In a world drowning in noise, the 2025 Minimalist Photography Awards Landscape winners remind us that less really does hit harder. These images don’t scream for attention—they whisper, and somehow that whisper echoes louder. Every frame strips the world down to its raw essentials: space, light, silence, and emotion. Founded in 2019 by Milad Safabakhsh, the awards were built on a bold belief—that simplicity isn’t empty, it’s powerful. And this year’s landscape category proves that idea with serious style.
The 1st Place honor went to Martin Rak for Art of Winter, a snowy vision from northern Czech Republic. It captures that magical moment when the first snow falls and the world suddenly goes quiet. The scene feels frozen in time—pure, white, and peaceful—like nature taking a deep breath.
2nd Place winner Kalle Saarikko delivered Whirl, an abstract edge-of-the-forest image created using intentional camera movement. It’s moody, fluid, and emotional—proof that landscapes don’t need sharp details to hit you in the gut.
Taking 3rd Place, Alexandre Brisson stunned with Dreamscape of Etosha. Shot in 550nm infrared, a lone tree glows pink against Namibia’s vast desert sky, balancing strength and solitude in one surreal frame.
Together, these 30 winning photos show that minimalist landscapes aren’t about emptiness—they’re about meaning. Silence becomes the story. Space becomes the subject. And every image invites you to slow down and feel.
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#1. 1st Place Winner: "Art of Winter" by Martin Rak
"Snowy series from the north of the Czech Republic. It is always so thrilling when the first snowflakes start falling from the sky and the landscape becomes white and silent."
#2. 2nd Place Winner: "Whirl" by Kalle Saarikko
"The edge of the forest captured using intentional camera movement."
#3. 3rd Place Winner: "Dreamscape of Etosha" by Alexandre Brisson
"Standing alone yet resolute, this tree becomes a guardian of Etosha’s expansive desert plains. Captured with 550nm infrared, the scene takes on a dreamlike quality, where the tree’s crown glows in soft pink against a delicate blue sky. This fine art photograph captures the essence of stillness, strength, and the surreal beauty of Namibia’s landscapes."
#4. "The Tree and the Stream" by Rosario Civello
"The space surrounding us is often composed of numerous elements arranged chaotically. Everything I do is to put order in the composition, creating a balance of elements – light and dark, points, lines, planes and forms. I visually deconstruct the scene, discarding the superfluous, so that it fits to my natural inclination towards minimalism."
#5. "Little house on the lake" by Amanda Carter-Savigear
"I spent a couple of weeks on Lake Biwa in Japan in February 2025 when a snow storm blew in from the East. Each day I would travel up the Western shore of the lake photographing an ever increasing snowy landscape. People would relentlessly come out of their houses to sweep away the snow every morning only to wake up the next day to discover yet another 6 inches had fallen over night. This little house in Takashima managed to escape their shovels and so became more and more immersed under a blanket of snow as the days passed."
#6. "The Three Kings" by Euan Ross
"A bleak winters morning, The Three Kings standing strong together."
#7. "Blizzard Living" by Helen Trust
"The little houses on the far north coast of Hokkaido in northern Japan cope with horrendous winter conditions but always shine through……."
#8. "Snowy Cow" by Ryan O’Connell
"Another shot from my glorious day of capturing Lancaster County Pennsylvania in blinding snow. I waited for a long time isolate that cow in that pose. I had to protect my gear from the snow and I was knee deep in it but I loved this scene so much."
#9. "A scene" by Hrvoje Sarajlija
"Winter scene in Risnjak National Park, Croatia."
#10. "Dyrhólaey / Threshold" by Davide Adamo
"Where the ocean breathes against volcanic earth, a line is drawn. Unstable, soft, and ever shifting. These images trace that liminal space between water and land, stillness and motion, presence and erosion. In the quiet geometry of this Icelandic shore, the landscape becomes a rhythm of contrasts: black and blue, weight and lightness, permanence and change."
#11. "Winter Silence – Telemark" by Roger Kristiansen
"This series is a visual meditation on silence and solitude in the winter landscapes of Telemark – a mountainous region in southern Norway. Captured in the deep snow of midwinter, these scenes portray the poetic resilience of lone birch trees, shaped by weather and time, standing quietly in vast open whiteness. Each frame is an exploration of space, rhythm, and negative form – where light becomes sculpture and the absence of color reveals the essence of place."
