2024 SUGi x NAVA Photography Contest – Winners
We are thrilled to announce the winners of the 2024 SUGi x NAVA Photo Contest.
In 2024, we hosted our third Photography Contest with our forest partner NAVA Contemporary around the theme: “Rewild our eyes and show us how everyone can reimagine urban life”.
We received 10,061 submissions from 970 photographers, whose entries truly embodied the contest theme. As ever, we welcomed photographers of all levels from around the world to submit their work for the chance to win cash prizes totaling $10,000, with a grand prize of $4,000.
This year, we added new categories: People & Nature, Urban Wildlife, Climate, Conceptual, Natural Diversity, Urban Waterways, Alt Landscape, and New Nature.
Grand Prize Winner
Representation of Ñanderu
Mauricio Holc
“Ñanderu”, the creator, who creates himself in a vegetal form (like a tree). His resources are used in a respectful and sustainable manner by the Mbyá people, where in their culture, both the creator and nature are the same, everything in it is a living manifestation of Ñanderu.
Alt Landscape – 1st Prize
Abandoned tennis court
Peter Essick
An abandoned tennis court at a swim and tennis club that had gone out of businessa decade earlier in Snellville, Georgia.
Alt Landscape – 2nd Prize
Capulin Volcano Visitor Center Outdoor Viewing Area
Owen Davies
Designed by NPS Southwest Regional Office/Cecil Doty, completed 1963, the photographer explores the eccentricities of the American psyche and its relationship to the built environment.
Climate – 1st Prize
Dead zone
Lucas Amorelli
During the Sea Shepherd expedition through the Amazon in defense of the dolphins, they sailed through the Manacapuru region – a red zone, where it’s very common to find these dead animals, with their mouth tied, a harpoon and even used for bait.
Climate – 2nd Prize
Zen Garden
J Henry Fair
These patterns are made by giant oscillating excavators working in a coal mine in Garzweiler, Germany. The mine is covered by about 40 - 150 meters of earth and clay which is removed by excavators and transported via a conveyor network to the other side of the mine where a spreader distributes it over the already depleted area.
Conceptual – 1st Prize
Garden Disco
Pola Esther
This is the series of photographs of still life composed from the flowers and vegetables that Pola collected in their garden and kitchen. In playful and poetic way they intend to show how our immediate surroundings can be elevated to stunning, delicate and electrifying visions.
Conceptual – 2nd Prize
Inner Journey
Bongani
This work explores topics of masculinity and challenges the masculine stereotypes that are imposed on men through a personal prism. This is the rigid structure of masculinity that has imprisoned the average African man. His series looks at collective silence and how that silence is fostered first at home.
Natural Diversity – 1st Prize
Devil Praying Mantis Portrait
Scifier
In this captivating photograph, a Devil Flower mantis (Idolomantis diabolica) takes center stage against a striking black backdrop in which the intricate details of the mantis’s anatomy stands out, from its sharp mandibles to its delicate antennae.
Natural Diversity – 2nd Prize
Nowruz
Amirhossein Yousefi Keysari
Trees next to Novruzlu lagoon.
New Nature – 1st Prize
Enclave I
Nasrah Omar
The image is part of a series titled Regenerative Play where hyperreal dolls become conduits of cultivated interdependent ecosystems, enabling play to become earth-centric with reverence. Growth and decay punctuates play, augmenting in many ways the uncanny verisimilitude of the dolls.
New Nature – 2nd Prize
Crested Pigeon
Matthew Renew
“The Life of Birds” is a hopeful glimpse into a possible future where humans rediscover a way to coexist with nature. A world where the vegetation is lush and the many curious creatures of our planet can live alongside humans peacefully.
People & Nature – 1st Prize
Rebirth
David Olayide
This image shows a blend between man and plant in a metaphorical embrace. The face of the young man is obscured, his identity preserved by the plant – man and nature are one. The photographer seeks to draw attention to the idea of regeneration and sustainability.
People & Nature – 2nd Prize
MODO x AMHU
Finn O'Hara
For this series the photographer worked with Birds Canada at the Long Point Bird Observatory, Canada’s most productive bird banding station. Bird banding is the important process of identifying and keeping track of individual birds by putting aluminum bands on birds’ legs.
Urban Waterways – 1st Prize
Roof top journey
Azim Khan Ronnie
In Bangladesh, a riverine country, millions of people are going home to celebrate the festival of Eid al-Fitr. Since it’s really difficult to get in, many people just put bed sheets on the rooftop to secure spots.
Urban Waterways – 2nd Prize
Venice Canals
Francesca Berardi
House on Venice canals.
Urban Wildlife – 1st Prize
Array
Jason Au
During the twilight hours, a group of Egrets aligns themselves in an arrow formation, providing a striking contrast against the backdrop of a street lamp in the urban landscape in Hong Kong.
Urban Wildlife – 2nd Prize
City Terrace | East Los Angeles
Kristine Vann
A rooster on the street in Los Angeles, USA.
People's Choice Award
Tornado
Michele Lapini
A tree fell on a house due to the tornado in downtown Alfonsine in Emilia-Romagna region. The July 22 tornado was classified as a grade 3 on the IF (International Fujita) scale, traveling nearly 17 kilometers.
