It’s mind-blowing to think about! Five years ago, a tight-knit group of friends in Gothenburg started what would become Scandinavia’s very first street photography festival. Now we’re heading into our anniversary year more excited than ever. Once again, we will be at the legendary Aftonstjärnan in Lindholmen, Gothenburg.
Of course, we’ve gone all out this year. Among the speakers are some of the world’s leading street photographers – including none other than Martin Parr from England, and Pau Buscato from Barcelona.
When you buy a festival pass, you get access to two full days of top-class talks from Swedish and international speakers, mingling, inspiration, photo exhibitions, competitions, networking, and personal growth.
And to mark the occasion, we’re also introducing a brand-new competition category: Nordic Countries – featuring images taken in any of the Nordic nations.
Worth approx. SEK 85,000
Lecturers
Competition categories
Visitors
Participate in our photo competitions. Choose one, or several, of four categories, and submit your best pictures. Be judged by renowned photographers and win attractive prizes worth a total of SEK 85,000.
Single Color
In this category you may enter one to six color pictures, the choice is yours. They can be totally disconnected from each other. A prerequisite is of course that it is street photography, taken in the public space. This may be streets, squares, buses, trams, pubs, libraries etc. The pictures may not have been arranged and should not be of people you know. They must have been taken by yourself and there must be human presence in them. There is no limit as to when the pictures have been taken. Competition entries must be received by Sunday, August 17th, at 12 noon, Swedish time. All nominated images will be exhibited during the Gothenburg Street Photo Festival on September 12-13, 2025
Domare: Pau Buscató
Deadline: 17 August 2025
All nominated pictures will be exhibited during the Gothenburg Street Photo Festival September 12-13 2025
Deadline: Sunday August 17, 12 o’clock noon Swedish time.
Jury: Pau Buscató
Pau Buscató is a Barcelona-born photographer who has recently returned to his roots after spending several years in Norway. Inspired by his father’s career, Buscató initially pursued architecture. But his true calling in photography soon became impossible to ignore, and he eventually found his niche in what he calls “candid creative photography,” often known as Street Photography.
His work—aimed at capturing the playful beauty of everyday moments—has brought him international recognition, with features in acclaimed photo festivals, books, and a wide range of publications.
Buscató thrives on the idea of starting his day without a set plan, letting the rhythm of the city guide his creative process. This philosophy of embracing the unexpected shapes his work, making each image a testament to the spontaneity of the moment. For him, the absence of a plan is the plan—a paradox he playfully embraces, preferring to leave conceptual debates to others while focusing on the pure experience of photographing and letting the images speak for themselves.
Pau Buscató shows that even the simplest subjects, when approached with curiosity and fresh eyes, can unfold into compelling stories.
@paubuscato
www.paubuscato.com
Single black and white
In this category you may enter one to six black and white pictures, the choice is yours. They can be totally disconnected from each other. A prerequisite is of course that it is street photography, taken in the public space. This may be streets, squares, buses, trams, pubs, libraries etc. The pictures may not have been arranged and should not be of people you know. They must have been taken by yourself and there must be human presence in them. There is no limit as to when the pictures have been taken. Competition entries must be received by Sunday, August 17th, at 12 noon Swedish time. All nominated images will be exhibited during the Gothenburg Street Photo Festival on September 12-13, 2025
Domare: Carina Hedlund
Deadline: 17 August 2025
Competition entries must have been received no later than 12.00 noon Swedish time August 17.
All nominated photos will be exhibited during the Gothenburg Street Photo Festival September 12-13 2025.
By chance, Carina ended up in Dublin in 2011. She appreciates Ireland’s beautiful landscapes, but it is the people who draw her back. While she is not a frequent pub-goer in her hometown of Skellefteå, she has explored the pub culture in Ireland—experiencing everything from the calm atmosphere of friends meeting at lunchtime to nights filled with music and dancing. And her camera is always with her.
Carina is both a participant and an observer in her photography. It often begins with photographs of strangers, but her curiosity about the people she meets allows her to get close and hear their stories.
@carina_streetphotography
Nordic Countries
This category is for you who lives in one of the Nordic countries. You may submit between one and six photos, in either color or black and white, taken in one of the Nordic countries—that is, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland. The photos can be entirely independent of each other. The main requirement is that they must be street photography. In other words, images captured in public spaces—on streets and squares, buses, trams, pubs, libraries, and so on. The photos can not be staged and can't feature people you know. The images must be taken by you and should include people or clear signs of human presence. There are no restrictions regarding when the photos were taken. Entries must be received no later than Sunday, August 17, at 12:00 PM. All nominated photos will be exhibited during the Gothenburg Street Photography Festival, September 12–13, 2025.
Domare: Helge Skodvin
Deadline: 17 August 2025
All nominated photos will be exhibited during the Gothenburg Street Photo Festival September 12-13 2025
Helge Skodvin is a photographer born and based in Bergen, Norway. He works for magazines, newspapers, publishers, commercial clients, as well as on many long-term personal projects. Skodvin primarily works within the documentary genre, characterized by a strong and distinctive visual style.
Skodvin has been nominated for the Leica Oskar Barnack Award and the Magnum Photography Award. He has won multiple awards in Norway’s Picture of the Year competition and is a recipient of the Norwegian Arts Council’s photography grant.
Collection 5-7 pictures
In this category you have the opportunity to submit up to three collections of five to seven images. You choose yourself. The pictures in the collection should be connected and together create a whole. The prerequisites are, of course, that it must be a street photo. That is, photos taken in the public environment. On streets and squares, buses, trams, pubs, libraries, etc. The pictures must not be arranged and not of people you know. The pictures must be taken by yourself and contain people or clear traces of human presence. There are no time horizon requirements. Competition entries must be received by Sunday, August 17th, at 12 noon, Swedish time. All nominated images will be exhibited during the Gothenburg Street Photo Festival on September 12-13, 2025
Domare: Siegfried hansen
Deadline: 17 August 2025
Competition entries must have been received no later than 12.00 noon Swedish time, August 17.
All nominated photos will be exhibited during the Gothenburg Street Photo Festival 12-13 September 2025.
Siegfried Hansen, born in 1961, is a photographer, author and coach. He is one of the most renowned German street photographers. He is co-founder of the “German Street Photography Festival” and the website “German Street Photography”.
“In 2002 I saw an exhibition by Andre Kertesz by chance, and it impressed me so much that I changed my profession and wanted to become a photographer. For my photographic development it was and has always been good to be inspired by other photographers. Henri Cartier Bresson, Ernst Haas, Ray K.Metzker and Saul Leiter are photographers whose works I still enjoy looking at.
For me, the camera is the tool through which I express my creativity, like the brush for the painter.
www.siegfried-hansen.de
@ Siegfried_hansen
Are you curious about how other street photographers think? Here you can read some interviews that we hope will inspire your own photography.