Sony World Photography Awards 2021 winners announced

The World Photography Organisation has recently announced this year’s category winners and shortlist in the Open competition of the Sony World Photography Awards 2021. The competition recognised the best single images from 2020.

Over 100 photographers were shortlisted in the 2021 competition alongside the ten category winners which appear below. Each winner receives the latest digital imaging equipment from Sony and will go on to compete for the title of Open Photographer of the Year and the US$5,000 first prize.

Australia boasted three photographers in the shortlists of the various categories: Nara O'Neil (Creative), Brad Walls (Motion, Lifestyle), and Scott Portelli (Landscape).

Category winners

Architecture

© Klaus Lenzen.
© Klaus Lenzen.

Klaus Lenzen (Germany) for The Blue Window, depicting a ramp of stairs at the Hyatt hotel in Düsseldorf ascending towards a window from which a view of clear blue skies is reflected. Seemingly floating in space, the stairs and window are framed in dark shadows that highlight the design while also adding an element of surrealism.

Creative

© Tamary Kudita.
© Tamary Kudita.

Tamary Kudita (Zimbabwe) for African Victorian, a portrait of a young black woman dressed in Victorian dress and holding traditional Shona cooking utensils. The image probes at stereotypical contextualising of the black female body and offers an alternative visual language through which a multifaceted African identity is presented.

Landscape

© Juan López Ruiz.
© Juan López Ruiz.

Juan López Ruiz (Spain) for Electric Storm on Lavender, a dramatic photograph capturing the moment lighting strikes a flowering field of lavender with a solitary tree at its centre, set against a dusky evening sky. Taken in the province of Guadalajara, Spain.

Lifestyle

© Mariano Belmar Torrecilla.
© Mariano Belmar Torrecilla.

Mariano Belmar Torrecilla (Spain) for Dias de playa, a softly focused picture of two women enjoying a morning walk on the beach in Alicante, Spain.

Motion

© Marijo Maduna.
© Marijo Maduna.

Marijo Maduna (Croatia) for Girl Power, a black & white photograph recording the moment when a woman dives off a cliff on the island of Lokrum near Dubrovnik, Croatia, while her friends stand by and watch.

Natural world & wildlife

© Cristo Pihlamäe.
© Cristo Pihlamäe.

Cristo Pihlamäe (Estonia) for Little Kiss, an amusing picture of a hare looking out into the field with its tongue sticking out.

Object

© Kata Zih.
© Kata Zih.

Kata Zih (Hungary) for Memento, depicting a tailor’s mannequin in an empty room. For Zih, the stillness of the scene evokes a feeling of solitude and stirs up memories of lockdown.

Portraiture

© Lyudmila Sabanina.
© Lyudmila Sabanina.

Lyudmila Sabanina (Russian Federation) for Son, featuring a young child sitting on a table while gazing into space, lost in contemplation. The photograph shows another side to childhood, one of calmness and reflection.

Street photography

© F. Dilek Uyar.
© F. Dilek Uyar.

Dilek Uyar (Turkey) for Disinfection, a cinematic image documenting an employee of the Health Affairs unit of Ankara Municipality in protective gear walking along the train platform while spraying it with disinfectant.

Travel

© Khanh Phan.
© Khanh Phan.

Khanh Phan (Vietnam) for Drying Fish, a photograph of a lone woman surrounded by hundreds of trays of drying fish in the Long Hai fish market in Ba Ria -Vung Tau, Vietnam. Taken from above the pattern, of the fish in trays resembles a large piece of fabric with the woman seemingly weaving it all together.

Left to Right from top row.:© Zeng Jinwen, China Mainland, Shortlist, Open competition, Portraiture, Sony World Photography Awards 2021. © Yukihito Ono, Japan, Shortlist, Open competition, Travel, Sony World Photography Awards 2021. © Brad Walls, Australia, Shortlist, Open competition, Lifestyle, Sony World Photography Awards 2021. © Manuel Schmidt, Germany, Shortlist, Open competition, Object, Sony World Photography Awards 2021. © Jarod Mauws, Belgium, Shortlist, Open competition, Creative, Sony World Photography Awards 2021. © Alexis Guevara, Mexico, Shortlist, Open competition, Travel, Sony World Photography Awards 2021. © Medvedev Vitaly Viktorovich, Russian Federation, Shortlist, Open competition, Architecture, Sony World Photography Awards 2021. © Steve Chandler, United Kingdom, Shortlist, Open competition, Object, Sony World Photography Awards 2021. © Mary Nhoileen Maypa, Philippines, Shortlist, Open competition, Motion, Sony World Photography Awards 2021.
Left to Right from top row.:© Zeng Jinwen, China Mainland, Shortlist, Open competition, Portraiture, Sony World Photography Awards 2021. © Yukihito Ono, Japan, Shortlist, Open competition, Travel, Sony World Photography Awards 2021. © Brad Walls, Australia, Shortlist, Open competition, Lifestyle, Sony World Photography Awards 2021. © Manuel Schmidt, Germany, Shortlist, Open competition, Object, Sony World Photography Awards 2021. © Jarod Mauws, Belgium, Shortlist, Open competition, Creative, Sony World Photography Awards 2021. © Alexis Guevara, Mexico, Shortlist, Open competition, Travel, Sony World Photography Awards 2021. © Medvedev Vitaly Viktorovich, Russian Federation, Shortlist, Open competition, Architecture, Sony World Photography Awards 2021. © Steve Chandler, United Kingdom, Shortlist, Open competition, Object, Sony World Photography Awards 2021. © Mary Nhoileen Maypa, Philippines, Shortlist, Open competition, Motion, Sony World Photography Awards 2021.

The overall winners of the Open, Professional, Student, and Youth competition of the Sony World Photography Awards 2021 will be announced on the 15 April 2021 via the World Photography Organisation’s digital and video platforms.

 

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