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The 2025 reFocus Photographer of the Year Awards didn’t just crown winners—it dropped a full-blown visual mic. This year’s Street and Travel category hits hard, pulling us straight into the chaos, beauty, faith, and poetry of real life across the globe. These aren’t polished postcard shots. They’re raw, lived-in moments where timing, courage, and human connection do the heavy lifting.
Street and travel photography at its best lives on the edge of unpredictability, and these 30 winning images thrive right there. You feel the dust, the crowd pressure, the heat, the stillness before dawn. Every frame tells a story that couldn’t be staged even if you tried. This is photography that demands presence—both from the shooter and the viewer.
The 1st Place Street winner, France Leclerc, nailed it with “Riding the Pilgrims’ Rails.” Shot in Bangladesh during the Bishwa Ijtema, the image captures overcrowded trains near Dhaka where pilgrims cling to rooftops and railings like gravity is optional. It’s wild, risky, and deeply human. The photo isn’t just about movement—it’s about devotion, survival, and collective momentum, all packed into a single electric frame.
Coming in strong as 1st Place Travel winner, Chirag Sadhnani delivered “Tapestry of Gathering.” From above, the shores of Kulasekarapattinam during Kulasai Dussehra transform into a living mosaic. Millions rest under open skies, bodies forming patterns of belief and belonging. It’s calm, spiritual, and visually hypnotic—proof that travel photography can whisper just as powerfully as it shouts.
Together, these winners show why street and travel photography still matter. They don’t just show us the world—they pull us into it.
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Street – Winners
#1. 1st Place Winner: "Riding the Pilgrims’ Rails" by France Leclerc
"Bangladesh, and particularly Dhaka, is well-known for overcrowded commuting trains. People claim any perch they can on top, and all around the train cars. But the crowd is never as large as it is during the Bishwa Ijtema, an annual gathering of Muslims held in Tongi, a small town near Dhaka."
#2. Silver: "Humanity Within the Architecture of Control" by Luke Gram
"North Korea is shaped by strict design and order, but everyday life still appears in small gestures and quiet routines. This series captures the persistence of humanity within a controlled world built to guide movement and shape identity."
#3. Silver: "Full Swing" by France Leclerc
"The Buraidha market, situated in central Saudi Arabia, is the world’s largest and oldest camel market. The sheer number of animals and the chaotic atmosphere are no doubt overwhelming. But what particularly caught my eye was the unique method used to transport some of the camels."
#4. Bronze: "Lonely Train" by Chris Yan
"On a rainy day, a mother and son were sitting on a small train. The small train slowly moves forward, like a gateway to a fairy tale world."
#5. People’s Vote Award: "A Silent Passage" by Juan Carlo Jacques De Araujo
"Where the Weight of the Everyday Meets the Whisper of the Wind."
Street – Honorable Mentions
#6. "The Witness" by Masoud Mirzaei
"Overlooking the timeless rooftops of historic Tabriz, Iran"
#7. "Thread of Color" by Chervine D
"Orange moves across people, structures, and reflections, creating subtle links between scenes. Quick gestures, shifting light, and shadows form a quiet rhythm, turning ordinary spaces into brief studies of stillness, pattern, and shared presence that challenge linear understandings of place."
#8. "Celestial Ladies" by France Leclerc
"To attend a service at the Celestial Church in West Africa, women devotees wear a white attire and a round hat. On a random walk, I noticed these women resting and chatting, presumably after attending a service, sitting in front of a gray wall where white circles had been painted."
#9. "Polybahn" by Fabio Antenore
"A Rainy Day in Zürich"
#10. "Trinidad, Cuba, 2025" by Marcelo Salvador
Street – Nominees
#11. "The Hour of Light and Shadows" by Mark Seawell
"Examples of the power of black and white photography all around us."
#12. "Crossing(One)" by Zili Zhang
"A typical example of how I apply juxtaposition and minimalism to street photography. Taken fourth floor above, there happened to be a moment of only one man walking crossing the famous Shijuku Crossing. To his right, there is a lone manhole, completing the image."
#13. "Explorer" by Juan Carlo Jacques De Araujo
"In the cosmopolitan heart of Chicago, an old Beetle carries not tourists, but light-spirited travelers. Simple and timeless, it proves that exploring the world is more about the spirit than the vehicle."
Travel – Winners
#14. 1st Place Winner: "Tapestry of Gathering" by Chirag Sadhnani
"On the shores of Kulasekarapattinam, millions gather for Kulasai Dussehra—sleeping under the open sky as a ritual of devotion. From above, the beach becomes a living tapestry of prayer and presence, where faith meets dawn in quiet unity."
