Hasselblad Masters 2026: Photography Between Reality and Imagination

Hasselblad has announced the winners of the Hasselblad Masters 2026. Selected from more than 108,000 submissions across 160 countries and regions, seven photographers have earned the prestigious title of Hasselblad Master.

Widely regarded as one of the most important awards in contemporary photography, the competition celebrates outstanding creative vision as well as technical excellence. Winners were selected across the categories Landscape, Architecture, Portrait, Art, Street, Wildlife, and Project//21.

The entries were evaluated by the Hasselblad Masters Grand Jury, supported by a global public vote. Originality, conceptual strength, creativity, and photographic skill were key criteria throughout the judging process.

According to Kalle Sanner, Executive Director of the Hasselblad Foundation and Chair of the Jury: “What this year's Hasselblad Masters submissions demonstrated, with rare consistency, is that the most compelling photography does not simply record, it constructs. Across categories, the strongest work operated on more than one level simultaneously: legible on first encounter, yet resistant to easy interpretation. These are images that require attention, that continue to unfold the longer you stay with them. What unites the winners is a shared understanding that photography's real power lies not in what it shows, but in what it withholds, reframes, and quietly insists upon.”

Our highlights:

With his series Waste Colonialism (Sapi-Sapi Piyungan), Indonesian photographer Yudha Kusuma Putera examines the global and local consequences of our throwaway culture. The work focuses on the Piyungan landfill near Yogyakarta, where mountains of waste continue to grow while cows live and feed among the rubbish.

In DaySleeper | Movieland, Canadian photographer Kevin Boyle turns his attention to abandoned gathering places and cultural landmarks across North America. By combining multiple exposures into atmospheric montages, Boyle creates almost ghostly portraits of former cinemas, community halls, and social spaces. His images explore the relationship between architecture, community, and collective memory.

With her long-term project Otherness, Svetlana Jovanovic explores the relationship between shared and individual identity. Focusing on identical twins, she reveals subtle differences and personal characteristics through carefully composed portraits, inviting viewers to reflect on self-perception and human connection.

In Ephemeral Visions, Rohan Reilly transforms a row of poplar trees along Italy’s River Po into poetic, almost surreal landscapes through the use of long exposures. Still water, soft light, and a restrained palette create meditative images where nature, time, and silence merge into a dreamlike whole.

As Hasselblad Masters 2026, the winners join a distinguished international community of photographers. In addition to receiving a 100-megapixel Hasselblad medium-format camera, two XCD lenses, and a €5,000 creative grant, they will collaborate on a special project with Hasselblad and see their work featured in the official Hasselblad Masters Book and across the brand’s global channels.