Last Updated on January 13, 2019
The Sony World Photography Awards, the ten-year partnership between Sony and the World Photography Association, announced the winners of the Open competition. There were more than 227,000 entries from 183 countries for this year’s event, with over 105,000 photos submitted for the Open competition alone.
The Open Competition received submissions for ten categories: architecture, culture, enhanced, motion, nature, portraits, still life, street photography, travel, and wildlife. Of the more than 100,000 entries, only one winner was selected for each category.
“Submerged field” by Camilo Diaz of Colombia won the top prize in the Motion category. The black and white image shows the Colombia women’s national team “fighting together for ultimate position,” according to Diaz.
Other winners in the Open Competition include:
- Tim Cornbill, UK – Architecture
- Jianguo Gong, China – Culture
- Lise Johansson, Demark – Enhanced
- Hiroshi Tanita, Japan – Nature
- Alexander Vinogradov, Russian Federation – Portraits
- Sergey Dibtsev, Russia – Still Life
- Constantinos Sofikitis, Greece – Street Photography
- Ralph Gräf, Germany – Travel
- Alessandra Meniconzi, Switzerland – Wildlife
Top prize getters for the National Awards, a part of the Open Competition, were also announced. Entries for the Open Competition are automatically added to the National Awards, which honors the best photograph from a participating country. A total of 66 countries participated a winner was picked from each.
The Sony World Photography Awards is comprised of four competitions:
- Professional – also features 10 categories like the Open Competition but this contest is judged on a body of work; photographers send in a minimum of five and a maximum of 10 photographs
- Open – open to photographers of all backgrounds and experience levels
- Youth – for photographers aged 12 to 19
- Student Focus – for those studying photography
All the winning photos will be part of the Sony World Photography Awards & Martin Parr exhibition at the Somerset House in London from April 21 to May 7, 2017. The exhibition will also feature the shortlisted and commended images. A selection of images from British documentary photographer Martin Parr will also be showcased.
The Sony World Photography Awards will be accepting entries for the 2018 competition beginning June 1, 2017.