#15. Bronze: "The Lone Cowboy" by William Mark Sommer
"The Lone Cowboy, an imagined artifact of Hollywood has been a fixture in the depiction of the west. Now in Contemporary America, the trained horse stands petrified on the edge of the cliff so tourists can have themselves pictured as if they were a part of these John Ford films in Monument Valley."
#16. People’s Vote Award: "Above the Horizon" by Marie Juliette Aziz
"This a collection of photos taken with aerial perspectives from Vietnam. Each photo captures the beauty and intricacy of landscapes and patterns, inviting viewers to experience the world through a fresh and elevated lens."
Travel – Honorable Mentions
#17. "A symbiotic existence" by Trevor Cole
"The Mundari of Central Equatoria practise transhumance, moving their herds in response to rains and fresh grazing. They also veneer themselves with ash for the same reasons, hence they appear ghostly as they herd their cattle and fade into the nebulous haze of smoke generated by the fires."
#18. "Dawn herders" by Trevor Cole
"The Kara tribe live on the banks of the Omo river in Ethiopia. In the morning light they are often found bringing their goats back to the village. This area has become increasingly arid due to climate change and the building of the Gibe dam, hence the dry and dusty environment."
#19. "Steam over Snow" by Erhan Coral
"In the frozen silence of Eastern Anatolia, life finds warmth. Amid vast white fields, men and animals bathe in hot springs, their breath mingling with the rising mist — a ritual of survival and serenity in the heart of winter."
#20. "On the road of the nomads" by Emilie Favier
"Two young riders advance through the steppes of Lake Kol-Suu, surrounded by valleys like a watercolor. Kol-Suu, Kyrgyzstan"
#21. "Flying wall" by Laurin Strele
"Young Shaolin monks during their daily training in the temple courtyard. While two disciples rest against the wall, others stretch or practice leaps and wall runs — a scene that captures both the discipline and intensity, as well as the quieter pauses, of their rigorous training routine."
#22. "Train stories" by Mateo Borrero
"Commuters traveling by train in Dhaka, Bangladesh"
Travel – Nominees
#23. "Through the veil" by Marie Juliette Aziz
"This image has a strong mystical feeling — the beams of light cutting through the darkness, the figure at the center, and the circular woven textures around. It feels almost sacred, like a ritual or a timeless craft. and its only rice making, a tradition passed from generation to generation."
#24. "Somewhere in the Middle of Nowhere" by Erhan Coral
This series explores vast empty landscapes where human presence is fragile, fleeting, and often overwhelmed by scale. Through silence, isolation, and subtle human traces, it reflects on our vulnerability and the quiet absurdity of existence within boundless geographies."
#25. "Into the Northern Skies" by Charles Fortin
"Two adventurers linger between earth and sky on the shore of Great Slave Lake, Northwest Territories. Carried by the rhythm of the auroras, they lose themselves in a moment where the wild feels infinite and time stands still."
#26. "Ostrich And Pink Dunes" by Gero Heine
"Namib-Naukluft National Park, Namibia"
#27. "Silent Elegance" by Rintaro Ukon
"Byodö-in Phoenix Hall stands with serene dignity, transcending a thousand years. Built in the Heian period to embody the Pure Land ideal, it symbolizes Japan’s spiritual heritage. Reflected in still waters, it bridges eternal and fleeting as a koi stirs the silence."
#28. "Timeless Motion" by Eric Lee Chin Chuan
#29. "Murano Woman" by Russ Schleipman
"Woman in Murano, Italy"
#30. "Alanya" by Esa Siltaloppi
"Alanya, Turkey, is a vibrant city full of things to capture. I wanted to condense the essence of the city into a single image. I climbed up a hill, and from there, with a long telephoto lens, I was able to capture the city’s colorful character — including its religious landmark, the mosque."
In Summary
What are the reFocus Photographer of the Year Awards?
- They are international photography awards recognizing outstanding visual storytelling across multiple genres.
Who won the Street category in 2025?
- France Leclerc won 1st Place for his photograph “Riding the Pilgrims’ Rails.”
Who won the Travel category in 2025?
- Chirag Sadhnani’s “Tapestry of Gathering” documents mass devotion during Kulasai Dussehra in India.
What makes the Street and Travel category special?
- It focuses on real, unstaged moments that capture culture, movement, faith, and daily life.
Why are these images impactful?
- They combine timing, emotion, and storytelling to reflect authentic human experiences.
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