11 captivating images from the Exposure One Photography Awards

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Our world exists in vibrant color, but seeing it in black and white can be moving. The Exposure One Awards celebrate monochrome beauty.

In this year’s One Shot Photo Contest, photographers from 82 countries submitted images for consideration.

a whale under the waterline with a boat above
“Sassy, an Insistent Whale”
Credit: Tristin Sheen / Exposure One Awards

“The 2026 One Shot Photo Contest challenges photographers to distill their craft, perspective, and storytelling into a single, definitive image,” a statement read. “A distinguished jury evaluated submissions across multiple categories, ultimately recognizing a select group of photographers whose work exemplifies the power and precision of the single frame.”

Judges from Leica Gallery LA, Aperture, Vogue, SFMoMA, and others selected the 2026 honorees.

dog with underbite wearing a helmet rides in small vehicle
“Rio No.7”
Credit: Willy Paul / Exposure One Awards
cows surrounded by smoke.
“Smoking the Cows”
Early morning with the Abore tribe. This young girls stand with the cattle as the sunrises and sun beams travel thru the smoke. Smoking the cows helps repel insects and gives the cattle a sense of calm. The Abore treasure their cows and take very good care of them.
Credit: Cydny B Waters / Exposure One Awards
a man is dragged between two cows in the mud
“Hard Luck”
The image is from Sumatra, the moment the contestant fell and lost control of the two cows during the race.
Credit: Sameerah Abbas / Exposure One Awards
a hammerhead shark in the talon of a bird
“Air Superiority”
The Hammerhead was no match for the Osprey claw.
Credit: Scott Joshua Dere / Exposure One Awards
A Buddhist monk stands outside the Shwedagon Pagoda, his gaze framed by wings.
“Between Wings”
A Buddhist monk stands outside the Shwedagon Pagoda, his gaze framed by wings.
Credit: Mateo Borrero / Exposure One Awards
two birds fighting, water droplets in the air
“Defensive”
Credit: Arne Bivrin / Exposure One Awards
a storm over the water
“Signals in the Storm”
A sequence of black and white photographs made where light meets pressure. Storm, surf, and mountain layers resolve into structure and tone. The work is about endurance, the small human signal set against the larger movement of nature.
Credit: John Martinotti / Exposure One Awards
Flamingos fly over sand
“Textures in Motion”
Flamingos fly over Lake Magadi in Kenya’s Rift Valley.
Credit: Lori Dove / Exposure One Awards
a man and his horse pose together in a hay-covered parking lot
“Holman Bronc Real Bird”
‘Indian Relay Rider’Holman from Lodge Grass Montana at the World Championship Sheridan Wyoming
Credit: Aengus MacNeil / Exposure One Awards

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