International street photography platform Pure Street Photography (PSP) announced today the winners and finalists of the Pure Street Photography Grant 2025, showcasing and celebrating incredible photographic voices from around the world.
Pure Street Photography, founded in 2020, is a female-led initiative co-founded by acclaimed photographer Dimpy Bhalotia and creative partner Kamar Kumaar Rao.
PSP is dedicated to being a supportive platform for photographers to share diverse, impactful, and thought-provoking photography with a global audience. A significant part of the platform’s appeal to photographers is its ability to help creators get feedback and refine their skills. To that end, this year’s Pure Street Photography Grant 2025, which celebrates 30 different photographers, provides expanded support and exposure for budding creators.
“These photographs reflect the pulse and purity of street life — spanning continents, cultures, and contexts,” Pure Street Photography says. “Each photograph captures more than just a moment; it tells a story that is layered, spontaneous, and emotionally resonant.”
“This grant is a celebration of the human spirit through photography. These 30 iconic photographers come from different corners of the world, yet their stories echo the same truth: there’s extraordinary power in how we see the ordinary,” says Bhalotia.
Among the 30 winning photos, there is one grand prize winner, Ayanava Sil, and 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishers. The other 26 photos are finalists.
Sil won for his fantastic, action-packed capture of a child running down the street in India with pyrotechnics lighting the night sky above his head.
“This picture tells a story of childhood fun, celebration and the playful chaos of Diwali,” the photographer Ayanava Sil says. “It’s more than a photo, it’s a flash of magic caught in time, where light, joy, and imagination come together in one unforgettable frame. The boy’s glowing crown of sparks gives him a superhero-like appearance.”
“This photograph is a masterclass in awareness — instinct, timing, and composition falling into rhythm and working in perfect harmony,” Bhalotia remarks. “Ayanava didn’t just photograph this — he understood the choreography of light and life in that split second.”
American photographer Parvathi Kumar took first place for their photo from an olive market in Casablanca.
“I noticed a woman wearing an oval-patterned head scarf echoing the shape of the olives she was purchasing,” Kumar says. “It was such an unexpected encounter in finding this visual rhymes with textures and a touch of humor. There is also simple sub-framing of the woman on one side, and the working hands of the vendor on the other.”
Fellow American photographer Amy Horowitz took second place for her image, Oh, Hello!, showing a massive snake slithering next to a sitting elderly woman. It is a jarring juxtaposition.
“I was immediately struck with curiously as I came upon a gigantic snake slithering up a building’s exterior wall. Just showing the woman’s hands as they clutched her purse, with the massive snake only inches away, was enough to tell the story — without giving away the ending,” Horowitz says.
Rounding out the top three is German photographer Sebastian Piatek. His untitled image captured in Jakarta, Indonesia, shows a somewhat chaotic yet ordered scene of children on the street.
Photography Grant 2025
“This photograph was taken in Cilincing, North Jakarta, Indonesia. Some of the subjects were far away and some very close — that created a good sense of depth, which I thought worked well visually,” Piatek explains. “Even though it wasn’t planned, the photo captures a quiet moment that feels real and unfiltered. It’s one of my favorite photographs from Indonesia.”
The rest of the finalists are featured below.
More information on the Pure Street Photography Grant 2025 and the rest of the platform’s mission is available on its website.
Image credits: Pure Street Photography Grant 2025 / All photographers are credited in the individual captions
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