Vanta Coda III of RealWV wins Sony’s Lifestyle Photo of the Year

By RealWV Staff,

The Sony World Photography Awards announced winners in 10 categories last week. Now in its 19th year, the Open competition recognizes the best single images taken in the last year, celebrating the power of an individual image to pique curiosity, spark imagination, and reveal a wider narrative. Entrants shared their strongest images from 2025, and the winners and shortlists represent a diverse range of photographs; from striking landscapes to thoughtful portraits, and both captivating and humorous scenes from nature.

More than 430,000 images from over 200 countries and territories were submitted this year. The Open Photographer of the Year will be announced at the Awards’ ceremony in London on April 16 and will receive a $5,000 cash prize as well as a range of Sony Digital Imaging equipment. A selection of winning and shortlisted images will be shown as part of the Sony
World Photography Awards exhibition at Somerset House from April 17-May 4, 2026, and will then travel to other locations.

Vanta Coda III, a photojournalist for RealWV, won the Lifestyle Category for “Charlotte and Dolly”, depicting a young woman
and her cow, resting together in a barn to keep cool in summer heat at the State Fair of West Virginia.

Other winners include:

ARCHITECTURE
Markus Naarttijärvi (Sweden) for his image of the paper mill in Obbola, Sweden, surrounded by layers of shadows, concrete and clouds, on a dark November night.

CREATIVE
Siavosh Ejlali (Iran, Islamic Republic Of) for Lost Hope, a carefully composed portrait, using staged and symbolic elements in a poignant ode to Iranian women.

LANDSCAPE
J Fritz Rumpf (United States) for Shapes and Patterns of the Desert, a study of the geometric composition and the rich, warm colors of the Sossusvlei dunes in Namibia.

MOTION
Franklin Littlefield (United States) for his motion blur shot of a punk concert in Providence, Rhode Island, United States, capturing the dynamism of the moment.

NATURAL WORLD & WILDLIFE
Klaus Hellmich (Germany) for a photograph of a blue arctic fox in the Varager Peninsula, Norway. The fox is caught in a blizzard and stands alone braving the wind and snow.

OBJECT
Robby Ogilvie (United Kingdom) for Colour Divides, depicting the juxtaposition of a blue car against bright green and pink buildings of the Bo-Kaap neighbourhood in Cape Town, South Africa.

PORTRAITURE
Elle Leontiev (Australia) for The Barefoot Volcanologist, a striking portrait of Phillip, an internationally recognised, self-taught volcano scientist, standing atop a volcanic rock bomb on the island of Tanna, Vanuatu.

STREET PHOTOGRAPHY
Giulia Pissagroia (Italy) for Between the Lines, a candid, comedic black-and-white photograph of a family at Ørnevegen (Eagle Road), Norway, showing their humorous facial expressions as they admire the view.

TRAVEL
Megumi Murakami (Japan) for a glowing photograph capturing the lively Abare Festival, where men leap into the river as torches blaze, a traditional celebration passed down for over three centuries in the Noto region of Japan.