Photo Awards Momentum
The LCE Photographer of the Year 2026 winners were announced this week — the prize carries a £10,000 fund and new categories like People’s Choice and Emerging Talent to broaden entry. (designyoutrust.com) At the same time the Sony World Photography Awards published 16 national and regional winning galleries on March 22, offering fresh international street and cultural frames. (forbes.com)
Sophia Spurgin, a UK-based retired teacher, took the overall LCE Photographer of the Year 2026 title with “Fish Eyes,” a spontaneous portrait shot on a boat in Hoi An, Vietnam. (poty.lcegroup.co.uk)) The London Camera Exchange contest attracted nearly 14,500 entries in 2026 — a 40% rise on 2025 — and the awards were presented at The Photography & Video Show at the NEC in Birmingham on 15 March 2026. (ephotozine.com)) LCE’s winners gallery names category champions including David Lyon (“Saving Lives at Sea”), Hardijanto Budiman (“Lonely Is The Night”), Millie Melvin (“Imprint”) and People’s Choice winner Andrew Scott (“Magical Uphill Lincoln”). (poty.lcegroup.co.uk)) Organisers produced a commemorative book of shortlisted images and said the LCE winners’ gallery shown at the NEC will tour other UK venues later in 2026. (amateurphotographer.com)) The Sony World Photography Awards programme received more than 430,000 images from photographers in over 200 countries and territories for 2026, with its National & Regional Awards selecting 16 national/regional winners from across the Open, Professional and Student competitions. (petapixel.com)) Examples from Sony’s national galleries include Uzbekistan’s national winner Boris Nedosekov (“Sunset in the Desert”), Botswana winner Greg du Toit, and Myanmar winner Kyaw Zayar Lin, alongside regional shortlists such as Fabiana Fregonesi’s Latin America underwater work. (popsci.com)) Sony’s National & Regional winners will be shown in the Sony World Photography Awards exhibition at Somerset House in London from 17 April to 4 May 2026, and national/regional prize recipients receive Sony digital-imaging equipment kits as part of the awards programme. (mymodernmet.com))
