Sony Alpha: MX Street Photo Contest 2026, is the MXSPF’s international street photography contest. Through an open call for entries, 20 finalists will be selected, whose work will be exhibited during the festival; the top three winners will be announced on October 23.
This contest celebrates the extraordinary vision and skill of street photographers.
1 photograph
3 photographs
6 photographs
Deadline for submissions:
September 20, 2026
The 20 winning photographs will be printed and exhibited as part of the activities of the MX Street Photo Fest 2026 in the MAQRO, from October 23rd to November 20th 2026.
The top three entries selected by the international jury will receive the following prizes, sponsored by Sony Mexico:
1st place
2nd place
3rd place
An international jury of leading photographers.
The jury of MX Street Photo Contest 2026 is made up of international photographers with a recognized trajectory within street and contemporary documentary photography. Their different perspectives, contexts, and approaches enrich the selection process and allow for the building a diverse vision of the current state of street photography at a global level.
The selection process will be divided into two phases: a first round focused on the selection of the 100 finalist photographs, and a second stage dedicated to selecting the 20 winning images that will be part of the official festival exhibition.
Each judge brings a unique sensitivity to visual storytelling, the observation of public space, and the ability to find meaning in everyday moments. Their participation guarantees a careful, independent evaluation process committed to the authenticity of street photography.
United States
Canada
Brazil
Puerto Rico
Singapore
France
France
Photographer and writer based in Eugene, Oregon, active since the early 1990s. His work is rooted in everyday observation, primarily shooting in black and white film. His visual language blends street photography with elements of surrealism, serendipity, and dysfunction, capturing spontaneous moments encountered in daily life across diverse environments.
Awards and exhibitions
Exhibitions
His photographs have been exhibited internationally in numerous shows, as well as widely featured across online platforms.
Publications
Regular contributor of photobook reviews to various online platforms. In 2025, he published his first monograph Asa Nisi Masa with Eyeshot Publishing (Italy).
Originally from Canada and now based in Chicago, she is a street and documentary photographer drawn to the quiet poetry of everyday life. With a background in academia studying human behavior, she turned to photography as another way of asking the same questions—through light, gesture, and shared space rather than words. She describes her practice as “life photography,” attentive to small, unscripted moments where people live, connect, worship, celebrate, and endure. In the street, where nothing is staged, and everything is vulnerable to interruption, she seeks subtle relationships of color, form, and movement that connect subject and surroundings into a cohesive whole.
Awards and exhibitions
Notable awards
Exhibitions:
Publications:
Gustavo Minas was born in Cássia, Brazil, in 1981. He graduated with a degree in journalism from the State University of Londrina and studied the language and history of photography under Carlos Moreira in São Paulo. Since 2009, he has been photographing daily life in the cities where he lives.
Awards and exhibitions
In 2017, his "Bus Station" series won the Pictures of the Year (POY) LATAM award in the category “The Future of the Cities.” This project was exhibited at the Centro de Fotografía de Montevideo in 2018 and at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2021. His first book, Maximum Shadow, Minimal Light, was released in May 2019 by Edition Lammerhuber, alongside a solo show at Freelens Galerie in Hamburg, Germany.
In 2023, his "Liquid Cities" series was a finalist for the Leica Oskar Barnack Award and was launched as a book by Eyeshot one year later. In 2024, he presented his work from São Paulo at the NGV Triennial in Melbourne, Australia. In 2025, he won his second POY LATAM award in the "Daily Life" category with his project "Festa do Império Kalunga."
A street and documentary photographer based in Florida, with over 18 years of experience in visual storytelling.
His work focuses on observing everyday life, exploring identity and human connection through a direct and honest lens.
His background as an Art Director in advertising provides a solid narrative foundation and a refined visual sensibility to his photographic practice.
Awards and exhibitions
Finalist at LensCulture (2022, 2023)
Exhibitions
He has exhibited his work in the United States, Italy, and Mexico, among other countries
Publications
LFI Magazine
The Pictorial List Book
Kantaya New is a Thai–Singaporean photographer based in Singapore, working across street and conceptual photography.
