I do not understand its distinction as the best photograph in a competition of such scale. Sophia also won the ‘Travel’ category, along with £3,000 in LCE credits. It may be that, in the world we now inhabit, a gesture as simple as covering one’s eyes with two little fish acquires a disproportionately inflated performative value.

And of course, it has unleashed waves of opinion spanning the entire emotional spectrum. Steve Hoole, for instance —Sophia’s spouse, an electronic musician and creator under the alias Synthfluencer, an active figure within the emerging electro-orchestral scene of Bishop’s Stortford— wrote on Threads (@evenlode.sound): “I’m married to this photographer (daughteruptree on IG), so I’ll be enjoying her moment of glory 🐟… while I can.”

A minimal search turned up a YouTube video claiming there is controversy surrounding the image. The audio, however, was in an agitated Vietnamese, and without subtitles it was impossible for me to understand a single word. Another photographer, Simone Osborne (@simoneosbornephotography), appears to have taken a very similar image —but with only one little fish. Such ichthyic stinginess cost her a rather substantial number of British pounds.

Others have pointed out that the image bears resemblance to one by photographer Khánh Phan, aged 41. Phan’s version, taken in June 2024, was published in Lightroom World and acquired exclusively for two years for $2,500. From the camera angle and the concept to the arrangement of the subjects, the similarities are striking. Many people even notified Khánh Phan, assuming her image had been stolen or manipulated using artificial intelligence. However, Phan and many other photographers maintain that this is a coincidence and do not believe the author appropriated the idea. At this point, any claim to originality becomes untenable.

Tran Trong Khai, a photographer from Ho Chi Minh City, stated that the person in the photograph is Mr. Muoi, a local fisherman. He specializes —indeed, makes a living from— recreating scenes of net retrieval, wearing a reddish-orange shirt, for photography tours. He has performed the same gesture —holding a fish up to his eyes— thousands of times for numerous groups of photographers. Khai himself has photographed Mr. Muoi on two occasions, most recently in 2023. However, lacking the appropriate lens, he was only able to capture net-retrieval scenes, not portraits. No prizes. No recognition.

According to Mr. Khai, in recent years photography-focused travel has experienced a surge, attracting many foreign tourists. “In these kinds of sessions, countless photographs with similar ideas are produced because many people point their cameras from the same angle. Some edit them and submit them to competitions, and if they are lucky, they win a prize. I believe that, in this situation, no one is stealing anyone else’s idea,” Mr. Khai concludes, with a trace of resignation.

About the competition

The London Camera Exchange Photographer of the Year (LCE POTY) is an annual photography competition organized by the British company London Camera Exchange. It is not an institutional award in the sense of a museum or academy, but rather a commercial competition within the sector, highly popular in the United Kingdom. It privileges images of immediate impact —legible, visually appealing— prioritizing communicative efficiency over conceptual density. It is relevant for active photographers, yet remains distant from the curatorial and institutional sphere of contemporary art.

LCE POTY operates through an open annual call with online submission —typically fee-based per image— organized across multiple thematic categories (travel, landscape, portrait, street, wildlife, creative). Each photograph competes within a specific field. Works are evaluated by a jury with a professional rather than academic profile, weighing composition, technique, originality, visual impact, and narrative clarity. Category winners are then selected, along with an overall winner whose prize consists primarily of credits and benefits tied to the commercial ecosystem of London Camera Exchange.

The award is further reinforced through broad digital dissemination and, occasionally, an exhibition.