Lovely swallows are waiting for mother to come back to feed.Fan Chen, China / Sony World Photography Awards, Open, Wildlife
A portrait shot through the glass of a café in New Julfa, Isfahan, Iran. I took it in March of 2016 when I was visiting Isfahan along with some old and new friends. We decided to explore the New Julfa district (where the majority of Armenians in Isfahan reside), and after almost an hour, we went to a café around the corner to rest. That was when I decided to take her portrait, and asked her to grab a chair and come sit in front of the glass window.Saeid Moridi, Iran / Sony World Photography Awards, Open, Portrait
I set up a last minute photo shoot in my small apartment, while dog-sitting my sister's Italian Greyhound, Maximus. He wouldn't sit still so I bribed him with treats and captured this shot of him chewing.Stacey Anguiano Cain, United States / Sony World Photography Awards, Open, Motion
A very cold and clear winter morning in the Bavarian Alps (Germany). Allgau mountains and famous Neuschwanstein Castle are covered with fresh snow and make the landscape looking like in a fairytale. I tried to find an unusual viewpoint of the Castle with the snow covered mountains in the background. The Image should let you feel the icy temperature. A big challenge was the wide dynamic range of sunlight and shadows - perfect for my Sony A7RII.Achim Thomae, Germany / Sony World Photography Awards, Open, Travel
Paraschiva is an 76 years old woman from Bukovina, Romania. Every day she reads prayers without wearing glasses. Also there is no electricity in the house. This image was taken in May, 2015.Radu Dumitrescu Elian, Romania / Sony World Photography Awards, Open, Culture
This picture was taken in February in Nagano-ken at an altitude of about 1,700 m. In Japan, February is the coldest season in a year. Diamond dust can be seen only a few times during cold season. So,it took 4 years to make this work since I started taking diamond dust. Orange circle is diamond dust. Diamond dust usually looks white, but it turns into orange just for the morning sunrise. I expressed the diamond dust as a silent forest fairy. Adjusting contrast and tilt to get closer to my image.Masayasu Sakuma, Japan / Sony World Photography Contest, Open, Nature
Girl in weightlessness holding a ball, among many others. The child represents gentleness and fragility. Associated with the ball, expressing the lightness, it is the word innocence that is symbolized. For this image, time would be synonymous with gravity. In Grenoble South-East of France, April 9, 2016.Alex Andriesi, Romania / Sony World Photography Awards, Open, Enhanced
The reflection of the tree on the woman hair in the mid town.Tavepong Pratoomwong, Thailand / Sony World Photography Awards, Open, Street Photography
Night on Awaji IslandWilson Lee, Hong Kong / Sony World Photography Awards, Open, Still Life
With a record number of entries, the Sony World Photography Awards committee announced this week the shortlist for the 10th annual competition — and the impressive selection of worldwide shots is enough to make anyone get the travel itch.
The 2017 contest saw 227,596 entries, the most images submitted since the annual contest launched in 2007. “There was a truly global reach to the Sony World Photography Awards judging this year — the images were more diverse and broad ranging than I have ever seen before,” said Zelda Cheatle, chair of the professional jury and a curator from the United Kingdom. “In its 10th year, I can confidently say that the Sony World Photography Awards and the fine art of photography are doing extremely well.”
The contest is divided into three different divisions: Professional, open, and youth. Each division includes 10 shortlisted photographers and 50 commended artists in several individual categories, including wildlife, culture, and street photography. The final winners will be announced on April 20.
Photographers from 183 different countries submitted work and the narrowing short list makes represents 49 countries, with the most recognized images coming from Italy, Germany, the U.K., China, and Russia. This year’s competition saw a significant increase in the entries from a number of areas, including China (70 percent), Myanmar (183 percent), Vietnam (108 percent), and the Philippines (71 percent).
Another contest stat points to growth in photography — the youth division had 56 percent more entries than the previous year.
“This year, more than any other, the entries to the Sony World Photography Awards have shown great integrity and are characterized by their considered approach,” said Scott Gray, CEO of the contest’s founder, the World Photography Organization. “Beautiful works of photographic art, not snapshots, have been presented to the judges and I am delighted to see that our esteemed juries have chosen to reward the pure skill, artistic interpretation and thoughtfulness of the photographer, rather than simply the subject matter the photographer has captured.”
The panel of judges will continue narrowing down the shortlist to select a final winner for the $25,000 cash prize and several smaller prizes in April. The entire gallery of short listed photographers — including shots beyond the OPen category featured here — is available at the Sony Photography Awards website.
