The following photos are the top five winners, plus three honorable mentions, from our 2026 Photo Contest in line with the theme “Resilience in a Fractured Future.”
1st: The Light
Photographer: Misaki Kamiya
Description: A traditional Japanese fishing method with a history of over 1,300 years, in which skilled cormorant fishermen guide cormorants to catch river fish such as sweetfish. This method is affected by climate change, including poor sweetfish catches due to rising water temperatures, as well as flooding caused by extreme heat and torrential rains. The community is working with a local university to manage the environment.
Location: Gifu, Japan
2nd: Tidal Flats
Photographer: Ian Donahue
Description: A young woman walks across tidal flats at low tide along the coast of Pemba, Mozambique, balancing a bowl on her head. The exposed shoreline reflects the rhythms of daily life shaped by the sea.
Location: Pemba, Mozambique
3rd: Urban Veg
Photographer: Ryan Gentry
Description: Against the encroachment of urban industrialization, this vendor works long past sunset in Piazza Androvaldi selling fresh produce. 35mm, Kodak Ektar 100.
Location: Bologna, Italy
4th: Renewable Fuel
Photographer: Matthew Winter
Description: A bonfire rages, fueled by old wooden pallets from a nearby warehouse.
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
5th: Interruption
Photographer: Logan Bonn
Description: Two lions encounter yet another group of tourists interrupting their afternoon naps. June 2023
Location: Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana
Honorable Mention:
First Breath
Photographer: Matthew Raines
Description: Taken during a short break between pre-term and the start of the fall semester at Johns Hopkins SAIS Europe. After leaving the Air Force and moving to Italy to start graduate school, getting up into the mountains for a few days was the first time I had truly exhaled in a long time.
Location: Val Gardena, Dolomites, Italy
Honorable Mention:
The Build
Photographer: Logan Bonn
Location: Samochima, Botswana
Honorable Mention:
Cows of Durmitor
Photographer: Alexa Marsh
Description: Mountain cattle graze on the golden-green hills near the Sedlo mountain pass, surrounded by rugged peaks and shifting light.
Location: Durmitor National Park, Montenegro