Robby Ogilvie's best phone picture from Bo-Kaap

Edinburgh native Robby Ogilvie was visiting South Africa. He had spent the first week in and around Kruger national park, photographing the culture, landscapes and wildlife, before moving on to Cape Town. Along with a friend from South Africa, Ogilvie visited the neighbourhood of Bo-Kaap, an area known for its brightly coloured houses and a rich and complex history.

There was a real feeling of community and many of the houses felt like open studios where artists had taken over spaces to exhibit and sell their work. Ogilvie didn’t know it at the time, but the Ford Cortina in the shot is a familiar feature of the area and is known affectionately as Cortie.

"As soon as I saw it, I knew the image. I could see how it would sit within the frame and how the colours, the road and the deep uninterrupted blue of the sky, would hold the composition," he says. The shot is the winner of the Object category in the Sony world photography awards 2026.

South Africa, Bo-Kaap, Cape Town

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