Winner. “I took this vertical image in the Quarry Bay district of Hong Kong during the dusk ‘blue hour’, when there was a perfect balance between the ambient light in the sky and the artificial lights of the high-rise residential buildings”. (Photo by Jatinder Heer/The Guardian)

Light is the sole reason why life exists. It provides us with warmth; it allows us to see; it nourishes all the living things on this planet. Many painters, especially the masters of Old Renaissance Period, have recognized the importance of light and its intimate connection with nature and life itself. In their paintings they gave tribute to light, giving the impression that their paintings had a light source hidden within them. Al Hogue, the artist who created the paintings that you see before you, has studied their techniques for many years. As time went by, light permeated not only his paintings by also his life, becoming his sole philosophy.

A Hindu woman hold clay-lamp during a ceremony to celebrate Diwali, the festival of lights, at Krishna temple in Lahore, Pakistan, Sunday, November 12, 2023. The Hindu festival of lights, Diwali celebrates the spiritual victory of light over darkness. (Photo by K.M. Chaudary/AP Photo)

People walk under a light projection during the Shanghai International Light Festival at a shopping mall complex in Shanghai on September 22, 2025. (Photo by Jade Gao/AFP Photo)

Models present creations from Vislumbre during Fashion Weekend Plus Size in Sao Paulo, Brazil, March 19, 2017. (Photo by Paulo Whitaker/Reuters)

The Northern Lights glow green in a spectacular light show above a field of trees frozen solid with snow. (Photo by Jaak Sarv/Solent News & Photo Agency)