This article is more than 7 months oldA selection of winning images and finalists as the Association of Photographers reveals the winners of its 40th annual awards across 10 subject categories, with additional awards for best commissioned, best personal, and best moving workWinner, best in show, personal non-commissioned. Shape Shifting the SteppesTsetseglen Odgerel, 35, one of Mongolia’s most famous contortionists. The skill is called Uran Nugaralt in Mongolian, meaning ‘artistic bending’. ‘Her physical strength is reflected in her mental fearlessness … Tsetseglen and I wanted to capture her in her home city, but not in a typical performance environment.’ Photograph: Tom Parker/AOP Awards 2025Fri 10 Oct 2025 08.00 CESTGold winner, environment category. Patterns in a FloodzoneThese images look at coastal regions in Ireland that are under threat from rising sea levels. Photographed from a high altitude, the images capture the strange, shifting patterns shaped by the relentless movement of the tides, offering an abstract reflection of the complex and unpredictable challenges these landscapes facePhotograph: Sean Breithaupt/AOP Awards 2025Silver winner, portrait category. In Her Own TimePhotograph: Hugh Fox/AOP Awards 2025Winner, documentary category, moving image work. The YardThe Yard is a short documentary film that tells the story of Woottens Boatyard, a family-run boatyard on the River Thames in Marlow, where five generations of the Wootten family have built and restored wooden boats for nearly 120 years. The project captures the delicate balance between tradition and adaptation, as the Woottens work to preserve their heritage in a changing worldPhotograph: Jack Margerison/AOP Award 2025Winner, best in moving category. ShrovetideA specific award celebrating inspirational moving work from among all 2025 eligible finalist entries. Shrovetide is a mixed media project that uses the historic annual tradition of the Atherstone Ball Game as a lens to look at male identity, vulnerability and self-worthPhotograph: Lewis Khan/AOP Awards 2025Silver winner, lifestyle category. Six SensesWinnal was commissioned by the London agency Harriman Steel for the hotel group Six SensesPhotograph: Simon Winnall/AOP Awards 2025Winner, the Martin Evening excellence in digital retouching award. Rivoli Ballroom, AfterPhotographed by Julia Fullerton-Batten and retouched by Kai Bastard at Bad Star StudiosPhotograph: Kai Bastard, Bad Star Studios Ltd/AOP Awards 2025Silver winner, food and drink category. Chinatown WindowsPhotograph: Henrik Knudsen/AOP Awards 2025Winner, AOP discovery award. Liturgy of the UnseenPhotograph: Ruben Davies/AOP Awards 2025Gold winner, portrait category. Buzkashi – AbdulqadirBuzkashi, ‘goat pulling’ in Persian, is the wild, brutal sport of Tajikistan and its neighbouring ‘Stans’. Rooted in nomadic cultures of Central Asia and played for hundreds of years, riders battle for control of the goat while dodging rivals. Abdulqadir, 4, during a quiet hilltop moment with a match thundering away in the narrow valley below us. We were setting up our equipment and taking portraits of riders from his group of family and friends, when he strolled into our makeshift hilltop studio on his biblically large horsePhotograph: Todd Antony/AOP Awards 2025Gold winner, fashion and beauty category. Entering the FallA campaign image for Ash Holdens latest collection, Holt, which captures the essence of the natural world with a touch of the unknownPhotograph: Hugh Fox/AOP Awards 2025Gold winner, AOP emerging talent award. Gangster GrannyMargaret is Jack’s own granny, and ‘quite possibly the most gangster granny to ever live’Photograph: Jack Currie/AOP Awards 2025Gold winner, project category. America: Capturing America’s Gun Paradox Through a LensSeeking to paint a picture of modern America – one where the right to bear arms is fiercely defended, even as bullets rip through America’s social fabric, the portraits were the project’s starting point. Clerihew offered each subject $5. ‘I found this transaction served as the perfect icebreaker, met with a mix of confusion, surprise, and amusement. Through over a hundred portraits taken against plain backdrops, I endeavoured to give representation to the rich tapestry of American society”Photograph: David Clerihew/AOP Awards 2025Silver winner, environment category. Ratcliffe on SoarA house sits in close proximity to the cooling towers of the Ratcliffe-on-Soar coal power station located in in Nottinghamshire, UK. The power station was decommissioned in late 2024. Shot for the Sunday Times MagazinePhotograph: Greg Funnell/AOP Awards 2025Gold winner, spaces category. Japanese Knife ForgesKnife Templates at a knife workshop in Echizen, Japan. Shot for the book Anatomy of a KnifePhotograph: Yuki Sugiura/AOP Awards 2025Silver winner, still life and object category. Breathable BulletMacro shot of a tiny lead bullet with a logo printed on it that says ‘The Breathable Bullet’, symbolising the toxic amount of lead found in illegal disposable vapes. The campaign was a collaboration with Publicis LondonPhotograph: Jonathan Knowles/AOP Awards 2025Finalist, documentary category. Balloon Seller, Central Pier, BlackpoolBlackpool’s Pleasure Beach, established in 1896 by William George Bean, is a historical amusement park on its South Shore. Spanning 42 acres, it remains family owned and features 38 rides, including 10 roller coasters and five water rides, and is renowned for its blend of classical and modern attractions. Marking the 60th anniversary of the Sunday Times Magazine 1965 Issue on The North, Arts Council England provided the major funding for this year-long project, which builds on the work of John BulmerPhotograph: Simon Hill/AOP Awards 2025Finalist, environment category. Surfer, Venice BeachOne of a series of images made on Venice Beach in CaliforniaPhotograph: Henrik Knudsen/AOP Awards 2025Finalist, portrait category. Margo in MargateThe artist Margo McDaid, photographed at her Margate galleryPhotograph: Alun Callender/AOP Awards 2025Finalist, documentary category. El Jadida – City of the HorsePortrait of a Moroccan horse rider on the Atlantic coastlinePhotograph: Nick David/AOP Awards 2025Finalist, project category. Giving the Side Eye – The North RevisitedSince the closure of Horden Colliery in 1987, the village in County Durham has struggled with unemployment, depopulation, and deteriorating housing. Efforts to mask decline included installing fake doors and windows on abandoned terraces. Yet, amid hardship, community spirit endures – often centred on shared traditions such as pet ownership, especially dogs. Greyhounds, once a common sight due to local racing culture, remain popular pets, symbolising resilience and companionship in many householdsPhotograph: Simon Hill/AOP Awards 2025Finalist, fashion & beauty category. Ghost GearAbandoned waste from the fishing industry, known as Ghost Gear, lies derelict on our beaches and pollutes our oceans. It continues for decades to entangle and potentially kill marine life and smother natural habitat. “All the items used here were found by me, washed up on my local beach”Photograph: Wendy Carrig/AOP Awards 2025Finalist, open category, sponsored by Fujifilm UK. Escaramuza Girls of Jurupa ValleyEscaramuza is translated to ‘skirmish’ in English. Soldadas (female soldiers), would ride with the men acting as decoys on the battlefield, performing intricate skills on horseback. Before training, the escaramuza girls take time to have fun, doing dance routines and spinning in their traditional dresses. Jurupa Valley, CaliforniaPhotograph: Owen Harvey/c/o AOP AwardsFinalist, open category, sponsored by Fujifilm UK. Easter SundayOne of a series of images depicting the Procession de Santa Semana on Easter Sunday in the town of Santa Eulalia in Ibiza. Local women wear lace head dresses and accompany the statues of Jesus and Mary to the local church, a tradition dating back centuries.Photograph: Brendan Duffy/c/o AOP Awards