This Call is closed. See all the Winners and Finalists here.

Black & white photography is thriving in the 21st century, which is amazing since our lives are flooded with vibrant color imagery every day. Why is B&W still so popular everywhere in the world? It stands out from the clutter and is an art form like no other.
We want to discover remarkable B&W photographers from all cultures and all experience levels, and connect them with global audiences and career-changing opportunities including an exhibition in London during Photo London 2023. Are you ready for the world stage? Read on for information about award benefits, jurors and our free entry option for single image submissions (because every photographer deserves the opportunity to participate).
Closed for new entries.
Awards
  • Exhibition at Photo London 2023
  • Cash grants of $10,000
  • Solo feature published on LensCulture
  • Featured at international photo festivals
Jurors
  • Sadie Quarrier, National Geographic
  • Trent Parke, Magnum Photographer
  • Rachel Barker, Stanley/Barker Publisher
  • Anne Nwakalor, No! Wahala Magazine
  • Tom Gitterman, Gitterman Gallery
  • Naoko Higashi, IMA Magazine
  • Jim Casper, LensCulture
  • Images in video above by © Wiesje Peels, Thibaut Goarant, Paola Gallo Balma, Christina McFaul, Roberto Di Patrizi, Simone Francescangeli, Ruth Lauer Manenti, Elias Rosal, David Shannon-Lier.
    Exhibition at Photo London 2023!
    Winning photographers will be exhibited at the fabulous Somerset House in London during Photo London, the premiere international photo fair that brings together hundreds of galleries, publishers and collectors, as well as an ambitious program of exhibitions, conversations, artist book signings and curated fair events.
    An opening reception will be held for LensCulture artists, invited media, photo editors and industry insiders for a night of art appreciation and networking during the world’s largest international art fair dedicated to photography.
    More Awards & Benefits
    • Visibility with industry insiders and creative professionals
    • Permanent exhibition in LensCulture Online Gallery
    • International press exposure
    © Elias Rosal
    Meet Our Jury
    Sadie Quarrier
    Deputy Director of Photography
    National Geographic
    United States

    Sadie Quarrier is the Deputy Director of Photography for National Geographic where she manages a team of 19 photo editors and oversees the assignment, production, and acquisition of photography across print and digital platforms. She provides journalistic insight and editorial guidance on the development of visual storytelling across platforms.

    Previously she was Deputy Director of Mobile Storytelling where she oversaw producers creating engaging, mobile–first stories and videos. From 2002-2019, Sadie was a Sr. Photo Editor at National Geographic magazine where she was responsible for producing, managing, and editing 20+ stories/year. She was twice a finalist for Visual Editor of the Year by Pictures of the Year International (POYi). Sadie has traveled around the world on assignments and teaching National Geographic Photo Camps. Her career started at National Geographic in 1992.

    Trent Parke
    Photographer
    Magnum
    Australia

    Trent Parke is one of the most innovative photographers of his generation. He is known for his poetic, often darkly humorous photography that offers an emotional and psychological portrait of his home country of Australia – from the southern outback to its busy beaches. Though rooted in documentary, his works sit between fiction and reality, exploring themes of identity, place, and family life.

    Parke was born in 1971 and raised in Newcastle, New South Wales. Using his mother’s Pentax Spotmatic and the family laundry as a darkroom, he began taking pictures when he was around 12 years old. He began his career as a press photojournalist and in 2007 became the first Australian to become a Full Member of Magnum Photos.

    His work has been exhibited widely and is held in major institutional collections, including the National Gallery of Australia, Museum of Contemporary Art, National Gallery of Victoria, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Art Gallery of South Australia, Artbank, Magnum London and Magnum Paris. In 2015, solo exhibition The Black Rose, premiered at the Art Gallery of South Australia, featuring photographs, light boxes, video, written texts and books.

    Parke has published eight monographs, Dream/Life in 1999, The Seventh Wave with Narelle Autio in 2000, Minutes to Midnight, The Christmas Tree Bucket and Minutes to Midnight in 2014, The Black Rose in 2015, The Crimson Line in 2020 and Cue the Sun in 2022.

    Rachel Barker
    Co-Founder and Director
    Stanley/Barker
    UK

    STANLEY/BARKER is a publishing house founded in London by Rachel and Gregory Barker. From their studio they produce a select list of highly individual publications each year, including Jim Goldberg's Fingerprint, Trent Parke's Crimson Line and Christopher Anderson's SON, PIA and Marion. STANLEY/BARKER is known for the care and attention to detail applied to each publication, several of which have been selected for awards, including Judith Black's Pleasant Street – Shortlisted for the 2020 Paris Photo Aperture Book awards, Sunil Gupta's Christopher Street 1976, Shortlisted for the 2019 Paris Photo Aperture Book awards, The Lucie Photo Book Prize and Les Rencontres d’Arles book Award, and Tod Papageorge's Studio 54, shortlisted for the 2015 Paris Photo Aperture Book awards.

