Discover the Winners of AAP Magazine 50 Shapes

This milestone issue brings together a striking collection of photographs that highlight the power of form, geometry, and structure in visual storytelling. Shapes, whether found in the natural world or constructed within urban environments, have long played a central role in photography — guiding the eye, creating rhythm, and transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary.

Selected from hundreds of submissions from photographers across the globe, this issue showcases work from 11 countries spanning 4 continents. The winning series and single images reflect the many ways artists approach the theme of shape: some emphasize minimalism and balance, others explore repetition and symmetry, while many experiment with abstraction, perspective, and bold contrasts. The result is a dynamic and thought-provoking collection that underscores how shape can both anchor and disrupt composition.

From architectural details to fleeting patterns of light, from human forms to unexpected visual juxtapositions, the photographs in AAP Magazine #50: Shapes reveal the endless possibilities of this fundamental element of art. The issue demonstrates not only the technical mastery of the selected photographers but also their creativity in seeing beyond the obvious and uncovering beauty in the simplest or most complex forms.

In addition to publication in the print edition of AAP Magazine, the winners receive international recognition through All About Photo’s website and social media platforms, offering their work exposure to a wide audience of collectors, curators, and photography lovers worldwide. This recognition affirms the remarkable vision of the selected artists and celebrates the enduring relevance of photography as a medium for creative exploration.

We hope these images will inspire you to see the world differently — to notice the patterns, the lines, the silhouettes, and the hidden designs that surround us every day. Shapes are everywhere, and in the hands of these photographers, they become unforgettable works of art.

The Winner is Julie Wang (United States) with the series 'The Illusion of Poppies'

In this photograph from the series “The Illusion of Poppies,” the fragile forms drift between presence and shadow. Seed pods linger like echoes of blossoms once in bloom, their outlines fading as if memory itself were dissolving into silence. What remains is neither beginning nor end, but a quiet trace of time’s passing—tender, elusive, and ungraspable.

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The Second Place Winner is JP Terlizzi (United States) with the series 'Tangled in Blue'

As an artist with red-green color blindness, my work investigates the complexities of color perception—how those with this condition experience, interpret, and understand color. It examines the differences between what we see, what we believe we see, and how we learn to recognize and understand color. When paired with colorblind eyewear, the work also enables individuals with the same color deficiency to perceive a broader spectrum of hues.
Inspired by the color and light principles of Bauhaus Design and the Munsell Color Tree—a system that organizes colors by hue, value (lightness), and chroma (intensity)—I reinterpret the Ishihara colorblind test and create new patterns, carefully considering the hues, values, and chroma I perceive when viewing my image. A custom-colored frame completes each piece, adding another layer to the visual tone.

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The Third Place Winner is Jingyi Zhang (China) with the series 'Vacuum World'

In my work, Emei Mountain, I depict a figure journeying toward nothingness and a dreamscape—the distant temple appears both realistic and like a mirage.

In the chaotic material world, vacuum represents a state approaching the limit—an existence that is invisible and often overlooked. Within a vacuum, all sound and substance are stripped away, leaving only the faintest fluctuations. We are compelled to sense the natural presences that are “unseen and unheard.”In my photo series Vacuum World, I place the world within a vacuum-like environment, peeling away external noise to trace the emotional and material remnants submerged in everyday life—those things that are forgotten, unspoken, or never mourned. This work attempts to critically construct a purified vacuum space outside the information-saturated modern society, in order to explore the most essential—yet faint and unseen—connections between matter and nature.

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Merit Award Gallery

Cristiano Bartoli (Italy)

The image was taken on the winter beach of Riccione (Italy). I entered a children's play structure, hiding in its shelter, to see the world of adults through their eyes.

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Stephen Rauch (United States)

I had the pleasure of sailing aboard the Seabourn Pursuit—a 23,000-gross-ton luxury expedition vessel designed to carry just 264 guests. On expedition days spent entirely at sea, you gain a deeper appreciation for the ship itself. This photograph is part of a series titled "At Sea on Deck 9", captured during a serene sea day. It offers a glimpse into the quiet elegance of the vessel and the peaceful moments that make the journey every bit as memorable as the destination.

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Elisabeth Ajtay (Germany)

Myself being a twin has sensitized me towards the fine nuances between similarities and differences One day, while cooking, this very idea of ‘same, same but different’ manifested in front of my eyes in the tiny pieces of red cabbage that I previously cut into pieces. "Twins" is a minimalist photographic study, a self portrait, exploring themes of duality and subtle difference. Two meticulously carved slices of red cabbage, nearly identical yet each different in their unique subtle shapes.

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Tommi Viitala (Finland)

This photo was taken in Vienna, Austria. Door of the photo is located at my girlfriend's home, where I noticed this nice door surface and I asked my girlfriend to go opposite of that door. We both love textures, so I think this describes both of us really well. Taken with a Fuji X100f -camera.

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Tom van Eynde (United States)

This portfolio is part of a on going exploration of common place objects separating their form from the context of their landscape. This removal allows us to see the object in a new way. I love the idea of wandering through the darkness of night, coming on something illuminated by the light of the camera for but a split second, then living as an afterimage in your mind then it’s capture as a photograph. My influences run from Alfred Stieglitz “Equivalent Series, to Edward Weston’s Peppers and Minimalist art. Please don’t try to figure out the object use, enjoy a little mystery!

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Fabien Dendiével (France)

This photo was taken in the Sultanate of Oman in January 2020. During a long hot day on deserted roads surrounded by sand, I came across this crossroads and this tyre with road signs in the background. I found this minimalist scene interesting.

