Arcus Photinus (Luminous Arc)

Photographer

Marcel van Beek

Category

Nature Photography - Trees

Company

Submission Group

Professional

Year

2026

Country / Region:

Germany

"Arcus Photinus (Luminous Arc)" is a forensic exploration of the hidden energies within the natural world. Through the deliberate inversion of tonal values and a 180-degree vertical rotation, the work achieves a profound ontological shift: discarded branches reaching for the sky are reimagined as ancestral roots descending from above, while the heavens are transformed into a dense, primordial void (Urgrund). This dual transformation—of orientation and light—transmutes mundane, dead matter into a radiant source of appearance. The structure manifests as a 'lightning bolt' of substance suspended in an eternal moment of emanation. By removing the subject from its gravitational context, the image reveals a luminous micro-topography that remains invisible to the naked eye. Captured strictly in-camera, the work functions as a visual philosophy where organic fragments are elevated into monolithic symbols of vital force, celebrating the moment where the spirit emerges from the material.

More Honourable Mentions Winners
Professional
2026

Prefrontal Portrait Suite

Photographer / Company

SHU-LING LIN

Category

Editorial Photography - Personality

Country / Region

Taiwan

Professional
2026

Bird’s-eye View of a Flooded Autumn Karst Wonderland

Photographer / Company

Jaka Ivancic

Category

Nature Photography - Aerial/Drone

Country / Region

Slovenia

Amateur
2026

Against the Storm's Afterglow

Photographer / Company

Daniel Gilpin

Category

Fine Art Photography - Nudes

Country / Region

Denmark

Professional
2026

The Four Elements: Vertical Voices. An Elemental Abstraction

Photographer / Company

Marcel van Beek

Category

Minimalist Photography - Abstracts

Country / Region

Germany