Unsplash Awards 2017, Selections
Last month, we kicked off the first Unsplash Awards to celebrate the people in the Unsplash community who openly give their photography, inspiring us all.
We created 13 categories and selected a photo for each. In less than a month, over 50,000 photos were submitted. We were blown away. There were so many awe-inspiring photos it was nearly impossible to select just one photo for each category.
To help narrow down the final selections, we invited 13 judges. Today, we celebrate the photos and photographers representing the 1st Unsplash Awards.
Congratulations to all the selected photographers and to everyone who made time to submit a photo. It was an honor seeing every shot submitted. We were glued to our screens for hours, teleported into another world where only great artistry can take you.
A special thank you to our Judges and Sponsors for helping make selections and for spreading the love. And to our community. We are honored to be building every day for you.
- The Unsplash Team
Aerial
Selected: Adam Krowitz, Judged by the DJI Team
“The photographer captured an environment that’s best highlighted from an aerial perspective.
Framing of the shoreline and placement of the horizon line in the upper third of the image brings scale to the landscape while placing focus on the unique land formation in the center of the photo.
Unique capture of contrasting colors between the blown out sky and deep blue ocean. There is also great contrast from the blue ocean, to the tan sandy beach, to the whites in the cliffside, to the green hilltop.
To the extent of what is seen in the photograph, the photographer is adhering to all legal UAV operation procedures.”
— DJI Team
View the Editorial Team Shortlist
Denys Nevozhai
Chuttersnap
Ryan Searle
Mohair Uysal
Lachlan Dempsey
Geran de Klerk
Samuel Edwards
Animals & Wildlife
Selected: Jakob Owens, Judged by Miguel Cardona, Lead Designer, imgix
“I like the composition. The colors give it an outer-worldly feel: the contrast of the oranges against the cool blue. It tells the story of two worlds — of air and water — and has a familiar animal in an unfamiliar environment that straddles both worlds while appearing worn, yet soothed. A good photo doesn’t give you all the details of a story, but presents a world with some insight and provokes you to ask more questions. I like the close crop, the minimal background, the detail in textures, the capture of the underwater light, and the use of the horizon.”
— Miguel Cardona, Lead Designer, imgix
View the Editorial Team Shortlist
Marko Blažević
Nick Karvounis
Samuel Scrimshaw
Joel Filipe
Jeremy Vessey
Joel Herzog
Geran De Klerk
Zelle Duda
Ross Sokolovski
Astrophotography
Selected: Jeffrey Hovland, Judged by Chris Messina, Product Designer & Writer, chrismessina.me
“Although Hovland’s photo isn’t perfectly technical and doesn’t feature an unblemished sky, of all of the selections — and the majority were outstanding — it evoked the greatest emotional response from me. I was brought into the coolly serene wilderness, the composition anchored with the rugged warm tones and heaviness of the rocky earth, set against a whispy hint of the vastness of space. It’s a photo that suggested motion in the heavens and stillness on earth resulting in a kind of alive calm. It’s an image that I want to wear or keep in my pocket, to pull out in a moment when the disorder and chaos of everyday life is particularly vexing, in order to be reminded that we live on a glorious planet, a mere mote od dust within a strange and wondrous infinite that we barely see, let alone comprehend.”
— Chris Messina
View the Editorial Team Shortlist
Bryan Goff
Casey Horner
Thomas Tucker
Annie Niemaszyk
Rodrigo Soares
Neven Krcmarek
Jay Dantinne
Priscilla Du Preez
Clarisse Meyer
Matt Nelson
Black & White
Selected: Ihor Malytskyi, Judged by Jared Granger, Designer, InVision
“A great photo for me triggers the viewer’s emotional senses through storytelling. While this shot has great technical qualities, this captured moment evokes a sense of mystery — it poses so many questions with unknown answers. The story is up to the viewer to conclude.”
— Jared Granger
View the Editorial Team Shortlist
Jake Hinds
Rene Böhmer
Cristian Newman
Samuel Zeller
Adrian
Adam Littman Davis
Piron Guillaume
PICSELI
Jeremy Bishop
Kensuke Saito
Food & Drink
Selected: Monika Grabkowska, Judged by Christen Vidanovic, Social Media and Content Lead, Kodakit
“We love the way this image captures the vivid colors of the cabbage, while simultaneously pairing it with, and contrasting it against, the dark background. The circular shape of the bowl helps emphasize the subjects shape, and does not overpower it. The leaves are spread through the image in a clean and balanced way that keeps our eyes looking towards the top of the image — just as leaves grow and move upwards. Overall, a really gorgeous photo that satisfies with it’s simple structure and vibrant colors.”
— Christen Vidanovic
View the Editorial Team Shortlist
Toa Heftiba
Daniel Hjalmarsson
Neven Krcmarek
Rachel Park
Brenda Godinez
Calum Lewis
Christiann Koepke
Taylor Kiser
Brooke Lark
Interiors & Architecture
Selected: Efe Kurnaz, Judged by Oliur Rahman, Founder, UltraLinx
“The colors are what makes this image. It has an incredible cyberpunk look to it, a style I’ve always been a fan of. I can just imagine seeing it in a film like Blade Runner or Total Recall. The angle which it is shot at is great too, it draws you in down the hallway and makes you wonder what you’re going to see round the corner.”