#12. "Beautiful lines" by Juhwan Bae
"Last night, a heavy snowfall fell on the ranch. The lines of the iron fence standing out clearly in the snow are minimalistic and beautiful."
#13. "Monochromatic Silences" by Pietro Abbagnato
"From the series Monochromatic Silences. Location: Passo Giau, Venetian Dolomites. Italy."
#14. "Faroer Fjords" by Marleen Van Hove
"The moody fjords on the Faroer Islands"
#15. "Solo" by Cam Garner
"Created during a typical snowfall in Hokkaido this lone tree was very isolated."
#16. "Winter graphics" by Milan Markovic
"Winter on Medvednik mountain, Serbia. Fresh snow and silence."
#17. "Landscape Germany" by Andre Wulf
"Currently I am taking pictures with a PENTAX K-3 Mark III with which I prefer to be in the nature, always looking for extraordinary motifs."
#18. "Treelines" by Kalle Saarikko
"I have been drawn to tree lines for ages. There is something that really moves my emotions. Strong and stable with magnificent graphic elements. For me they reflect confidence and nature’s power."
#19. "At One" by Chloe Snell
"Street photography in Brighton often involves capturing seaside moments; this photo captures the magic of the annual starling murmurations as they swarm around the Palace Pier, flying over a lone paddle-boarder on a day the sea was so still and calm it was almost like looking out over a gigantic lake."
#20. "Snowstorm" by Jack Pasht
"Southern Ontario snow scenes. Great expanses of snow and ice represent joy for minimalist eye."
#21. "The Many Moods Of Dunes" by J Fritz Rumpf
"It is no secret that dunes are my favorite subject to photograph. There is something about dunes, how the light and the shadows create the most dynamic, dramatic shapes, patterns, lines and colors. It is mind-blowing how they change in appearance, not just when viewed from different angles or distances, but with the ever-changing light of day. I love looking at them and photographing them from different points of view, whether I’m hiking in the dunes, from the top of a dune photographing the scenes below, or even from the air."
#22. "Road and Fjord" by Hilda Champion
"The long and winding road – a typical landscape from the Faroe Islands and its rainy, foggy, windy conditions."
#23. "Celluloid Silence" by Frank Hoogeboom
"Taken on a wonderful trip to the Isle of Lewis & Harris. I decided to go old school and took out my trusty analog Hasselblad, loaded with negative film. Playing around with filters and shutter speeds resulted in this image."
#24. "Trees as Poems" by Shaun Keenan
"Standing straight and stark. Black against the cold white snow. Five larch, facing five. Minimalist photography is like capturing a Haiku in visual form; simple expression of emotion and insight in a moment."
#25. "Small" by Nicola Notari
"Feeling small. Perhaps this is one of the reasons that drives us to venture into the mountains and great unspoiled spaces. Small in the face of the immensity of nature, of imposing mountains, of boundless spaces that open up in front of our feet like a terrain to be explored. Small, and free to move and discover."
#26. "Between two" by Silke Schönborn
"Here I wanted to capture the stillness of a winter landscape. The trees seem to communicate with each other without words."
#27. "Silent Pulse" by Shoya Kato
"A quiet field stretches into the stillness, broken only by the faint trail of a lone fox. This image explores the relationship between space and presence—where the landscape itself breathes, yet remains silent. The minimal composition invites contemplation: of solitude not as absence, but as a natural state. Amid cold and shadow, life moves quietly forward."
#28. "Iceland" by Tony Hunter
"Iceland in Black and white"
#29. "Lonely" by Martin Tschopp
"This tree stands alone, embedded in the landscape of the month of May 2025 with various green colours."
#30. "Arran Swan" by Grant Bulloch
"Incredibly calm weather at the coast with a gentle mist out at sea. Arran, Scotland."
In Summary
What are the Minimalist Photography Awards?
- An international competition celebrating photography that embraces simplicity, balance, and intentional composition.
Who won the Landscape category in 2025?
- 1st Place Winner is Martin Rak (Art of Winter)
- 2nd Place Winner is Kalle Saarikko (Whirl)
- 3rd Place Winner is Alexandre Brisson (Dreamscape of Etosha)
What defines minimalist landscape photography?
- Clean compositions, limited elements, strong use of space, and emotional storytelling through simplicity.
Why is minimalist photography so powerful?
- Because removing distractions allows emotion, mood, and meaning to stand front and center.
Where were the winning photos taken?
- Czech Republic, Finland, and Namibia—proving minimalism speaks a global visual language.
