The 40th AOP Photography Awards are open to all AOP Accredited Photographer and Assisting Photographer members.
© Todd Antony
© Todd Antony, GOLD Winner- 2025, 40th AOP Photography Awards
Judged by:
Congratulations to GOLD Winner – Todd Antony
Sponsored By: Capture One
Buzkashi – Abdulqadir
Buzkashi, meaning “goat pulling” in Persian, is the wild, brutal sport of Tajikistan and its neighboring ‘Stans.’ Think polo – but with a headless, eviscerated goat instead of a ball, hundreds of riders, and no formal teams. Rooted in the nomadic cultures of Central Asia and played for hundreds of years, riders battle for control of the goat while dodging rivals (and the occasional whip & elbow) This is 4 year old Abdulqadir, during a quiet hilltop moment with the Buzkashi match still thundering away in the narrow valley below us. We were setting up our flash equipment and taking portraits of some riders from his group of family and friends. Unprompted, he strolled into our makeshift hilltop studio on his biblically large horse. Made to look even larger by Abdul’s diminutive presence on top of him, feet tantalisingly close to actually reaching its stirrups. Yet with the confidence of a Tajik John Wayne, he turned his horse onto the mark I gestured at and posed without direction.
© Todd Antony
@toddantonyphoto
Born in New Zealand, Photographer & director Todd Antony has been working professionally for 15 years. Based in London.
Personal projects over the last few years have taken him to all corners of the globe, seeking out little known groups or subcultures. Seemingly ordinary people who lead extraordinary lives in their own way. People that can lift a mirror up to show viewers both our differences, but more importantly our many similarities, in a time when the world is seemingly becoming more & more polarised.
🏆 ‘Flying Stars’: 2 Golds in the 101st ADC Awards (2022), Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize. Best short documentary: L.A. Indie Short Fest, One Short Film Fest in New York, Official Selection for numerous other festivals around the world. Short documentary film ‘Poms’. American Photography Awards, International Photography Awards, AOP Awards, Lurzer’s Archive ‘200 Best Advertising Photographers Worldwide’
Congratulations to -SILVER Winner – Hugh Fox
Sponsored by @captureone
In Her Own Time
In Her Own Time is an ongoing portrait series of my daughter, a neurodivergent child growing up in a world that often asks for sameness. Through stillness, play, and moments of quiet defiance, the work explores how she sees, feels, and moves through life on her own terms. This isn’t a story of overcoming, it’s a story of becoming. As a photographer and parent, I use the camera not to explain her, but to stay close: to witness the complexity, the softness, and the fierce selfhood that can’t be rushed or reshaped.
The series is an invitation to slow down and consider how we define “normality”, progress, and value. It’s also a personal reflection on care, time, and the beauty of difference, photographed not from the outside looking in, but side by side.
© Hugh Fox
@mrhughfox
My work blends staged, conceptual imagery with observational moments and it’s often unclear which is which. I’m drawn to that ambiguity, where a successful picture leaves the viewer wondering: is this documentary or constructed? I enjoy working in a loose, intuitive way, seeking out quirks and finding beauty in ordinary moments. As someone who’s neurodivergent (I have ADD), photography helps me process and bring shape to a world that can otherwise feel chaotic and inconsistent. It’s how I make sense of things.
The AOP Photography Awards are known as the ‘Oscars’ of the photography world. They celebrate excellence in the creative photography and image-making industry.
This is your chance to be seen by leading commissioners and names within the photographic industry.
Check out our 39th AOP Awards FINALISTS and WINNERS
