Another World. "The photo was taken in Lofoten Islands, Norway during my trip in March. Clouds were very dramatic when I was shooting. It began heavy raining just after I finished shooting. Five images stitched in Photoshop." © Jingshu Zhu, Australia, Commended, Open, Enhanced, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards.
Tabular iceberg. "On our way to the 66 parallel south - in Antarctica - we are discovering a recent iceberg graveyard. A massive part (as large as a US state) of the Ice Shelf broke down few years ago due to global warming, displaying a splendid, but scary visual. Those icebergs are about 100 feet tall from the sea level, transporting big amount of fresh water, waiting to be dissolved in the ocean. The scene was magnificent, but also incredibly scary." © Josselin Cornou, France, Shortlist, Open, Nature, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards.
"This was taken off the back of my jetski at a wave here on Western Australia's South Coast. Water draws off a shallow reef shelf creating backwash which collides with an oncoming wave, exploding into a golden flare in the soft morning light." © Gordon Becker, Australia, Commended, Open, Nature, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards.
Dreaming of becoming the first muslim hijabi ballerina in the world. Stephanie Kurlow,14, practices ballet in her backyard in suburban area of Sydney Australia. She is dreaming of becoming the first muslim hijabi ballerina in the world. © Edwina Pickles, Australia, Commended, Open, Motion, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards.
Masong. The 'Masong' (those who invite the spirits of the gods to possess their bodies) are rewarded by the nine gods by leaving few scars and drawing little blood despite the gruesome administered body modification. A variety of rituals are performed at the temple so the gods can inhibit their bodies and they can practice by impaling the cheek, tongue and body piercings with 'little pain' or scarification. © Giselle Natassia, Australia, Commended, Open, Culture, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards.
'Superman' - Gael Monfils dives at Australian Open 2016. "I was commissioned by Reuters to cover the 2016 Australian Open Tennis Tournament in Melbourne. On this day I was positioned on the 'Catwalk' which is high above the stands, and looks directly down onto the court. Gael Monfils from France was in action in his fourth round match when he dived horizontally off the ground in a desperate bid to get to a ball hit by his opponent Andrey Kuznetsov. The spectacular action of Monfils diving combined with the clean background and nice light made for a memorable sequence of images." © Jason O'Brien, Australia, Shortlist, Professional, Sport, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards.
The Little Bullfighters of Mexico. Salvador, aged 6, sits on his bed as he waits to depart for the afternoon bullfight, in Plaza Mexico. Two 6-year-old boys, Salvador and Tadeo attend Matador training school in Mexico City. Since the age of 5 they have been “toreros”, or trainee bullfighters, training for four hours each Saturday and Sunday morning to learning the craft of bullfighting. © Christina Simons, Iceland, Shortlist, Professional, Daily Life, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards.
Eleven Twenty. Chrissie, a multiple sclerosis sufferer, a colourful vibrant non conformist who swept past me in a riot of colour at my local coffee shop, who was not afraid to reveal her true character in her twilight years! That takes courage to march to a different drum! I had to meet this woman to find out more and what was behind the colourful persona.This photographic studio shoot was taken in Sydney, Australia in October 2016. © Prue Platt-Hepworth, Australia, Commended, Open, Portraits, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards.
Remission. Tayla photographed her mother outside the Wagga Wagga Hospital to recreate her memory of collecting her mother from the hospital earlier this year after she had been told that her cancer was in remission. Whilst the photograph may not at first appear like the happy memory that it was, for both Tayla and her mum it was an emotionally charged moment. Tayla feels that her mother's expression still retains much of the trauma of the experience that she had been through, but also reveals a kind of bemused disbelief that she has been given the all clear. © Tayla Martin, Australia, Shortlist, Student Focus, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards.
Take My Hand! A tiny hawksbill turtle backlit by the setting sun as it swims out to sea moments after hatching at Lissenung Island PNG. Shooting slow-sync flash brought the image to life by giving it a 3D effect. © Matty Smith, Australia, Commended, Open, Wildlife, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards.

Australians in top 10 for Sony World Photography Awards

1 March 2017

Sony has revealed the shortlists for the 2017 Sony World Photography Awards' Professional, Open, Youth, and Student Focus categories.

This year, two Australian photographers are on the shortlist for their categories, putting them in the top 10, while eight have placed in the top 50 for their respective categories. In 2017, a total of 227,596 images from 183 countries were submitted. The overall winners of the Sony World Photography Awards 2017 will be revealed on 20 April, 2017.

Tabular iceberg. "On our way to the 66 parallel south - in Antarctica - we are discovering a recent iceberg graveyard. A massive part (as large as a US state) of the Ice Shelf broke down few years ago due to global warming, displaying a splendid, but scary visual. Those icebergs are about 100 feet tall from the sea level, transporting big amount of fresh water, waiting to be dissolved in the ocean. The scene was magnificent, but also incredibly scary."
© Josselin Cornou, France, Shortlist, Open, Nature, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards.

