Blix Photo Contest 2025
From September through November 2025, we hosted the first blix Photo Contest. The aim was to encourage photographers to think beyond the single image and instead present a coherent body of work.
Participants were asked to submit between three and seven images built around a theme of their choosing, accompanied by a written text describing the concept and intention behind the series. Both digital and analog submissions were accepted. What mattered was clarity of vision, cohesion and depth.
The response was strong. We received over 64 entries, each one a considered project rather than a standalone photograph.
Judging Process
All submissions were reviewed anonymously by the blix partners. The judging took place in two rounds.
In the first round, we focused on coherence, sequencing and conceptual clarity. In the second, we revisited a smaller selection of shortlisted series and discussed them in depth. The final decision was based not only on individual strong images, but on whether the work functioned convincingly as a complete narrative.
It was a long process and not an easy one. The overall level was high.
The Winners
1st Place – Felix Marquardt
Street Life in Sofia
Felix has been working consistently in analog street photography since early 2024, focusing on urban environments where social fractures become visible: inequality, parallel realities, addiction and homelessness.
The winning series was created in June 2025 in Sofia. The photographs were made situationally and without staging. Several of the individuals portrayed offered personal insights into their daily lives, which gives the work a level of closeness without feeling exploitative.
Felix’ approach is raw and direct. His images are unfiltered and often melancholic, yet never judgmental. The sequencing forms a cohesive narrative about life on the margins of the urban space. As a complete body of work, it was confident, clear and impactful.
2nd Place – Ines Siganschin
Hinter den Scheiben der Stadt
Ines’ series is largely set in Munich and explores fleeting moments of proximity and distance observed through windows, glass surfaces and translucent barriers.
Her photographic journey began years ago in school, inspired by highly staged and controlled imagery. Returning to photography in 2023, she found in it something different: attentiveness, balance and grounding. That sensibility carries through the series.
“Hinter den Scheiben der Stadt” focuses on small, easily overlooked moments. Inspired by the idea that meaning often lies in tiny, perfect fragments of everyday life, the work invites viewers to pause and truly look. The photographs are understated but deliberate, reflecting both the atmosphere of the city and the photographer’s personal perspective on it.
The series stood out for its consistency and sensitivity.
3rd Place – Tobias Wimmer
Invasive Species
Tobias’ series began on a late-summer morning at the end of August. Moving through a familiar landscape near the Danube, he encountered a subtle but telling shift: Himalayan balsam spreading into areas previously dominated by reeds.
The work reflects on perception, time and ecological change. What appears static is in fact transitional. The images capture a moment that feels evenly balanced, almost 50/50, yet clearly part of a longer process. Tobias’ accompanying text questions the act of photographing itself: is the shutter pressed out of trained compositional instinct, memory, or an urge to document something that might matter later?
The result is a quiet but conceptually strong landscape series that gains weight through context.
Exhibition at blix
All three winners received a two-month exhibition at blix. We produced and installed the prints in our space, and the photographers will keep the exhibited prints afterwards.
The exhibition opened during our blixmas party on 13 December. The vernissage brought together contributors, friends and visitors in a full and lively space. Seeing the three series printed, framed and installed side by side confirmed the strength of the projects and the value of presenting work physically.
The 2025 Photo Contest demonstrated how much depth emerges when photographers are encouraged to think in series. The variety of themes and approaches reflected the diversity of our community.
We thank everyone who submitted their work and contributed to making this first edition a success.
