The Pure Street Photography Competition Spotlights Humor and Chance Amid the Ordinary

Founded in 2020, Pure Street Photography celebrates a diverse array of captivating sights and image-makers around the globe. Coincidental timing, uncanny interactions, and moments that are stranger-than-fiction figure prominently in the platforms’s curation.

To support their community, founders Dimpy Bhalotia and Kamal Kumaar Rao launched a grant competition earlier this year, with winners announced this week. Topping the contest is Ayanava Sil’s “Crown of Fire,” which captures the instantaneous chaos during a Diwali celebration as a child dashes with sparkling streaks trailing behind. “It’s a flash of magic caught in time, where light, joy, and imagination come together in one unforgettable frame,” Sil says.

a kid running with sparklers appearing to stream from his head — Ayanava Sil (India), “Crown of Fire”

Others include Amy Horowitz’s bizarre image of an older woman clutching her bag while an enormous snake slithers up to the window where she’s seated. Joanna M. similarly builds curiosity tinged with the absurd as she photographs a proud beagle posing for paparazzi.

See more of the contest’s winners below, and follow Pure Street Photography’s Instagram, a trove of visual wit and chance encounters.

a woman sitting with her back to the camera on the right side of the bench, while two feet dangle over the left side — Anna Marzia Soria (Italy), “Optical Illusion”

people surround a dog sitting on a velvet blue sofa at a table to take its photo — Joanna M. (United States), “Celebrity”

a person appears like a walking shadow — Holger Kunze (Belgium), “The Double”

a kid in the grass with his legs up is surrounded by dozens of figurative shadows — Valeria Ciardulli (Italy), “Spectators”

a cat walks through a hole in a drawn deity on a wall — Julachart Pleansanit (Thailand), “Rahu”

a black and white image of a child swinging with her shadow seeming to swing on the ground below — Mary Crnkovic Pilas (Croatia), “Sweet Bird of Youth”

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