Having lived in Bangkok, Tokyo, and Singapore, she brings a perspective shaped by all three cities.
Life is already complicated enough. So I want my street photos to do the opposite — to make you feel alive and put a smile on your face.
In addition, modern life feels increasingly too "optimized" and "organized." Therefore, I am drawn to the random moments where that order breaks down.
However, I seek beyond simple visual coincidences. What interests me is the layer of meaning underneath.
Fundamentally, I believe there are "unpolished diamonds" buried in the busyness of everyday life.
My ideal street photo captures just that and reminds us that Life is worth every second.
Awards and exhibitions
Selected Street Awards and Exhibitions
Leica Street Photo Contest — Finalist; exhibited Leica Gallery Vienna & Warsaw (2026)
7th Annual FujiFanBoys Best of Show — 2nd and 5th Place; touring exhibition Indonesia (ongoing), Hong Kong, Philippines, Thailand (2026, forthcoming)
Photography Foundation Awards — Runner-Up; exhibited London (2026, forthcoming)
Sony Alpha MX Street Photo Contest — 1st Prize; exhibited Querétaro, Mexico (2025)
Fujifilm Moment Street Photo Awards — 2nd Prize; exhibited Poland (2024–2025)
Brussels Street Photography Festival — Finalist; exhibited Brussels (2023)
Sony World Photography Awards — Alpha Female Award & Open Competition Lifestyle, Shortlisted; travelling exhibition UK, Europe, USA (2022)
Selected Street Publications
Leica Camera — 15th Leica Street Photo Contest, featured image (2026)
Edge of Humanity Magazine — "Urban Frames Shaped By Chance Encounters In Japan" (2026)
121 Clicks — "30 Stunning Winning Photos From the 2026 Leica Street Photo Awards" (2026)
art4d — "Photo Essay: Coincidences in the Street" (2025)
All About Photo — Best Rising Photographers of December 2025 (2025)
I am mostly interested in black and white humanist street and documentary photography. “The Marvels of Daily Life”, the name of my website and Instagram page, is based on a quote by one of my favourite photographers, Robert Doisneau, which perfectly sums up my philosophy on street photography – “The marvels of daily life are so exciting; no movie director can arrange the unexpected that you find in the street.” I am also a curator for the Instagram pages @street_macadam @mystreet_women @badass_bnw, and @_keepcalmandcarryone_ and have also been in the jury of a number of prestigious photography competitions.
Awards and exhibitions
Recent and upcoming exhibitions:
April 2026
Selected and exhibited at Women Street Photographers NYC - USA
November 2025
Jury Prize at "Festival de la photo urbaine" à Fabregues (France)
November 14 – November 16, 2025
Selected and exhibited at "Street Sans Frontieres" during ParisPhoto festival in the galerie Joseph le Palais (Paris)
October 6 – November 15, 2025
Part in the exhibition Elles par Elles at "Festival l’image publique " in Rennes (France) and moderator of a debate on the role of women in the world of photography during the festival
May 31 – June 30, 2025
Street Colour Finalist at Street Badass London
March 31, 2025
Winner of the Street Photography France competition on the theme “Human, Light, and Gesture”
August 26 – October 22, 2023
Selected and exhibited at "A Wall of Women by Women" pendant le "“Ballarat International Foto Biennale (Australia)
May 1 - 31, 2023
PHOTO. KW Gallery
December 1, 2022 – January 9, 2023
A Thousand Words: Photography in conTEXT, organized by OfLimitsCollective (Singapore)
2022-2023
Collaboration in the project untitled “Pastille sonore,” which showcased over 20 photos of Singapore with music created by Vincent Cateigne
April 18 – May 13, 2022
15 Women Photographers, UWCSEA Gallery,
November 25 – November 28, 2021
Exhibition “Ritual Singapore” at the Selegie Art Centre in Singapore as part of the Voilah festival
September 7-9, 2021
Exhibition “Daily Singapore” at the Art House in Singapore
26 de julio – 8 de agosto de 2021
Exposition“Women street photographers” au 59 rue de Rivoli à Paris 75001
10 – 23 de marzo de 2021
Exposición «Daily Singapore» en el Hotel Capella (Sentosa)
April 2020
Selected for the theme: “faceless” Street photography gallery from @womeninstreet, curated by Maude Bardet
May 2020
Selected for the exposition: The Double Trouble which was part of: “Of the Head On 2020”, an online, virtual photo festival. The online program https://www.headon.com.au/ (also exhibited in March of 2021 in Brisbane.)
