The winners of the 2014 iPhone Photography Awards (IPPAWARDS) have been announced, and the grand prize winner is Julio Lucas of Bradenton, Florida. He receives the IPPA Photographer of the Year Award title one of three iPad Airs given to the top three photos. The winners include 43 photographers from 17 different countries on 5 continents.

artnet News finds the winning photos quite impressive—they are definitely a step or two above the typical selfie or that #foodporn photo of last night’s dinner, no matter how much you enjoyed that photogenically greasy hamburger.

Michael O’Neal (San Francisco), 1st Place Animals.

The competition rules are simple: As long as it’s been taken with an iPhone, iPad, or iPod, the photo is eligible. No Photoshopping or editing of the photos is allowed, unless you’ve used an iPhone app, which means Instagram filters are A-OK. Photos are evaluated for their artistic merit, originality, subject, and style.

Awards are presented to the top three images in the following categories: animals, abstract, architecture, children, flowers, food, landscape, lifestyle, nature, news/events, panorama, people, portrait, seasons, still life, sunset, travel, trees, and others. The top entry in each category gets a gold bar, allegedly from “the most recognizable private gold mint in the world.”

The APPAWARDS have been held annually since 2007, with thousands of photographers from over 70 countries participating.

Felicia Pandola (Providence, Rhode Island), 1st Place Nature.

Aaron Pike, (San Francisco), 1st Place Trees.

Gerard Collett (London),
1st Place News/Events.

Jill Missner (Ridgefield, Connecticut), 3rd Place Photographer of the Year.

Melisa Barrilli (York, Ontario), 3rd Place Children.

Julio Lucas (Bradenton, Florida), 1st Place Photographer of the Year.

Edward Adams (Pebworth, Warwickshire, UK), 3rd Place Sunset.

Cocu Liu (Chicago), 2nd Place Trees.