
LensCulture
STREET
PHOTOGRAPHY
AWARDS 2016
Winners, Finalists
Jurors’ Picks
Jurors’ Picks
Photo © Gareth Bragdon
Announcing the Winners, Finalists, Jurors’ Picks, & Top 100
Street photography captures the instant pulse of diverse people, urban cultures, traditions and communities all over the world — better than any other art form or language. While human nature may remain constant over the decades, fashions, trends, architecture, technology and the collision of urban visual clutter all seem to make our shared environments feel new, ever-changing and always bustling with life.
These award-winning photographers may shock, delight, sadden or surprise you.
In the world of photography, there is a fear that we’ve already seen it all before, especially in a genre like street photography. But this year’s 34 winners, jurors’ picks and finalists clearly defy that sense of déjà vu — especially as we encouraged photographers to stretch and expand their interpretations of what can be captured out in the streets and intersections of the world. Their results ranged from street fashion and portraits, conceptual investigations and pure poetry, to moments of daily life — both ordinary and extraordinary.
Series Winners
The international jury for this competition, no strangers to the great history of street photography, wanted to be surprised and share their unusual discoveries with you. So, some of what you will discover among this year’s winning entries may shock or delight you, stun and sadden. No matter what, we believe that each of these photographers has captured some rare moments on the streets that are worth regarding and contemplating.
Single Image Winners
Jurors' Picks
Each of the eight jury members selected one photographer to be awarded special distinction and a cash grant. Here are the jurors’ special selections, with a brief quote from each juror explaining what they especially appreciate about these photographers and their work.
Marcel Feil
Deputy Director Artistic Affairs Foam
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Mankichi Shinshi’s enigmatic series of foggy landscapes, hazy skies and wet streets is characterized by its pale palette of modest grey tones in which the landscape drifts without apparent aim or purpose. The soft and vulnerable mood is somehow typically Japanese—slightly surreal with an appreciation of the value of discovering the marvellous in the ordinary. At its best, the series transcends the act of seeing into one of calm and peaceful receptiveness; a state in which one could experience the world as more complex and layered than the eye can usually grasp.
Kin Wing Wong
Hong Kong
Bronwen Latimer
Deputy Director of Photography The Washington Post
Washington D.C., USA
Night is an unusual element in street photography—one could even argue this image was not strictly on a street—but the poetic way in which Kin Wing Wong shows us what it means to be one person living amongst many in an urban landscape is magical, lonely and memorable.
Panos Kefalos
Greece
Enrico Bossan
Editorial Director COLORS Magazine, Fabrica Research Centre
Treviso, Italy
“Saints” is a strong, long-term project that allows us to enter the rooms and private spaces of an Afghan refugee community in Athens, Greece. We often hear stories regarding the conditions of immigrants, but rarely are we admitted to share their intimacy. These photographs’ expressionist, sometimes cinematographic, style gives us the impression of touching these people. Here, photography comes out not only as a medium but transforms into a sensorial experience.
Takayuki Narita
Japan
Celia Davies
Director Photoworks and Brighton Photo Biennial
Brighton, UK
These images are playful but, at the same time, reflect on society’s knowingness in how to compose a photograph. The studies by Narita focus on people’s obsession with image-sharing and how this dynamic plays out, almost performance-like, in the streets around us.
Ed Peters
United States
Matt Stuart
Street Photographer Magnum Photos Nominee, Member of In-Public
London, UK
Ed’s works shows great maturity and consistency. There aren’t any “clangers” in his edit: each image offers strong colour and a sense of place that convey his message. The moments, aesthetic and style all jumped out at me. I love photography that looks effortless and Ed’s work fits easily into this category. But his work was, in fact, made over many years in one place—you simply can’t beat tenacity in long-term projects. I can’t wait to see more from the eye of Ed.
Matthew Tucker
Picture Editor BuzzFeed UK
London, UK
“Cat’s Eyes” by Arek Rataj makes an immediate and bold impression. The photo was taken in Honduras, a country with one of the highest homicide rates in the world. At first glance, we have the optical illusion of a boy with the face of a kitten gazing at us, perfectly symbolizing how we are all born innocent...
Jeffrey Stockbridge
United States
Jean-Jacques Viau
Manager, Digital Media Leica Camera
Wetzlar, Germany
I chose Jeffrey Stockbridge’s “Kensington Blues” series because I feel it strikes a careful balance between subject matter and aesthetic treatment. The technically impeccable images which evoke classical painting do not add roughness to an already tough subject matter but, on the contrary, establish proximity with the people photographed. The edit is also well-done; the series is not formulaic at all.
Jim Casper
Editor in Chief LensCulture
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
The faceless portraits of individuals in the streets of San Jose, Costa Rica reveal an intriguing amount of information and clues about each of these people. We can imagine their lives in many general ways by looking at the clothes they wear, their postures, what they carry, and how they present themselves to us against the backdrop of anonymous urban walls. Isn’t this the way we often encounter strangers on the street – quickly taking an inventory of how they appear on the surface, and then moving on, without engaging in a more personal encounter? The consistency and variety of these portraits makes the series especially successful and memorable, in my opinion.
