Smartphones have been an empowering tool for the creative eye - giving people a means to dip their toe into photography before they commit to the extensives costs of cameras and editing software.

iPhones themselves are the world's most popular and iconic phone, so it stands to reason that this iPhone-only competition has popped up. 

The acessibility of a smartphone and the fact that we are able to relate to the equipment used, is testament to how incredible many of these images actually are. In a sense, it is a great equalizer - putting everybody on the same playing field where the ability of the camera does not dictate the best photography, but the skill of the photographer. 

In the 2021 competition, these are the best of the best. At the IPPAWARDS, photographers can use any iPhone or iPad, with a lens attached, but cannot use any desktop editing software like PhotoShop. 

For this atmospheric image, Hungarian photojournalist Istvan Kerekes won both the Grand Prize Winner and Photographer of the Year Award.

The judges left these remarks on the image, “In it, two rugged shepherds traverse an equally rugged industrial landscape, bearing a pair of lambs in their arms,” the IPPAWARDS describes. “The grit of the men and the bleakness of their environment are a moving contrast to the hope and innocence of the lambs in their care.”

The two images above took the first and second place overall. In the first, photographer Sharan Shetty captured 'Bonding', an intimate moment with a horse and its owner. 

In second was Dan Liu - a Chinese artist who captured this staged shot of an astronaut traversing this very alien landscape. 

Third place is a beautiful and haunting image of a child seemingly floating as she dances on the pavement - her shadow captured in a halo of light, weightless and ephemeral.

This geometric delight took home the title of winner in the 'Abstract' category. Entered with no title by Glenn Homann, shot on his iPhone 11 Pro, the combination of colour and light is composed in such a way as to invoke some of the most iconic abstract art.

Laila Bakker's iPhone X shot 'Strike A Pose'.

Liz Huang's untitled - winner of the City category. Shot on iPhone X.

The winner of the Environment category was Elinet Shteckler's 'Clouds', shot on iPhone .

With the open-ended Other category, Zerry Song's poetic 'New Clothes for the Pole', shot on the classic iPhone 7.

In the Still Life category, this winner encapsulate's the balance of an Wes Anderson film - shot on Kunkun Liu on an iPhone 11 Pro Max, perfectly titled 'Sweet'.