In its very successful second year, Px3 received thousands of extremely high-quality entries. Entries were judged by category: Advertising, Photojournalism, Book, Fine Art, Nature, and Portraiture, all which contain various sub-categories. Px3 asked each judge to use the same criteria when reviewing the photographs: originality, creativity, excellence of execution, and overall impact. View the full list of jury members at Px3.fr

The winner of the most coveted public recognition, the Px3 Photographer of the Year, is professional photographer Balasz Gardi of Hungary. Gardi is being recognized in particular for his photograph titled "The Valley."

The recipient of the Best New Talent Award is Ryan Schude of Los Angeles. Schude is being awarded for the overall quality of submissions in several categories, although primarily for his entry titled "The Saturn."

The photographs of the Px3 Photographer of the Year, the Best New Talent Award winner, plus the 1st and 2nd place winners in each major category will be exhibited at the prestigious Galerie Acte 2 in Paris from June 26 - June 28 and published in the Px3 Annual Book.

The exhibition in Paris will be attended by leading photography editors, print and online press, publishers, curators, gallery owners, agents, consultants, creative directors and art buyers and art directors from across the globe.

1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners from both the professional and non-professional categories receive a Px3 certificate, personalized press release, and a Px3 winner's logo for professional purposes. Honorable Mention recipients will be publicly announced within one week.

"I was extremely impressed with the quality of the photographs submitted. Considering Px3 is only in its second year, the overall excellence of work submitted was really outstanding," says Px3 founder Hossein Farmani, who is president and founder of the Lucie Awards and also Focus on AIDS, a highly regarded charity auction of photography that benefits AIDS research and educational organizations around the world.