October 2019
Selected for an exposition in Poland: Foto Art Festival
July 24 – September 22, 2019
En Transit Award-winning photographic series created during a workshop with renowned photographer Françoise Huguier, and exhibited during the photography festival in Arles, France.
June 2019
Participation in Singapore Artitude, a collective book created by Stéphanie Lehembre, which presents Singapore, through the lenses of 50 photographers and a dozen writers.
May 2019
Selected for a collective exposition: Street Sans Frontières in Paris.
Selected for a collective exposition: PHOS festival in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Publications:
Photo published in Epic Review #17 (December 2025)
Photo published in the book “No Man’s Land” edited by Marco Savarese ( EyeShot Edition), June 2025
Publication of photo book “Ritual Singapore,” November 2021
Publication of photo book “Daily Singapore” (Press Review), November 2020
Publication of several photos in “Singapore Artitude”, a collective work produced by Stephanie Lehembre - 2019
Photographic documentary: Women in Singapore in Le petit Journal de Singapour, an International French- language, online newspaper. May 2019
Photographic documentary l'opéra chinois in: Le petit Journal de Singapour, an International French- language, online newspaper on the theme “Art in the City” ( pages 32 - 37), March 2018
Interview: in Le Petit Journal, an International French- language, online newspaper, December 2017
Began his career as a school photographer, later working as a paparazzo in Los Angeles, followed by collaborations with press agencies in France covering celebrities, as well as work in cinema and politics.
Each stage shaped his perspective, but it was street photography that brought him back to the essence of the medium.
His approach is rooted in honesty—capturing life as it unfolds, without filters or manipulation—focusing on people, light, gestures, and fragments of everyday stories.
He embraces unpredictability, allowing instinct to guide his work, understanding that the street constantly offers unexpected moments beyond intention.
Images that focus on the human condition, captured in a candid or spontaneous manner in public spaces.
What isn't street photography?
The staging or direction of scenes or subjects. The manipulation or alteration of photographs during post-production or editing. Architectural photography, urban landscapes, staged portraits, etc.
Preferimos evitar:
Explotación de la imagen de personas en condición de calle o vulnerabilidad sin un discurso fotográfico.
1.- - The contest is open to photographers aged 18 or older (at the time of registration), of any nationality, regardless of their level of experience.
2.- - The photos must be taken in public spaces and capture candid moments.
3.- Images must be original works created by the photographer and may not be artificially generated—for example, using artificial intelligence software or digital manipulation (such as adding, removing, or rearranging elements in the photograph), etc. The metadata will be reviewed, and a forensic analysis will be conducted on the finalist images.
4.- - Images may be in black and white or color. Basic adjustments to parameters such as exposure, shadows, highlights, color, tone curves, etc. are permitted.
5.- - There are no restrictions on the type or brand of camera used: photographs taken with cell phones, film cameras, or digital cameras are all accepted.
6.- - The photographs must have been taken on or after January 1, 2022.
7.- Photographs containing explicit sexual content, nudity, obscenities, violence, or any other content that the Festival committee deems objectionable or inappropriate will be disqualified.
8.- Images with watermarks, frames, signatures, etc., will not be accepted.
9.- In order to submit your photos, they must meet the following requirements:
Format: JPG, optimized for the web, sRGB color profile. File size and dimensions: 1,600 pixels on the longest side. Maximum 1.5 MB per image.
