Magical full moons, pulsating thunderstorms and eerie underwater sinkholes: the stunning winners of the 2023 Black and White Photo Awards revealed

The annual photography contest was created to "feed the spirit of monochrome photography". This year, thousands of images - taken everywhere from Italy to Canada - were submitted by photographers. READ MORE: The amazing vending machine in Japan that serves 'delicious' cakes in CANS< p class="author-section byline-plain">By Ailbhe Macmahon for Mailonline

Updated: 1:28 PM BST, Aug 29, 2023

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These photographers are using their cameras to strip down the world of color - and the results are mesmerizing.

Their work was celebrated at the 2023 Black and White Photo Awards, an annual competition created to "nurture the spirit of monochrome photography".

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This year, thousands of images were submitted by photographers from 92 countries around the world, focusing on themes such as "landscape" and " flora and fauna.”

Photographs that received praise include a magical image of a full moon over a Canadian mountain landscape, a heartwarming photo of a baby hippo bonding with its mother and a powerful image of a thunderstorm over Italy.

The judges, however, paid particular attention to one image in particular, declaring it the “Overall Winner”. Taken by French photographer Patrice Quillard, this is a mesmerizing portrait of a gelada monkey in Ethiopia, with the creature seen staring into the camera lens.

'The results exceeded all of our expectations,' the judges said of the winners and runners-up. Scroll down and you'll find out why they got so emotional. You will find the big winner at the bottom…