“Ordinary moments carry universal stories.” This photograph is proof that award-winning images can be created from everyday, boring moments

A man in a yellow shirt sits at a table, head resting on his hand, looking bored. Behind him, two others play ping pong in a dimly lit, worn-out room.

Breathtaking, awe-inspiring, and outright life-changing – these traits have become normalized and somewhat expected from photos in an age of social media demanding bigger and better, and digital cameras capable of rendering scenes in ridiculous clarity.

But when I look at the photo that recently won the One Shot Portrait category of the Travel Photographer of the Year (TPOTY) 2025, I forget all about the mind-blowing, semi-unreal shots I saw this morning on Instagram and become instantly engrossed in the overwhelming normality of the scene.