With a centennial celebration in full swing this year, Leica is continuing a legacy of storytelling, soul-searching, and social commentary through the unblinking eye of the lens.
Now in its 45th year, the Leica Oskar Barnack Award (LOBA) has long been Leica’s love letter to the world of documentary and conceptual photography. And as Leica commemorates “100 Years of Leica: Witness to a Century”, this year’s edition of LOBA feels like a curated meditation on humanity and its evolving dance with nature, society, and self.
This year, Leica has pulled no punches. Among the judging panel are Jane Evelyn Atwood, a LOBA laureate herself from 1997, and Cyril Drouhet, the ever-observant lens behind Le Figaro Magazine. They’re joined by Felix Hoffmann, curator at Foto Arsenal Vienna, Curt Holtz, a steady voice in photography publishing at Prestel, and Leica’s own Karin Rehn-Kaufmann, Art Director and the stalwart behind Leica Galleries International.
Together, they’ll sift through nominations by over 120 experts from 50 countries, each putting forth up to three series (15 to 20 images apiece) that represent not just moments frozen in time, but visual essays on the relationship between humankind and its environment.
Since its inception in 1980, on the centennial of Oskar Barnack, the man who gave us the first 35mm camera, the award has kept its pulse on one thing: photography with a conscience. LOBA’s entries aren’t just about technical brilliance or creative flair; they must speak. Speak of struggle. Of beauty. Of our fragile, ferocious world.
In this spirit, LOBA now has two categories. The main award winner walks away with €40,000 and a Leica camera kit worth €10,000. Meanwhile, the Newcomer Award, dedicated to photographers under 30, offers €10,000 and a Leica Q3. But more than the prize money, what LOBA gives is a spotlight; a gallery of eyes, waiting to see.
Shortlisted works will first be showcased at the Ernst Leitz Museum in Wetzlar, Leica’s spiritual and physical home. Then, like all good stories, they’ll travel through Leica Galleries worldwide and select photography festivals. Leica is also partnering with 20 international schools and institutions to ensure the Newcomer category continues to bring fresh perspectives.
With an accompanying catalogue, interviews with judges, and global exhibitions planned, LOBA 2025 is Leica’s manifesto on why photography still matters in a world oversaturated with fleeting visuals. And perhaps that’s the real reward: images that don’t just ask us to look, but compel us to see.
Because sometimes, all it takes is one picture to remind us what it means to be human.
Visit the Leica Oskar Barnack Award website to find out more about the competition.
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