Queensland photographer, Jason O'Brien was shortlisted in the Sport category of the Professional competition, while Tayla Martin, from Nyngan, New South Wales, was shortlisted for a single image in the Memories category of the Student Focus competition.

O’Brien’s shortlisted series, Superman - Gael Monfils dives at Australian Open 2016, captures the unpredictable nature and incredible motion of one of the photographer’s favorite tennis players, Gael Monfils. The series was captured during the Australian Open tennis tournament in January 2016 for Reuters.

Dreaming of becoming the first muslim hijabi ballerina in the world. Stephanie Kurlow,14, practices ballet in her backyard in suburban area of Sydney Australia. She is dreaming of becoming the first muslim hijabi ballerina in the world.
© Edwina Pickles, Australia, Commended, Open, Motion, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards. — Dreaming of becoming the first muslim hijabi ballerina in the world. Stephanie Kurlow,14, practices ballet in her backyard in suburban area of Sydney Australia. She is dreaming of becoming the first muslim hijabi ballerina in the world. © Edwina Pickles, Australia, Commended, Open, Motion, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards.

Also, shortlisted in the Daily Life category of the Professional competition was the Icelandic photographer Christina Simons, based in Australia, and French photographer, Josselin Cornou, who’s based in Sydney, was shortlisted in the Nature category of the Open competition.

Shortlisted Australian photographers

Jason O'Brien, Professional Sport category

Jason O’Brien, currently based in Pottsville Beach, Australia, has covered top global sporting events, including the Olympic Games, Tennis Grand Slams and Rugby World Cups. After working as staff photographer for Sports Photo Agency Action Images in London, he moved back to Australia in 2006, where he continues to cover major local and international sporting events. He also contributes to big national publications, such as The Australian and Sydney's Daily Telegraph.

'Superman' - Gael Monfils dives at Australian Open 2016. "I was commissioned by Reuters to cover the 2016 Australian Open Tennis Tournament in Melbourne. On this day I was positioned on the 'Catwalk' which is high above the stands, and looks directly down onto the court. Gael Monfils from France was in action in his fourth round match when he dived horizontally off the ground in a desperate bid to get to a ball hit by his opponent Andrey Kuznetsov. The spectacular action of Monfils diving combined with the clean background and nice light made for a memorable sequence of images." © Jason O'Brien, Australia, Shortlist, Professional, Sport, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards.

Tayla Martin, Student Focus

Tayla Martin,aged 21 and a student at Charles Sturt University, grew up in Nyngan, a remote community in regional Australia. She moved to Wagga Wagga at the age of 18 to study a Bachelor of Creative Arts and Design (Photography and Graphic Design double degree). Now at her final year, she is planning to continue her studies at a postgraduate level, with a focus on advocating for photography and the creative arts in regional Australia.

Remission. Tayla photographed her mother outside the Wagga Wagga Hospital to recreate her memory of collecting her mother from the hospital earlier this year after she had been told that her cancer was in remission. Whilst the photograph may not at first appear like the happy memory that it was, for both Tayla and her mum it was an emotionally charged moment. Tayla feels that her mother's expression still retains much of the trauma of the experience that she had been through, but also reveals a kind of bemused disbelief that she has been given the all clear.
© Tayla Martin, Australia, Shortlist, Student Focus, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards. — Remission. Tayla photographed her mother outside the Wagga Wagga Hospital to recreate her memory of collecting her mother from the hospital earlier this year after she had been told that her cancer was in remission. Whilst the photograph may not at first appear like the happy memory that it was, for both Tayla and her mum it was an emotionally charged moment. Tayla feels that her mother's expression still retains much of the trauma of the experience that she had been through, but also reveals a kind of bemused disbelief that she has been given the all clear. © Tayla Martin, Australia, Shortlist, Student Focus, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards.

Further commendations

The judges of the Sony World Photography Awards also commended eight Australian photographers in the awards’ Open competition. The photographers below placed top 50 in the world for their images.

Alberto Monte Rego, Enhanced category
Ben Plummer, Nature category
Edwina Pickles, Motion category
Giselle Natassia, commended twice in Culture category
Gordon Becker, Nature category
Jingshu Zhu, Enhanced category
Matty Smith, Wildlife category
Prue Platt-Hepworth, Portraits category

Another World. "The photo was taken in Lofoten Islands, Norway during my trip in March. Clouds were very dramatic when I was shooting. It began heavy raining just after I finished shooting. Five images stitched in Photoshop." © Jingshu Zhu, Australia, Commended, Open, Enhanced, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards.

A full list of 2017 judges, appears here.

Sony World Photography Awards

Take My Hand! A tiny hawksbill turtle backlit by the setting sun as it swims out to sea moments after hatching at Lissenung Island PNG. Shooting slow-sync flash brought the image to life by giving it a 3D effect.
© Matty Smith, Australia, Commended, Open, Wildlife, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards.