emotion and meaning. It can soften a scene or create tension. Sometimes it shifts how we feel about an image entirely.
Each photograph stands on its own but shares the same direction. This selection reflects moments where color felt essential to the story or atmosphere I wanted to create.”
Xavier Blondeau (France). Merit Award.
“As night falls on Vârânasî, I wander alone through the narrow streets of this strange city. I let my feelings rise to the surface, as if in response to the mystery that emanates from this nocturnal atmosphere. I was already familiar with the muted, silent night – the deep imagination of an encounter with oneself. But here I discover a solitude shared with what seems to be a universal presence. The life hidden through the luminous windows calls out to me from deep within. I wander through the Indian night of Vârânasî…”
Simone Curzi (Italy). Merit Award.
“In the heart of the constellation Eridanus, the blue light of Rigel reflects off interstellar dust, shaping one of the most fascinating nebulae in the winter sky — the Witch Head Nebula (IC 2118). This image, titled “The Witch’s Gaze”, was created to capture the subtle beauty of reflected starlight and the fragility of light traveling hundreds of years before reaching us. The nebula, faint and surrounded by cosmic dust, was photographed under dark skies through long hours of exposure and careful processing to preserve both its natural color and gaseous texture. The result is a balanced and natural portrait where the light of a distant star reveals the mysterious outline of a cosmic witch.”
