This year, the Sony World Photography Awards entered their 16th year. “A total of more than 415,000 images from more than two hundred countries and territories were submitted this year. In the Open part of the competition, the jury evaluated well over 200,000 photos,” said organizers from the World Photography Organization.
The open part of the competition, called Open, is intended for all photographers, regardless of whether they are amateurs or professionals. Ten winners of individual categories are already known and one of them will receive the Open Photographer of the Year title at the announcement ceremony in London on April 13.
The winners of the ten Open categories are:
- Architecture: Mark Benham (UK)
- Travel: Max Vere-Hodge (UK)
- Country: Giorgos Rousopoulos (Greece)
- Creative Photography: Boris Eldagsen (Germany)
- Lifestyle: Azim Khan Ronnie (Bangladéš)
- Object: Mieke Douglas (Netherlands)
- Movement: Zhenhuan Zhou (China)
- Portrait: Sukhy Hullait (UK)
- Nature and Animals: Dinorah Graue Obscura (Mexico)
- Street photography: Andreas Mikonauschke (Germany)
The competition has several components. One of them is aimed at professional photographers and evaluates a series of images. It is referred to as Professional. The next one is called Open, and as the name suggests, it’s open to everyone (it’s a competition with individual images). In addition, junior photographers and students of photography schools are evaluated separately in the competition.
However, only ten winners of individual categories in the professional part of the competition can fight for absolute victory and the title of photographer of the year. They are also announced at a ceremony in London on the red carpet, i.e. in a similar way as it is when prestigious film or music awards are presented.
Unlike World Press Photo, the World Photo Awards are focused on all photographic genres, not just photojournalism. Sometimes they are somewhat simplistically compared to the photographic equivalent of the film Oscars.
This year, the ceremonial announcement of the winners will take place on April 13, traditionally in London. The award-winning photographs will then be exhibited in the Somerset House gallery from 14 April to 1 May.