— Oliur Rahman
View the Editorial Team Shortlist
Adam Birkett
Denys Nevozhai
Dmitri Popov
Christian Fregnan
Raphael Koh
Mirko Nicholson
Ricardo Gomez Angel
Jonas Verstuyft
Jean-Philippe Delberghe
Andre Benz
Mobile Photography
Selected: Michael Martinelli, Judged by Kari Clark, Product Manager, Google Live Case
“I liked it because it was unexpected. The photo took a classic image of a pier, but combined industrial elements. There is also something very contradictory about the pier being something that is usually so peaceful, but being blocked off by a gate. It makes you think!”
— Kari Clark
View the Editorial Team Shortlist
Dominik Kuhn
Jason Wong
Aaron Burden
John Jason
Mario Canas
Martino Pietropoli
Ludovic Fremondiere
Moren Hsu
Eugene Zaycev
Kirill Zakharov
Nature & Landscapes
Selected: Sam Ferrara, Judged by Brad Haynes, PM, Trips by Lonely Planet
“I can almost imagine emerging from the cabin of a sailboat — coffee in my hand — to watch the fog lift from the surrounding mountains. The water is so still, the reflection like a painting starting to take shape. The splashes of fall leaves add additional texture that brings the photo to life.”
— Brad Haynes
View the Editorial Team Shortlist
Graham Holtshausen
Samuel Scrimshaw
Shifaaz Shamoon
Kyle Johnson
Lou Batier
Tom Barrett
Guille Pozzi
Kunj Parekh
Boki Markov
Neven Krcmarek
People & Portraits
Selected: Sam Burriss, Judged by David Lee, Chief Creative Officer, Squarespace
“Call me a traditionalist, but I’m always taken to black and white photography for portraits. There’s a confidence and comfort to this portrait where you feel the connection between the photographer and the subject.”
— David Lee
View the Editorial Team Shortlist
Ivan Torres
Sam Burriss
Oladimeji Odunsi
Amanda Carlson
Rafael Romero
Ariel Lustre
Nathan Dumalo
Hudson Hintze
Melissa Mjoen
Ian Espinosa
Sports
Selected: Julian Paul, Judged by GoPro Team
“We love how this image really drew us in and gave us the feeling of striving for something greater. The unique perspective with silhouetted fish in the distance is one we have not yet seen and it made us want to dive right in!”
— GoPro Team
View the Editorial Team Shortlist
Dimon Blr
Mickael Tournier
Julian Paul
Adam Krowitz
Robson Hatsukami Morgan
Tim Gouw
Jeremy Bishop
Austin Neill
Scott Webb
Andhika Soreng
Street Photography
Selected: Nicola Fioravanti, Judged by Dwight Pirtle, Brand Digital Media Manager — Americas at Airbnb
“The use of shadow and light make this a striking shot. It’s interesting in a way that draws you in and invites you to examine all of the elements. Great composition!”
— Dwight Pirtle
View the Editorial Team Shortlist
Scott Walsh
Guillaume Bolduc
Mike Wilson
Sawyer Bengtson
Denys Nevozhai
Brunel Johnson
Craig Whitehead
Louis Amal
Rene Böhmer
Andrew Haimerl
Tech & Business
Selected: Alex Kotliarskyi, Judged by Niv Dror, Community Manager, Product Hunt & AngelList
“In a way, Alex’s photo captures a reflection of modern life: staring at a screen. Our lives, especially in our twenties, feels like a competition. From school, to university, to getting a job and progressing through our careers — it’s a never ending competition. The photo draws your eyes out across the rows of workers, all seemingly identical — but at the same time, showing small hints of color and personality from every worker that highlight and humanizes their unique history and personality. It makes me think of 20 years from now, what technology will be ubiquitous.”
— Niv Dror
View the Editorial Team Shortlist
Jakob Owens
Samuel Zeller
Alesia Kazantceva
Kevin
Adam Birkett
Oliver Pecker
ål nik
Nadine Shaabana
Christopher Burns
Goran Ivos
Unsplash Community
Special recognition within the Unsplash Community
Community Spirit — Jackie Ramirez
To date Jackie has liked over 66k of photos on Unsplash, and acknowledges contributors daily on Twitter with individually crafted messages of thanks.
Slack Community Super-Star — Makayla Sophia
Makayla is a super active and friendly member of our Slack Community, always welcoming new members and being supportive of others. Makayla is also a writer and working on her first novel, Awaken.
Expert Collector: Susan Hunsinger
Susan has created 153 collections to date, helping inspire others with her cleverly names collections such as Rock Me Gently, It Aint Easy Being Green and Refresh, Revive, Renew.
Remix Legend: Ted Chin
Ted consistently impresses with his creative uses of Unsplash photos, and is a shining example of how Unsplash contributors feed the creative community with their art. Ted was recently featured by Adobe for his work.