Can you believe these pictures were taken on a SMARTPHONE? The incredible winners of the 2023 iPhone Photography Awards, which forbids the use of Photoshop...

By Ailbhe Macmahon For Mailonline

Updated: 12:44 01 Aug 2023

An iPhone is a tool for astounding creativity in the hands of these talented photographers.

Their work has been honoured in the 2023 iPhone Photography Awards, an annual contest that sets out to showcase the most showstopping images captured on Apple devices.

This year the contest, which has been running since 2007, welcomed submissions from photographers from more than 140 countries. For a place in the running, photographs must have been captured on an iPhone or an iPad, and the use of desktop image editing programs such as Photoshop is forbidden.

Reigning supreme overall, this year’s grand prize winner is Mexican photographer Ivan Silva, who captured a magnificent shot of a young football fan on an iPhone 12 Pro. Other shots to gain recognition include a moody picture of Dartmoor National Park in southern England, a vibrant image of a Swiss mountain railway and a mesmerising shot of a trio of elephants marching across an arid landscape.

A statement from the awards’ organisers says: ‘Congratulations to all the winners for the amazing stories they managed to capture with such sensitivity, humour, and beauty.’

Below is a handful of the pictures that captivated the judges. Scroll down to the very bottom to see the photograph that takes the top prize…

This mesmerising mountainscape was captured by Chinese photographer Chun Luo and gets an honourable mention in the Landscape category

This wintry shot taken in Switzerland shows the train that takes passengers from the holiday resort of Vitznau to the Rigi mountain massif. It’s the work of Chinese photographer Wenqin Hu and gets an honourable mention in the Travel category

U.S photographer Juliane DeLeo Naclerio captured this breathtaking shot of a polar light display over a snowy expanse. Impressing the judges, it gets an honourable mention in the Landscape category

U.S photographer Chang Sun snared this magnificent picture, which gets an honourable mention in the Landscape category, in California’s Yosemite National Park

This magnificent panorama gets an honourable mention in the Landscape category

American photographer Ryan Coleman captured this epic bird’s eye view, which gets an honourable mention in the Landscape category

This atmospheric shot of a series of cable cars – which gets an honourable mention in the Travel category – is the work of Chinese photographer Chuangcheng Jin

UK photographer Clifton Ticehurst captured this moody scene in Dartmoor National Park in Devon. It gets an honourable mention in the Landscape category

American photographer Roxy Schiavone took this transfixing black-and-white picture of a pair of horses, which gets an honourable mention in the Animals category

This eye-catching shot of a trio of elephants, which gets an honourable mention in the Animals category, is the work of Chinese photographer Bo Meng

Light breaks through the clouds over a mountain landscape in this beautiful shot by Chinese photographer Jianming Yu, which gets an honourable mention in the Landscape category

This beautifully-composed shot shows a farm near the Dutch village of Thesinge in the early morning. Captured by photographer Ton Ensing on an iPhone 12 Pro, it takes the top prize in the Landscape category

U.S photographer Chang Sun snared this wonderful shot, which gets an honourable mention in the Travel category

U.S photographer Kyle Rehn snared this impressive shot of Sunnylvsfjorden fjord in Norway, which gets an honourable mention in the Landscape category

Italian photographer Giovanni Casini took this enchanting woodland picture, which gets an honourable mention in the Landscape category

Australian photographer Anthony Ginns took this dramatic waterfall shot, which gets an honourable mention in the Landscape category

This striking mountainscape is the work of photographer Annemarie Jung from Luxembourg. It gets an honourable mention in the Landscape category

This vibrant picture – which gets an honourable mention in the Landscape category – was captured by British photographer Barry Mayes

This captivating aerial picture shows a traditional soy sauce factory in Vietnam’s Hung Yen Province. It was shot on iPhone 12 Pro Max by German photographer Thea Mihu, who takes first place in the ‘Photographer of the Year Award’ category

Behold, the picture that has earned Ivan Silva the grand prize in the contest. The beautifully composed shot shows a boy in a Lionel Messi football shirt atop a vehicle in Mexico’s Arandas region

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