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Unyielding Form

David Payne

Japan

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A monolithic architectural form rises against a shifting sky.
Texture and proportion define the image, allowing mass and surface to carry meaning without narrative.
The photograph examines permanence through restraint, where form stands independent of human scale.

Honorable Mention

A solitary figure moves toward a sharply divided architectural space shaped by light and shadow.
The geometry remains fixed while human presence passes briefly through it, emphasizing scale and direction.
The image reflects movement as inevitability rather than event.

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Nominee

Approaching the Divide

A curved architectural form rises into a shifting sky, its geometry precise against an unstable atmosphere.
The photograph contrasts permanence and impermanence, using negative space to emphasize scale and quiet tension.
Light and form, rather than subject, define the experience.

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Held Against the Sky

A solitary figure moves through an architectural space divided by light and shadow.
The geometry remains fixed while the human presence passes briefly through it, emphasizing scale, restraint, and transience.
The photograph explores how light shapes experience more than the subject itself.

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Crossing the Measure of Light

Light And Shadows Playing On A Building Wall Captured With A 40-year Old Nikon FE2 Using Kodak Tri-X 400 Film

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Ascension

The Beauty Of Patterned Shapes Caught In A Single Moment With A 40-year Old Nikon FE2 Using Kodak Tri-X 400 Film

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Frames With People Inside

Celebrating Light, Shapes And Patterns With A 40-Year Old Nikon FE2 Using Kodak Tri-X 400 Film

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People’s Vote Award

Silhouette Strider

An energetic, enthusiastic team of 20 in traditional costumes starts off with their Mikoshi on their shoulders as they transport a Kami spirit through neighborhood streets during Kita-Urawa's Matsuri Festival...bringing good luck and chasing evil spirits away!

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"LIFT...CHANT...DANCE THROUGH THE STREETS‼️"

A Monochrome Magical Moment during Kita-Urawa's first post-pandemic Matsuri Festival. The portable shrine is called a "mikoshi" (神輿)...a miniature shrine that serves as a temporary vessel to transport the local Shinto deity or Kami...carried by a team of 20 enthusiastic bearers!