2021 SONY WORLD PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS

2021-04-19 - For more information about the winners and to see all the shortlisted images in both the 2021 Open and Professional competitions go to www.worldlphoto.org. www.worldlphoto.org The 2022 competition will be open for entries shortly.

The world’s biggest photography awards again attracted a huge number of entries – from all over the world – to its four main competition sections. The winning images in each of the Open competition’s 10 categories are accompanied here by a selection of the finalists.

The 14th running of the Sony World Photography Awards received over 330,000 entries from photographers in 220 countries and territories. The Awards are split into four sections – Open, Professional, Student and Youth – with 10 categories in the Open and Professional competitions. Each category winner receives the latest digital imaging equipment from Sony and also competes for the prestigious Open Photographer Of The Year title, which has a US$5,000 prize. This announcement will be made after this issue has gone to press, but here are the 10 Open category winners – who do you think might win the big prize? This year’s

Open competition was judged by Gastón Deleau, Director of FOLA in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

ARCHITECTURE 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 (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 (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 (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 (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 AND WILDLIFE 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 (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 (Russian Federation)

For Son, featuring a young child sitting gazing into space, lost in contemplation. The photograph shows another side to childhood, one of calmness and reflection.

STREET PHOTOGRAPHY F. Dilek Uyar (Turkey)

For Disinfection, a cinematic image documenting an employee of the Health Affairs unit of the Ankara municipality in protective gear walking along the train platform while spraying it with disinfectant.

TRAVEL 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 in 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.

 Foggy Morning

Fishing by

Min Min Zaw (Myanmar). Shortlisted in the Open – Travel category, 2021 Sony World Photography Awards.

 Urban Animal by Dimpy Bhalotia (India). Shortlisted in the Open – Street Photography category, 2021 Sony World Photography Awards.