Finalists
Oriol Llauradó Ballesta
Spain
Peter Braunholz
Germany
Dimitri Mellos
United States
Yoriyas Yassine Alaoui Ismaili
Morocco
Dave Jordano
United States
Ako Salemi
Iran
Suzanne Stein
United States
Ed Walker
United States
Meg Hewitt
Australia
Oleg Tolstoy
United Kingdom
Alex Vasyliev
Russian Federation
Spiros Zervoudakis
Greece
Masoud Gharaei
Iran
Johannes Reinhart
Australia
Sergey Medvedchikov
Russian Federation
streetmax 21
United Kingdom
Nesam Keshavarz
Iran
TOP 100
What is amazing about an international call for entries like this one—we reached photographers all over the world, in 15 different languages—is how we are able to discover new places, trends, traditions and rituals. The entries, which came from 141 countries, amount to a snapshot of tremendously varied urban life in places all over the planet, right now. Since there was so much good work to see, we decided to share with you single images from an additional 100 photographers whose submissions were rated highly by the jury. We feel they deserve recognition and attention, so we’ve included a slideshow of their work for your pleasure and inspiration.
Enjoy!
Oliver Raschka
Germany
Matthew Sowa
United States
Vaclav Pernikar
United Kingdom
Alberte A Pereira
Spain
Melissa David
France
Mankichi Shinshi
Japan
Anja Engelke
Germany
Gregg Segal
United States
Dimitri Keungueu
United States
Anca Gabriela Rafan
Italy
hadi hirbodvash
Iran
Giacomo Vesprini
Italy
Tomas Bachot
Belgium
Melissa Breyer
United States
Konstantin Gribov
Russian Federation
Argus Paul Estabrook
South Korea
Simone Peerdeman
Netherlands
Bruno Keusen
Brazil
Riccardo Comi
Switzerland
Milad Safabakhsh
Iran
Werner Mansholt
Germany
Rivka Katvan
United States
Alison McCauley
Singapore
Sabine Lewandowski
Germany
Ken Walton
United States
Lee Atwell
United States
Jean-Jacques Bernard
France
Andres Petruscak
United States
Engin Güneysu
Turkey
Asger Ladefoged
Denmark
Tom Verbruggen
Belgium
Stefano Zardini
Italy
Jason Schumer
United States
Alain Laboile
France
Graham Chapman
United States
Vasile Dorolti
Romania
Francesco Faraci
Italy
Adrien Selbert
France
Messay Shoakena
United States
Jonathan Higbee
United States
Martin Tremblay
Canada
Shane Gray
United States
Zsolt Birtalan
Hungary
Frédéric Moreau De Bellaing
Belgium
Alexandre Chaplier
Morocco
Martijn Steiner Lovisa
Netherlands
Craig George
Australia
Carla Borel
United Kingdom
Johannes Twielemeier
Germany
Jack Simon
United States
Paul Kessel
United States
Jocelen Janon
New Zealand
Mark Davies
United Kingdom
Santolo Felaco
Italy
Sixft Whiterabbit
United States
Salvuccio Cappello
Italy
Sam Ferris
Australia
Thomas Alleman
United States
Dom Smaz
Switzerland
Majid Farahani
Iran
Donato Di Camillo
United States
Arnau Oriol
Spain
Sophie Green
United Kingdom
Moe Zoyari
United States
Nour El Refai
Egypt
Nick Poon
Hong Kong
Susan Bowen
United States
Jacek Konieczny
Poland
Stefano Tomassetti
Italy
Jeff Moore
United Kingdom
Clay Benskin
United States
Lyosha Ivanov
Russian Federation
Hank Hauptmann
United States
Víctor Navarro Barba
Spain
Chulsu Kim
Japan
Turi Calafato
Italy
Jeff Phillips
United States
Lyodoh Kaneko
France
Helmut Wachter
Switzerland
carla kogelman
Netherlands
Jon She
China
Philippe Blayo
France
Skander Khlif
Germany
Bartłomiej Jurecki
Poland
Nancy Lee
Netherlands
Alexandru Ilea
Romania
Raymond Dean
United Kingdom
Lois Simac
France
Zadoc Nava
United Kingdom
Ali Mobasser
United Kingdom
Leny Fontenelle
Brazil
Dirk Anton Reichart
Germany
Alejandro Vainstein
United States
Antonello Veneri
Brazil
Michael Trueblood
United States
Simone Raso
Italy
Jón Bjarni Hjartarson
Denmark
Neil Atkinson
United Kingdom
Judith Rodríguez
Argentina
Merethe Wessel-Berg
Norway
Street Photography Awards 2016 Jury




Marcel Feil (1968) is deputy director, artistic affairs at Foam in Amsterdam, and one of the editors of Foam Magazine, the international photography magazine published by Foam. Since 2002 he worked as curator at Foam and organized a wide range of historical and contemporary photography exhibitions, varying from solo exhibitions, group shows and theme exhibitions. Prior to his current position, Feil worked at the Dutch Foundation for Visual Arts, Design, and Architecture; and The Amsterdam Center for Photography, curating small exhibitions with work of young emerging photographers, organizing lectures and the educational program.
