The winners of the 2020 Tokyo International Foto Awards have been announced—these images will blow your minds!

Tokyo International Foto awards recognize, honor and connect talented photographers from around the world to new audiences and new eyes in the creative circles of Tokyo, Japan. The competition is open to everyone and we invite photographers from all over the world to enter their work. The winners receive prizes that are up to $3,000 USD.

More info: tokyofotoawards.jp

#1 Summer Fairies (Nature, Gold)

"Himehotaru" living in the summer night forest, females cannot fly, only males, fireflies, an indigenous species of Japan, fly around the summer forest while repeating a blink of a short time, reminiscent of Christmas illumination.

Image credits: Kazuaki Koseki

#2 Queen (Advertising/Fashion, Bronze)

Astonishingly, the photo is not a composing. It was taken in Croatia in 12m depth. The dress is a parachute.

Image credits: Christian Zink

#3 Heaven On Earth (Nature, Gold)

"I took this picture on a November morning. It is a scenery of Mt.Fuji with red maple leaves in autumn."

Image credits: Saowanee Suntararak

#4 Kiss (Nature/Wildlife, Gold)

I had a rare opportunity to see a giraffe give birth in Masai Mara, Kenya. Ten years ago, my retired husband and I started our journey to see the world. We have since traveled to more than 50 countries and visited African more than 20 times. We used cameras to capture what we saw. The photos became the way to express our feelings.

Image credits: Hong Chen

#5 Pray For Earth (Nature/Landscapes, Gold)

This shot I took on the Lofoten Islands in an unknown place that I found going around the Gimsoya Islands (take part of Lofoten). That night was freezing; the temperature touched -20/-22.

Image credits: Roksolyana Hilevych

#6 Empire Of The Stars (Nature, 2nd Place)

A long exposure still time-lapse day-to-night project consisting of over 700 exposures.

Image credits: Craig Bill

#7 A Sheep (Nature/Animals, 1st Place)

Fluffiness level: 100000000! This picture is part of a promotional work commissioned by Tuscan Organic Tours.

Image credits: Claudia Guido

#8 Misty Morning (Advertising/Travel/Tourism, Silver)

Captured on 6th Lake in The Adirondacks. The foggy morning here creates a unique environment to explore.

Image credits: Kurt Gardner

#9 I Am Not Disabled (Editorial, 2nd Place)

"I met in Tokyo several amputated people who were not considering themselves disabled. Dancer Koichi Omae told me, 'if you do not feel physical pain, mental suffering, or practical difficulties, you are not disabled,' he told me, 'so I am not.' Punk pop singer Masami Orimo decided not only to show her prosthesis on stage but also to play it like a stringed musical instrument. Illustrator Makiko Sugawa knows that clothes and fashion can greatly impact how a woman feels about herself. So if a woman with a disability can be "stylish," other girls in the same condition can follow her example. I work as a hairstylist near Milan, Italy. My passions are travel and photography. My last photographic project is called skin. I wanted to tell the story of albino people and acid attacked women in India."

Image credits: Silvia Alessi

#10 The Philosopher (Nature/Pets, Gold)

My dog Lobo enjoying the view over a frozen lake. Taken and edited with iPhone 6s.

Image credits: Mariko Klug

#11 Praying (People, Gold)

Mt. Bromo, East Java - Indonesia.

Image credits: Rudy Oei

#12 Roaring Storm (Nature/Seasons, Gold)

An image of a storm cell moving towards the Island in the Florida Keys.

Image credits: Alexandru Popovski

#13 Ribbon Dance (Nature/Aerial, 1st Place)

"I loved to taking a helicopter to Lake Magadi when I travel to Kenya. The transformed patterns on the surface of the Lake with Flamingos living there are always amazed me. The camera is my third eye to explore the wonder of the world. Although every photo I took is an expression of my feelings, what I love the most is wildlife photography. I hope to take more beautiful photos in my lifetime and leave the most lovely memories of mine to the world."

Image credits: Richard Li

#14 Swamps' Colors (Nature/Trees, Gold)

Incredible colors of the swamps in the late autumn. Kayaking at night is an unreal experience, and these wonderful trees are unique.

