SWPA 2026 winners for Student, Youth and Open Photographer of the Year
Sunday 26 April 2026, 14:14 by Nando Harmsen | 932 views | 0 commentsThis article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.
Alongside the Professional categories and Photographer of the Year awards, SWPA 2026 also has winners in the Open, Student and Youth categories. These winners are also celebrated at the event in London.
In an earlier article, the winners of the Professional categories were discussed in detail. I also briefly wrote about Joel Meyerowitz, who was honoured for his 'Outstanding Contribution for Photography.'
There are three more parts of SWPA 2026 that have not yet been mentioned. These are the sections of the Sony World Photography Awards that almost anyone can enter, including Open Photographer of the Year.
Open Photographer of the Year 2026 is Elle Leontiev (Australia). She won the award for her photograph of The Barefoot Volcanologist, a striking portrait of Phillip Yamah. He is an internationally recognised, self-taught volcanologist standing on a volcanic bomb. The photograph was taken on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu.
Leontiev lived in the village for a while to see and experience these people's lives. During the opening of the exhibition at Somerset House, she explained how special this life is and how the volcano is part of everyday life.
Student Photographer of the Year 2026 is Jubair Ahmed Arnob (Bangladesh, Counter Foto - A Center for Visual Arts). His series 'The Place Where I Used To Play' captures the constantly changing landscape of Green Model Town in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Youth Photographer of the Year 2026 is Philip Kangas (Sweden, 16 years old). He received the award for his photograph 'Saving History from the Flames.' It is a striking image of two firefighters rescuing art from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm during a fire.
You can find more about the SWPA 2026 winners and the shortlist galleries on the Sony World Photography Awards website. If you are in London, you can visit the exhibition at Somerset House until 4 May 2026. More information is available on the website.
About the author
Nando Harmsen has been photographing for more than 40 years. He specialises in wedding photography and landscape photography. Nando also gives talks, workshops, masterclasses and photo trips, and regularly reviews new and interesting equipment.
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