The best minimalist photography from around the world

Sparse and stripped back imagery is the order of the day at the Minimalist Photography Awards, which this year gives its highest accolade to Allen Koppe’s On Route series of architectural snaps

It’s the third edition of the awards, set up by BNW Minimalism magazine and judged by a jury of working photographers, as well as representatives from the British Journal of Photography and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

This year saw people from over 39 different countries submit work to the award, which covers several categories including landscape, architecture, portrait and abstract.

As you’d expect for an award celebrating minimalism, the winning images are beautifully austere, ranging from shots of birds in murmuration and photos of eerily empty swimming pools, through to towering buildings and lone cabins in the snow.

Australian photographer Allen Koppe takes home the title of Minimalist Photographer of the Year 2021 – which also comes with a $2,000 prize – for his On Route series, which depicts concrete walls and buildings, devoid of inhabitants or passersby.

North Dakota Winter by Sandra Herber, which came first in Architecture
Pools From Above by Brad Walls, which came first place in the Aerial category
Image from Allen Koppe’s On Route series

Empty buildings in general feature heavily in this year’s crop of winners, unsurprisingly considering the on-off lockdowns of the past 12 months, however winners have also trained their lenses on people and animals.

Mick Moore, member of the jury and creative director at the British Journal of Photography, fittingly describes the awarded photographs as “a set of artists who refuse to be overwhelmed by the ‘visual noise’ that surrounds them”.

Pools From Above by Brad Walls

minimalistphotographyawards.com