Winners of Smithsonian’s 23rd Annual Photography Contest

The grand-prize image, The Punk Rockers by Jacqueline Burke, captures egret chicks at a New Jersey rookery. Their tousled plumage and dynamic postures evoke a late-night band rehearsal. Burke described the trio as "full of attitude, energy and individuality," highlighting their charisma amidst a larger flock.

This year, the contest received over 40,000 submissions from photographers in 215 countries. Burke’s winning image and the category winners reflect a variety of thematic and stylistic approaches, from documentary realism to constructed compositions.

In the Natural World category, Vietnamese photographer Lê Đăng Khoa’s Rain Shower shows an elephant bathing under rain. The slightly larger A3 print allows each droplet to become visible, emphasizing the fleeting nature of the moment. Khoa’s image exemplifies nature photography's balance between vastness and intimacy, framing ecosystems through a single subject.

In Travel, Cooking Curry Across the Indian Ocean by Wei Lian conveys motion and aroma through line and light. The photograph depicts a fisherman stirring a pot against a dusky horizon, inviting viewers into a contemplative juxtaposition of labor and leisure.

The standout in the People category is Ifeoma Eke’s Azure Elegy, shot on medium format. It depicts a woman against an indigo backdrop, her expression caught between melancholy and composure. Eke’s work explores identity and cultural heritage, with the blue tone symbolizing traditional Nigerian dyeing processes.

In Altered Images, Daisuke Tanaka won for Invisible City. His large-format composite layers multiple exposures taken across Tokyo’s busy intersections, creating a kaleidoscopic tableau that reflects contemporary urban life. This work challenges conventional boundaries by presenting a condensed chaos.

In Mobile Photography, Clara dos Santos’s Unexpected Vision shows light patterns cascading through stained-glass windows onto a concrete floor in a São Paulo church. Despite its digital origin, the print maintains depth, especially when mounted on thick cotton rag paper.

The American Experience category features Rust Belt Revival by Marcus DeSantos, depicting workers restoring machinery in a repurposed factory. The photograph’s textured matte stock enhances its sepia undertones, serving as both document and tribute to labor transformations in the Midwestern economy.

Sarah Leen, former director of photography at National Geographic, remarked that “the strongest images always carry dual responsibilities: to represent and to resonate.” This year’s winners engage with aesthetic form and ethical storytelling.

The photographs will be on display at the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., starting March 15, 2024. The exhibition will highlight their materiality—paper choice, framing, and scale—complementing their narratives. The accompanying catalogue provides context for each winning image, ensuring viewers engage with both surface and intention.

In a moment saturated with imagery, the Smithsonian Magazine Photography Contest shows that singular images can surprise, inform, and move. From the micro-dramas of egret chicks to expansive reflections on community, this year’s winners reaffirm photography’s role as both art and document. Their stories invite viewers to pause and look closely.