The Questmas photography contest 2025 has officially come to an end and what a celebration of creativity it was.

Over 12 days, photographers from around the world took part in 500px’s biggest annual event, submitting their work across 12 themed photo challenges spanning nature, landscapes, portraits, street photography, night photography, macro, and creative expression. With thousands of entries from all skill levels, Questmas 2025 showcased the diversity, storytelling power, and global reach of the photography community.

This year, each Quest offered two ways to win:

  • Judge’s Pick, selected by an invited photography expert
  • People’s Choice, voted on by the community and hosted on PULSEpx

Below, we’re proud to reveal the winners of the Questmas photography contest 2025.

Judge’s Pick Winners and Prizes

Nature Explored

Person standing near crashing ocean waves viewed from above, showing the contrast between human scale and nature in Questmas 2025 by Tadej Cerkvenik.
Winner: Tadej Cerkvenik
Judge: Dane Walker
Judge’s Comment: A beautiful fusion of colours and movement, the photo is powerful and creates curiosity. An uncommon perspective on a common scenario, with a person adding scale.
Prize Details: 40 × 60 gallery-quality print with Xpozer’s floating frame system

Landscapes

Golden-hour landscape of terraced vineyards and historic stone ruins set among rolling hills, captured during Questmas 2025 by Alberto Agnoletto.
Winner: Alberto Agnoletto
Judge: Antonio Valente
Judge’s Comment: Masterfully utilizing warm, golden-hour light to sculpt the textures of the terraced vineyards and historic ruins, this photo captures a romantic atmosphere with amazing visual depth through the receding, misty mountain layers.
Prize Details: Think Tank Airport International travel roller

City and Architecture

Curved architectural structure with repeating white geometric panels and subtle orange accents, photographed from an unusual perspective as part of Questmas 2025 by Vitaly Tyuk.
Winner: Vitaly Tyuk
Judge: Thomas Müller
Judge’s Comment: The clean composition and unusual perspective draw attention to the small construction worker. Carefully chosen colors enhance the graphic quality of the image and emphasize the contrast between human scale and architecture.
Prize Details: Manfrotto Befree Advanced Aluminium Travel Tripod

Animals

Low-angle photograph of a wild boar standing in a misty forest, conveying presence and intensity through soft light and atmospheric depth, captured for Questmas 2025 by Michael J. Kochniss.:

Winner: Michael J. Kochniss.
Judge: Ryo Utsunomiya
Judge’s Comment: Captured from a low angle, this photograph powerfully conveys the presence of the animal and a deep reverence for nature. Refined editing creates a distinctive atmosphere, resulting in a highly polished work.
Prize Details: Gitzo Mini Traveler tripod

Minimalist

Minimalist night photograph featuring a silhouetted figure beneath a glowing bus stop against a deep blue sky, using strong negative space and contrasting color tones, captured for Questmas 2025 by William Self.

Winner: William Self
Judge: Krid Karnsomdee
Judge’s Comment: I love the complementary tungsten and blue hour colors. The vast sky isolates the striking silhouette, yet the ‘Music Stories’ text suggests he has music to keep him company.
Prize Details: Luminar Neo Perpetual Max License

Streetlife

Street photography scene of a lone pedestrian walking through a narrow cobblestone alley framed by warm red and pastel buildings, using strong color contrast and natural framing, captured by Szabo Viktor for Questmas 2025.

Winner: Szabo Viktor
Judge: Branden May
Judge’s Comment: Great composition, colors, and timing, making the subject the exclamation point captured in a frame within the frame.
Prize Details: 7Artisans AF 24mm F1.8 Full-Frame Lens

People and Portraits

Editorial portrait of a model against a teal backdrop, styled with white feathered texture and gold accents, featuring confident gaze and refined lighting, photographed by Gustavo Chams for Questmas 2025.

Winner: Gustavo Chams
Judge: Natascia Mercurio
Judge’s Comment: Overall a very strong image, with confident subject direction, excellent lighting control, and a polished editorial finish.
Prize Details: Viltrox AF 85mm F1.8 II lens and Viltrox flash

Illuminated Night

Long-exposure night photograph showing circular star trails framing a silhouetted figure illuminated by a warm glowing light, blending light painting and astrophotography, captured by Angel Torres for Questmas 2025.

Winner: Angel Torres
Judge: Agnieszka Wieczorek
Judge’s Comment: This photo transforms night illumination into a poetic concept, using light painting to create a luminous form that reads as both moon and sun, perfectly balanced with circular star trails and a strong, intentional human silhouette that feels atmospheric and timeless.
Prize Details: Fractals Classic 3-Pack prismatic filters

Perspective Shift

Black-and-white action photograph captured inside a cylindrical wall of death arena, showing motorcyclists riding along curved vertical walls while spectators look on, creating a dramatic sense of motion and disorientation, photographed by Azim Khan Ronnie for Questmas 2025.

Winner: Azim Khan Ronnie
Judge: Onur Altunsary
Judge’s Comment: By placing the viewer inside the cylindrical arena, the image disorients gravity and orientation through a wide angle and radial lines, redefining “up” and “down” in a surreal, immersive way.
Prize Details: AstrHori 6mm F2.8 Circular Fisheye Lens

Travel and Adventure

Winner: Svetlin Yosifov
Judge: Izabela ?yso?
Judge’s Comment: The longer I look at this photo, the more I notice, the light, the contrasts, the fact that the photo is both soft and perfectly defined, yet also shows so much detail in the background. There’s a lot going on, but in a remarkably orderly way.
Prize Details: Lowepro Fastpack BP 250 AW III

Texture and Details

Winner: Shahram Jahansooz
Judge: Yevhen Kostiuk
Judge’s Comment: Chosen for bold abstraction and color gradient. The photo turns food into art: juicy texture, backlighting, and the two-fruit composition create a strong visual impact that stands out among typical macros.
Prize Details: Godox V100 TTL Round Head Camera Flash

Creative Expression

Winner: Alan Correa
Judge: Sergey Vinogradov
Judge’s Comment: A beautiful, subtle work, which well shows the Dionysian principle, spontaneity, and natural power.
Prize Details: Crucial X10 Pro 2TB Portable SSD

View all winners and finalists here.

People’s Choice Winners

Hosted on PULSEpx, chosen by the community and voted on through PULSEpx, these photographers captured hearts across each Quest:

Nature Explored: barbox89

Landscapes: remikba

City and Architecture: chy-gz

Animals: ronnymeekers

Minimalist: atul_saluja

Streetlife: damiane

People and Portraits: samirahesami

Illuminated Night: peter_mladenov

Perspective Shift: lostinwoodlands

Travel and Adventure: uglefisk

Texture and Details: safwantaher131

Creative Expression: luwi

Want more chances to win and get your work seen? PULSEpx hosts 300+ photo challenges per month, giving photographers more opportunities to showcase their work, earn community votes, gain visibility, and compete for prizes in fast-paced, creator-driven Quests.

Thank You to Our Questmas 2025 Sponsors

The Questmas photography contest wouldn’t be possible without the support of our incredible partners. A huge thank you to:

Xpozer, ThinkTank, Manfrotto, Gitzo, Luminar, 7Artisans, Viltrox, Fractals, AstrHori, Lowepro, Godox, and Crucial.

Your commitment helps photographers around the world push their creativity further and get rewarded for their work.

Until Next Year

From first-time participants to long-time community members, the Questmas photography contest continues to be a reminder of why photography matters — as a form of expression, connection, and storytelling.

Thank you to everyone who submitted, voted, judged, and supported Questmas 2025. We’ll see you again next year.