The Tokyo International Foto Awards has announced its 2020 contest winners and finalists. The contest honors both professional and non-professional photographers, but they all equally contributed to the wonderful selection of images. They reflect the world around us from all of its angles: from nature’s divine beauty to its terrifying disasters. And since the photos were taken over 2020, there’s an extra bit of madness to it all.

The 2020 contest received entries from more than 100 countries around the world. Sebastian Copeland was chosen Photographer of the Year for his photography book Antarctica – The Waking Giant. It’s a photographic journey through the least explored continent, showing the danger it faces due to climate change. The book was made under a collaboration with Leonardo DiCaprio to spread awareness of the crisis of global warming.

The Discovery of the Year award was given to Diana Cheren Nygren for her work When The Trees Are Gone. Her work explores the concept of city folk searching for a moment of peace in the urban jungle, where nature has been taken over by human-made buildings. Both Professional and Student/Non-Professional contest recognizes winners in the following categories:

AdvertisingArchitectureBookEditorialEventsFine ArtNaturePeoplePortfolioScience

Since the photos were taken during the COVID-19 crisis, International Photo Awards makes the awards a little different this year. It will match the cash prizes that are awarded to the Category Winners with an equal cash donation to the charity of the winning photographer’s choice in their community. Take a look at the winning photos from all categories below, and we’ll also include some shortlists from the Nature category. There are plenty more shortlists from all categories on TIFA’s website, so make sure to check those out too.

Professional

Student/Non-Professional

Nature