Bronwen Latimer is the deputy director of photography at The Washington Post. Before joining The Post, she worked as a book editor at National Geographic and at US News & World Report. She also served as an associate photo editor at TIME magazine where she received the 1998 POY editing award for story about Steve Jobs. In 1994, she worked as an editor for the book, A Passage to Vietnam. From 1989-1992 she was an assistant photo editor at Sports Illustrated concentrating on the Olympics. Ms. Latimer earned an MS degree in Journalism from Columbia University in 1989.
Photographer Enrico Bossan has been leading editorial projects for years, discovering young talents, teaching and serving as a mentor. Since 2005, Bossan has been head of Photography at Fabrica Research Centre, and in 2006 was appointed Editorial Director of Colors Magazine. Since January 2014, he has been in charge of Editorial at Fabrica, as well. Bossan curates exhibitions, installations and performances, and oversees the FFF Award. As Editorial Director at Fabrica, he has also published a series of books and multimedia projects. Having started his career as a photojournalist 30 years ago, Bossan's works have been published in important international magazines, and he has published 10 photobooks of his own work. He also serves as curator for various festivals around the world.
Celia devises the strategic and artistic direction of Photoworks and the Brighton Photo Biennial.
Recent projects have included the inaugural Jerwood/Photoworks Awards 2015, Brighton Photo Biennial 2012 & 2014. Forthcoming projects include a co-commission with Focus Festival Mumbai as part of Re:Imagine India funded by the Arts Council England and HOUSE 2016.
Celia was previously Head of Exhibitions at the De La Warr Pavilion, 2002-2009. Other projects include The British Library by Yinka Shonibare (2013) and Brighton Palermo Remix by David Batchelor for Brighton Festival (2012), This Storm is What We Call Progress by Ori Gersht (2012), Imperial War Museum, London and curated projects include Myth, Manners and Memory: Photographs of the American South including Walker Evans, William Eggleston, William Christenberry, Carrie Mae Weems, Susan Lipper and Alec Soth (2010), Beuys Is Here co-curated with Anthony d’ Offay (2009), Kenneth and Mary Martin, Constructed Works (2008) and Jeremy Deller (2006). Commissions include Mumuration Rinko Kawauchi and Brighton Picture Hunt Alec Soth (2010).
She is co-editor of Photoworks Annual, visual art advisor for HOUSE festival and Chair of Blast Theory.




Matt Stuart is a British street photographer, a member of the In-Public street photography collective and one of the newest nominee members of Magnum Photos. As well as making his personal work, he works as an advertising photographer and leads street photography workshops.
Stuart's book of street photography, All That Life Can Afford (2016) includes photographs made in London from 2002 to 2015. He was also featured in the 2010 book and travelling show, Street Photography Now. His work has been published in a number of survey publications on street photography, and exhibited in solo exhibitions in Britain and the US; as well as included in group exhibitions in Britain (including at the Museum of London, which acquired his work for its permanent collection, and which travelled to the Museum of the City of New York), France, Bangkok and Stockholm.
Matthew Tucker is the picture editor at BuzzFeed UK. Working with the growing London-based team since 2013, Matthew covers news, entertainment, lifestyle and photo essays, along with original photography and commissions. Before BuzzFeed, Matthew trained as a journalist and worked on the Huffington Post UK picture desk and created online content for BSkyB entertainment shows.
Jean-Jacques Viau is manager of digital marketing for Leica Camera, the internationally famous maker of cameras and lenses. He has initiated and nurtured vibrant social media communities for Leica Camera, which now operate worldwide in many languages. Jean-Jacques has been curating the Leica blog since its launch. In an earlier position with Leica, among many other duties, he managed Leica’s relationships with photography students and younger professional photographers worldwide.
Jim Casper is the editor-in-chief and publisher of LensCulture, one of the leading online destinations to discover contemporary photography from around the world. As an active member in the contemporary photography world, Casper organizes annual international photography events, travels around the world to meet with photographers and review their portfolios, curates art exhibitions, writes about photography and culture, lectures, conducts workshops, serves as an international juror and nominator for key awards, and is an advisor to arts and education organizations. He serves on the board of directors at SPE, the Society for Photographic Education, the world’s largest association of photography educators.
Thank You
LensCulture would like to thank every photographer who participated in this competition — your vision of the streets is truly inspiring! We would also like to extend our sincere gratitude to the members of the jury who worked long and hard reviewing the entries to the competition and ultimately selecting the brilliant work displayed here.