File name: Each photograph must be named using the following format:
First Name_Last Name_Photo number.
Examples:
Nombre_ApellidoA_ApellidoB_1
Nombre_ApellidoA_ApellidoB_2
Nombre_ApellidoA_ApellidoB_3
1.- Select the package that corresponds to the number of photos you want to enter in the contest:
2.- Complete the photo submission process
3.- Please complete your payment by following the instructions on the website.
The deadline for submitting your photos is September 20, 2026.
If you encounter any problems with the registration process, please email us at contest@mxstreetphotofest.com
We view our selection of finalists as a snapshot of the current state of street photography worldwide.
1.- Our first-round judging panel will select 100 finalists.
2.- This shortlist of finalists will serve as the basis on which our second-round judging panel will select the 20 winners.
3.- A maximum of 2 photos per finalist will be selected.
4.- The list of finalists will be announced on our social media channels.
1.- Our second-round judging panel will select 20 winners from among the 100 finalists.
2.- Only one photo per winner will be selected.
3.- Participants will be notified of the decision via the email address they provide at the time of registration; therefore, it is the participant’s responsibility to ensure that their personal information is entered correctly. The email will include notification that they are winners, as well as the file requirements we need to verify the authenticity of their image and to print it.
4.- Once the notification email has been sent, finalists will have 3 business days to send us the file and information in accordance with the required specifications.
If we do not receive a response within this timeframe, the photograph will be disqualified and the next finalist will be selected.
5.- The 20 finalist photographs will be on display at the Querétaro Museum of Art from October 23 to November 22, 2026.
1.- We will have a panel of seven judges, organized as follows:
Selection of finalists (100 photographs):
Selection of contest winners (20 photographs):
In the event of a tie, the panel of judges will appoint a chairperson who will have the deciding vote.
2.- The judges' decisions are final.
3.- The MXSPF organizing team has no influence whatsoever on the jury's decisions.
1.- The 20 winning photographs will be printed and exhibited as part of the MX Street Photo Fest 2025 at the Querétaro Museum of Art.
2.- The top three entries selected by the jury will receive the following prizes, sponsored by Sony Mexico:
1st place: Cámara Sony Alpha ILCE 7M3K
2nd place: Cámara Sony Alpha ILCE 6400K
3rd place: Cámara Sony Alpha ILCE 6100K
3.- Prizes will be shipped starting Monday, November 2.
4.- The festival assumes no responsibility for any issues or irregularities that may arise during the delivery of prizes resulting from the following circumstances:
• Damage or mishandling by the shipping carrier.
• Loss by the shipping carrier.
• Errors in the shipping information provided by the winner.
• Legal, customs, weather-related, and socio-political restrictions and limitations specific to each country.
1.- By completing the registration process, you agree to the terms and conditions of this open call.
2.- By submitting your photographs to the contest, you are authorizing the MX Street Photo Fest to:
Print and exhibit your work as part of the “SONY Alpha: MX Street Photo Contest 2026” to use, royalty-free, to publicly display, distribute, reproduce, and create derivative works from the submitted photographs for any non-profit purpose, including: advertising and promotion, website content, exhibitions, and content creation to promote the festival, etc. The Festival shall not be obligated to pay any additional compensation or seek any additional approval in connection with the aforementioned uses.
3 . - The Festival disclaims any liability for any unauthorized use of the photographs entered in the contest by third parties not affiliated with the festival’s organizing committee.
4.-It is the participants' responsibility to ensure that their photographs meet the entry requirements.
5.- It is the participants' responsibility to check the contact information provided for this purpose.
6.- Photographs that do not meet the requirements specified in the call for entries will be automatically disqualified, with no liability on the part of the Festival and no obligation to notify the photographer.
7.- The dates and deadlines set forth in this call for applications are subject to change without prior notice.
“For the love of photography, we come together as a community.”
©2026. Mexico Street Photo Fest. All Rights Reserved.