Image credits: Mauro Battistelli

#15 Fresh Meat (Advertising/Fashion, 1st Place)

What do we consider beauty in 2020? With an unrelenting quest for youth, admiration, and a highly controlled self-image, how far are we straying from the maxim that "beauty is only skin deep"?

Image credits: Sh Sadler

#16 Dragon's Eye (Nature/Aerial, Gold)

An aerial view of bubbling hot springs deep in the Icelandic highlands. The area has a particularly high silica content, resulting in some beautifully intricate geothermal formations of polished white geyserite.

Image credits: James Rushforth

#17 Jigoku Dayu (Advertising/Fashion, Bronze)

Image credits: Daisuke Kiyota

#18 Treasures (Fine Art/Collage, Gold)

Demonstrating the treasures of humanity combined with the treasures from nature. Humanity often creates treasures in their own worlds, distancing from the world around them. Each treasure confirming us as the pinnacles of creation. But with each treasure we achieve, we often forget we are connected with mother nature and that we, ourselves, are products of her grand architecture and are a part of her beautiful but fragile treasure.

Image credits: Cheraine Collette

#19 Fishermen Of The Mangroves (Fine Art, 1st Place)

They fished with hand nets for many centuries, but the insatiable public demand for fish has depleted the fish stock or spawned modern technology to fill the gap. So now, their ancient tradition has all but disappeared, leaving the last of the fisherman to re-enact their traditional skills.

Image credits: Les Sharp

#20 Keyhole (Fine Art/Landscape, Bronze)

Ice Cave in Alaska's Matanuska Glacier.

Image credits: Craig Bill

#21 Silent Hills (Nature/Trees, Gold)

Gentle snow-covered hills with single trees, Central Switzerland.

Image credits: Manfred Zobrist

#22 A Highway Of Flowers (Nature/Panoramic, Gold)

"That night, it seemed to be in front of a highway of flowers that passed under a bridge of stars. Not a traveler, not a photographer, not a bird ... but I love to travel, to photograph and to fly."

Image credits: Giorgio Graj

#23 Quiver Tree At Night (Nature/Trees, Silver)

The amazing quiver trees in Namibia are a sight to behold. I wanted a different view and so painted the tree with a red light to show up against the starlit sky.

Image credits: Gigi Williams

#24 Women Protesting In Poland Over Abortion Ban (Editorial, 1st Place)

Women's strike Portraits of participants protest against the abortion ban in Szczecin, Poland, Oct. 26-30, 2020. Angered women and their supporters block rush-hour traffic in many cities of Poland. Nationwide protests against the recent court ruling that tightened further Poland's restrictive abortion law. The court effectively banned almost all abortions. The symbol of the fight was the sign of red lightning visible on the participants' faces and masks.

Image credits: Bartosz Mateńko

#25 Wave Time (Nature/Panoramic, Bronze)

"The Wave" Formation on Northern Arizona, USA.

Image credits: Craig Bill

#26 Drying Fish (Advertising/Travel/Tourism, Silver)

Long Hai fish market, Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Vietnam is the place to buy and sell seafood, especially dried scad, with the scientific name of Decapterus. Thousands of fry trays are dried on rooftops and yards by hundreds of workers.

Image credits: Phan Khánh

#27 Mursi Child (Fine Art/Portrait, Silver)

The Mursi tribe is an African tribe from the isolated Omo Valley in Southern Ethiopia near the Sudan border. The photo is part of the album "Ethiopian tribes expedition" 2018.

Image credits: Svetlin Yosifov

#28 Aqua Marine (Architecture, 2nd Place)

Hotel swimming pools are always interesting, often beautifully old-fashioned and sometimes with a view overlooking the city. In this one, you can even see the famous CN Tower.

Image credits: Vincent Dupont-Blackshaw

#29 Great White (Nature/Underwater, Gold)

"What an amazing week diving with Carcharodon carcharias (great white sharks) at Guadalupe Island on the Nautilus Under Sea. You can choose to watch life through a screen or go out and live it. Diving with great whites has been a dream of mine ever since I could remember reading about Jacques-Yves Cousteau."

Image credits: Brice Weaver

#30 Urban Tetris (Fine Art/Abstract, 1st Place)

Urban Tetris is a photographic urban exploration project inspired by the famous block game "Tetris" in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Image credits: Mariyan Atanasov