The explosive winner of the Black and White Photo Awards isn't what you think

A young man wearing a mask and hood, holding firecrackers in full explosion, encapsulating the cultural tradition of "frying lions" to ward off evil spirits and pray for peace and prosperity.

In a world where political discourse seems to be eroding, and wars are breaking out left, right, and centre, you'd expect a dramatic image of chaos and conflict to stand a good chance of winning a major photo competition.

So when I first glimpsed Destroy together by Haikun Liang, the Absolute Winner of the Black and White Photo Awards 2024, I assumed this was another grim document of the discord and mayhem breaking out around the globe right now. On closer inspection, though, it turned out I couldn't have been more wrong. 

In fact, the masked and hooded figure here is neither a victim nor perpetrator of war, but actually just a kid having fun with firecrackers during the Spring Festival in China. The dramatic scene actually depicts the cultural tradition of "frying lions" to ward off evil spirits and pray for peace and prosperity. 

It's a stirring and breathtaking image nonetheless, and stands testament to both the skill of the photographer, and the impact that black and white photography can make in a world where we're increasingly surrounded by vibrant, neon, Gen Z-driven colours.

And there are plenty more evocative photographs to enjoy, as the contest committed to monochrome announces its 2024 winners.

Special Prize winner

Spiral to the tower by László Tóth, won Special Prize for Creativity (Image credit: László Tóth)

The Special Prize for Creativity, sponsored by SanDisk Professional was awarded to László Tóth for Spiral to the tower. He constructed this conceptual image by combining multiple superimposed frames of a flock of birds, forming a spiral.

More than €5,500 in prizes were given out in total for these two winners, along with those awarded first prize, second prize and honorable mentions (golden, silver and bronze) across five categories: Architecture, Street, Portrait, Landscape, and Fauna and Flora. 

They were selected from over 5,000 entries by a jury of photographers, including Joel Tjintelaar, Julia Anna Gospodarou, Charles Paul Azzopardi, Kazutoshi Kawakami and Néstor Rodan. 

Check out the first and second-prize winners in each category below, while you can see all the 2024 winners in full in this website gallery. The next edition will open on 1 January 2025.

Category winners and runners-up

Architecture winner: Architectural Playground by Florian Kriechbaumer (Image credit: Florian Kriechbaumer)

Architecture second place: Black Hole by Dorota Yamadag  (Image credit: Dorota Yamadag )

Street winner: Baker Street Station 3 by Zhenhuan Zhou (Image credit: Zhenhuan Zhou)

Street second place: Kim City 07 by Alain Schroeder (Image credit: Alain Schroeder)

Portrait winner: Pottery village girl by Van Dong Nguyen (Image credit: Van Dong Nguyen)

Portrait second place: Scary by Abhishek Basak (Image credit: Abhishek Basak)

Fauna and Flora winner: Explosion by Anup Shah (Image credit: Anup Shah)

Fauna and Flora second place: Greatness by Dhir Jakharia (Image credit: Francisco Negroni)

Landscape winner: The Dune by Matteo Strassera (Image credit: Matteo Strassera)

Landscape second place: The image of fear by Francisco Negroni (Image credit: Francisco Negroni)

See our guide to the best cameras for black and white photography