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Frank Machalowski (Germany)

The photo series Bauhaus Dessau explores the iconic Masters’ Houses of the Bauhaus artists in Dessau through an experimental fusion of analogue and digital photography. Presented in black and white, the works emphasize a reduced and precise visual language that reflects the spirit of Bauhaus architecture. By layering, reflections, and multiple exposures, the images transcend documentation and transform the familiar buildings into almost abstract compositions. The strict geometry of Bauhaus design is reinterpreted and simultaneously alienated, creating new spatial experiences and unexpected perspectives. In doing so, the series bridges past and present, situating historic architecture within a contemporary artistic framework. It invites the viewer to experience Bauhaus aesthetics not only as cultural heritage but also as a vibrant source of creative reinterpretation.

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Florian Kriechbaumer (Germany)

A purpose-built villa community on the outskirts of Dubai utilizing identical designs for the houses, with a two color pattern and a rectangular access street system. The result is a visually striking but eerily uniform grid.

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Syan Hu (China)

Kara「殻」 explores the fragility of life through exoskeletal forms and the unpredictable growth of mycelium. By cultivating fungi on animal remains, the work captures a transformation where decay becomes a site of renewal. The piece reflects on scars, memory, and the possibility of repair, blurring the line between the visible and the invisible. It invites viewers to contemplate how remnants of death can harbor the potential for new life, echoing cycles of vulnerability and resilience.

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Ralf Dreier (Germany)

The image 'Chimneys' was created in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. At the end of a photo excursion, on the way to the car, I passed this scene. The image literally demanded to be photographed.
The project 'In the city' shows minimalist views of the city. Mostly buildings are shown, or rather only parts of them. The main focus is on graphic elements, forms, structures and textures. The image ‘Chimneys’ was created in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

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Michael Hrankowski (United States)

Shadows fascinate me. A shadow can be made to be larger or smaller than life. I see them as metaphors for how we, as humans, guard our inner-most thoughts and feelings and project only what we want others to see.

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Bolko Stolberg (Germany)

In Darkness, These Eyes Can See resides at the edge of light, where vision yields to darkness, and clarity is replaced by ambiguity. This examination surveys the struggle between my desire to explore the unknown against an inherent hesitation to leave a place of safety, comfort, and familiarity. Buildings and structures, sitting on solid foundations, establish a connection to sanctuary. As such they provide a safe, familiar springboard from which to take a leap into dark, vague surroundings.

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Alicia Paley (United States)

Triangular buildings aren’t something you see every day, so whenever I do, I almost always stop to photograph them. There’s something about the triangle’s symmetry, balance, and inherent strength that I find truly captivating. - This photo was taken with a medium-format 1958 Minolta Autocord Twin Lens camera on 120mm Kodak Gold 200.

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Patrick Cicalo (United States)

Shapes. While the possibilities may seem endless, in its simplest form, there is the straight line. Put two of them together, and you have a cross, and along with it, the many meanings it conjures up. Whether it is religious spirituality, cultural discourse, or some other symbolic allusion, you may find whatever meaning you like; in the end, it's just two straight lines doing their thing. And they are all around us.

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Tebani Slade (Australia)

A Leaf Still Life was created from found objects in my back yard. Our property had a very tall Liquid Amber Tree and every Autumn it would shed it’s leaves and drop it’s seed pods. I would collect them and create still life’s and then photograph them. It represents the cycle of life of this beautiful old tree.

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Mariana Basurto (Mexico)

When you pause to observe, you realize that the entire world is reflected in small similarities: colors, positions, hidden messages, and shapes waiting to be discovered by the gaze.

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Hiroto Fukuda (Japan)

A simple and beautiful image of a Japanese crane was captured against a background of pure white snow.

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Jeff Schewe (United States)

Light & Shadow are the very foundation of the images I create. Light and shadow together are the rhythm and melody in my visual storytelling. Shape & Texture give form to that rhythm. Shape becomes the silent structure of emotion, defined not just by the subject but by the spaces around it and the energy between forms. Texture adds a tactile dimension, turning flat images into experiences that are felt as well as seen.
Black and white photography allows me to see the world in its most essential form. It simplifies the world while deepening its emotional impact. In a visually noisy world, a monochromatic image offers clarity and simplicity. Ultimately, I love black and white photography because it teaches me to look deeper—to find beauty in quiet places, to celebrate contrast, and to express the emotional textures of life through light, shadow, shape, and texture.

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Christer Björkman (Sweden)

When out walking on a dull, grey, winter day with the feeling that there was ‘nothing’ to photograph, I started seeing piles of snow in bushes and trees that looked like clouds that had fallen from the sky. I started to photograph ‘Fallen Clouds’. They varied in size and shape.

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Alexandra Schmid (Switzerland)

The images in the “Murals” series show details of walls discovered and photographed in the city of Bern, Switzerland. Through careful selection of the image section and specific postprocessing, reality has been abstracted in terms of form, color, and structure to such an extent that the viewer is given room for imagination and individual interpretation. By combining the real and the abstract, the images encourage viewers to engage with their own perceptions and to grasp reality in new ways.

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Lisa Donneson (United States)

I have been exploring various aspects of composition – shapes, colors, lines. “Saran” is a formless shape amongst the cubes, spheres and pyramids in my Shape series. The use lighting and reflections magically a simple, banal item, a crumpled piece of saran wrap, into a dramatic, sculptural object.

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Jaime Nisenbaum (United States)

This new experimental series builds on my previous explorations with rocks and shadows. Using a consistent framework, composition, and number of rocks, this series emphasizes the varying relationship themes and dynamics that arise from pairing rocks with different shapes and textures. Besides their inherent metaphorical meanings, the shadows add balance and a playful graphic element to the images.

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