Dow’s Black and White Photo Contest 2025 Winner | Photo by Lean Soong Hong
Photography competitions arise in all sorts of places, including sometimes very unexpected ones. Portuguese wine maker Dow’s recently announced the winners of its 2025 Black and White Photography Competition that challenged photographers to capture people’s dedication and patience, which Dow’s says is a common thread that connects both black and white photography and winemaking.
While the relationship between Dow’s and black and white photography may at first seem a strange one, the trio of award-winning shots is not only exemplary examples of black and white photography, but very successfully showcases people working very hard at their craft. Photographers Lean Soong Hong, Marian Moneymaker Thieriot, and Carlos Alberto Santos Costa were very much up to the task.
For their first-place image seen above, Malaysian photographer Lean Soong Hong won a new Leica D-Lux 8 camera and, of course, a bottle of port. In this case, the photographer won a magnum of Dow’s 1994 Vintage Port.
Hong described the photo as “romance under the blade,” noting it captures a tender moment in a Malaysian barbershop.
“Lean’s photo is special because it not only speaks to our theme of Craft & Tradition, but it turns the routine into something more. With a profound sense of calm, the photograph encourages us to ask questions: who are these people and what are their stories?” remarks Charlotte Symington.
Speaking of port, alongside the contest, Dow unveiled a new 2020 Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) Port, which the company calls a “timely release, embodying the very ‘Craft and Tradition’ celebrated by the [photo] competition.”
Second-place Winner | Photo by Marian Moneymaker Thieriot
American photographer Marian Moneymaker Thieriot finished in second place for her photo of an artisan in a traditional plaster workshop. The photographer said she was drawn to the scene due to its “quiet continuity of a practice sustained by human touch.”
For her award, the photographer received a Leica Sofort 2 instant camera and a bottle of Dow’s 2003 Vintage Port.
Third-place Winner | Photo by Carlos Alberto Santos Costa
Rounding out the top three is Portuguese photographer Carlos Alberto Santos Costa. Carlos’ winning shot shows a potter in Tomar, Portugal, with very striking, dramatic light. The bronze winner received a bottle of port and a copy of the Leica’s new “100 Leica Stories” book released last year as part of the legendary photo company’s centennial celebration.
Image credits: Dow’s Port. Individual photographers are credited in the captions.