Mobile Photography Awards Winners Are In

Real Hacker Staff

April 3, 2024

Selected photos from the Mobile Photographer of the Year, Yajun Hu

The Mobile Photography Awards (MPA) announced the winners of its 13th annual competition Wednesday, giving out thousands of dollars in cash prizes.

The MPA, having launched in 2011, is the world’s largest and longest-running international competition for smartphone photography. And this year saw entries from more than 85 countries, marking a milestone for the organization.

Yajun Hu, based in Shanghai, won the Grand Prize, earning the title of the 13th Annual MPA Photographer of the Year and a $3,000 cash prize.

“Hu’s portfolio captivates with a stunning display of fine-art street photography mastery,” the Mobile Photography Awards explains.

His street photography, taken with a Xiaomi Ultra 13 both in color and in black and white, plays with angles and lighting, creating delicious feasts for the eyes. MPA founder Daniel Berman described Hu’s work as “…distinguished by a unique interplay of shadows, colors, and shapes, infusing the compositions with depth and emotion. Each photograph serves as a piece of a larger narrative, contributing to a rich tapestry of urban storytelling.”

Additionally, the MPA includes three Photo Essay winners and 12 categories: Architecture and Still Life; Black and White; The Darkness; Landscapes and Wildlife; Macro and Details; People Photos; Portraits and Self-Portraits; Silhouettes; Street Photography; Travel and Transportation; Visual Effects and Digital Art; and Water, Snow, and Ice. Grand Prize winner Hu also won the Black and White category.

Photo essay submissions are awarded $500 and category winners get $250 prizes. The first place photo essay submission went to Victor Tan KH of Thailand for his six-photo entry that focuses on a rural Thai street festival entitled “Firecracker Symphony.” Second and Third Place went to “Dancing Flowers” by Ren Shi and “Builders” by Julian Lisek, respectively. “Dancing Flowers” captures ballet dancers from a top-down perspective. The angle creates a visual metaphor of the dancers as flowers. Meanwhile, “Builders” takes a different approach, showing the grit of construction.

“The evolution of mobile photography has been nothing short of remarkable,” Berman said in a release. “The MPA stands as a testament to the undeniable progress of this medium, and we are thrilled to be part of its transformative journey.”