    Anne Nwakalor
    Founding Editor
    No! Wahala Magazine
    UK/Nigeria

    Anne Nwakalor is a British-Nigerian Photo Editor and Communication Officer within the art space. She is currently based between Manchester, UK and Abuja, Nigeria and is the Founding Editor of one of Africa's first contemporary photography magazine; No! Wahala Magazine (https://www.nowahalamag.com/), which is a print photography magazine championing authentic visual stories told by African creatives. Her practice developed whilst studying a BA in Photojournalism and Documentary photography at the 'University Of The Arts London'. Her interests revolve around representation, bereavement and elitism within the art world alongside a range of other topics. Due to a background in creative writing and film, Anne tends to incorporate text and moving image into her work, creating multimedia's alongside still images. Alongside her visual practice, Anne is also a critical writer, usually writing on topics such as 'Othering' 'Exoticism' and Colonialism within the Photography industry. Anne frequently facilitates workshops on photography, ethical storytelling and printed media. She has also delivered presentations and talks at a number of universities, exhibitions, art events and photo festivals.

    Tom Gitterman
    Founder
    Gitterman Gallery
    United States

    Gitterman Gallery was founded in 2003, after Tom Gitterman was in the field for 13 years working for Pace/MacGill Gallery [intern], Zabriskie Gallery and Howard Greenberg Gallery. Gitterman Gallery specializes in connoisseur level photographs and photographic based art. In addition to representing artists, estates and private collections, the gallery maintains an inventory of selective work in a full range of styles and periods that span the history of the medium, from the 19th Century to Contemporary.

    Naoko Higashi
    Editor
    IMA Magazine
    Japan

    Born in 1981, living and working in Tokyo and Fukuoka. Naoko Higashi is an editor at a Tokyo-based photography magazine IMA and representative director of TOKYO ART BOOK FAIR. She joined the magazine since 2012 when it was first published, making large features, reports and news for both print and digital edition of the magazine. She curated exhibitions with various artists and publishers such as Miranda July, Stephen Gill, Culture Centre and 8 ball community at TOKYO ART BOOK FAIR. She is also a member of The Reference Asia, an Asian art community platform based on Asian editors, curators, and publishers.

    Jim Casper
    Editor-in-Chief
    LensCulture
    The Netherlands

    Jim Casper is the editor-in-chief of LensCulture, one of the leading online destinations to discover new contemporary photography from around the world. As an active member in the contemporary photography world, Casper loves to meet with photographers and talk about photography. He curates art exhibitions, publishes books, conducts workshops, serves as an international juror, nominates photographers for key awards, and is an advisor to arts and education organizations.

    I am forever chasing light. Light turns the ordinary into the magical.
    Trent Parke, Magnum Photographer, BW22 Juror
    Competition Gallery
    Editors’ Picks
    When you enter this award, your work will be immediately reviewed by our editors. Selected submissions will be featured in our Competition Gallery and published across all of our online channels, reaching an international audience of three million. (For example, more than 562 early entries were selected and featured during our 2021 Black & White Photography Awards, and more than 200 of those were promoted via LensCulture’s Instagram and Facebook platforms, garnering more than 430,000 likes and comments.) Enter your work early to take advantage of this incredible opportunity for global exposure!
    Note: While our editors review entries for inclusion on a daily basis, not every submission can be shown here.
    Benefits for All Who Enter
    BenefitsWinnersJurors' picks25 FinalistsEditors‘ Picks(1)Every Entrant
    $10,000 in Cash Awards
    Exhibition at Photo London 2023
    Solo Feature Published on LensCulture(2)
    Visibility with LensCulture Insiders
    Featured in International Photo Festival Projections
    International Press Exposure
    Massive Exposure to our Global Audience of 3 Million
    LensCulture Portfolio Account(3)
    Opportunity to be in LensCulture Discoveries online directory of top-rated photographers(4)
    Share your Work with the Global Photography Community
    Opportunities for Immediate Exposure
    (1)Editors’ Picks: During the competition, LensCulture’s editors will curate hundreds of entries for immediate exposure to our global audience through the competition gallery and our Instagram and Facebook pages, all updated daily. (2)Solo Feature for series winners.(3)LensCulture Portfolio Account: Available for all Series entries and 5+ Single entries.(4)All highly-rated photographers are automatically included in LensCulture Discoveries online directory.
    Get a written review of your work
    Enter a series or 5+ single images, and you can add a professional written review of your submission for an additional $25. This is a unique opportunity to receive valuable and specific feedback on your work from one of our experienced industry professionals.
    “This review was extraordinarily insightful and immensely helpful. Truly, I didn’t anticipate this level of attention... I am extremely encouraged.” Fred Zafran
    © Melanie Hoessel
    © Marco Marcone
    Show Us Your Work!
    Open to all types of B&W photography: fine art, experimental, fiction, documentary, visual storytelling, portraits, landscapes, staged/constructed, street, mixed media, alternative processes, conceptual.
    LensCulture has been helping photographers gain visibility and recognition for over 18 years.
    Hear from a few winners about this career-changing impact.
    © Gaetan Bernede
    Be Persistent
    Many successful photographers enter the same work in several competitions before they finally win. This is an effective strategy to have your work seen by many different jurors and build your career. Persistence is the key to getting your work seen by influential experts worldwide - it only takes one person to make a positive impact on your creative journey!
    We respect artists’ rights
    All photographers retain full copyrights for their own work. Period. Winners, Jurors' Picks and Finalists grant LensCulture limited, restricted use of winning photos only to promote the photographers themselves and in connection with marketing the Awards competition itself. Details can be found in the Competition Rules.
    © Simone Francescangeli