Out of the over 122,000 entries received from 170 countries, the Sony World Photography Awards has now shortlisted a few hundreds incredible entries in their prestigious photo competition. The highest number of submissions to date, the competition was fierce as judges had to select those photographs that stood out the most for their impressive high quality, originality and modern appeal.
The entries were divided into three distinct categories – professional, open and student. From there, the photos were separated into categories depending on subject matter like architecture, nature and wildlife, and travel. All shortlisted photographers will have their photos exhibited at Somerset House in London, from April 26 to May 12. The winner in the professional photographers category will receive a $25,000 cash prize while the open photographer winner will be awarded $5,000.
Today, we've rounded up 20 of the shortlisted photos in both the professional and open amateur categories. While the open competition grand prize winner will be announced on March 19 and the the professional competition winner on April 25, these fantastic photos, in their own unique way, are already winners to us.
Open Competition/Arts and Culture. Photo by Anurag Kumar.
Professional Competition/Contemporary Issues/Finalist. Photo by Daesung Lee.
Professional Competition/Landscape/Shortlist. Photo by Kechun Zhang.
Open Competition/Travel. Photo by Maciej Makowski.
Open Competition/Panoramic. Photo by Pawel Uchorczak.
Professional Competition/Sport/Finalist. Photo by Adam Pretty.
Professional Competition/Campaign/Finalist. Photo by Christian Aslund.
Open Competition/Panoramic. Photo by Florian Breuer.
Open Competition/Nature & Wildlife. Photo by Hoang Hiep Nguyen.
Professional Competition/Nature & Wildlife/Finalist. Photo by Hudson Garcia.
Professional Competition/Sports/Shortlist. Photo by Rob van Thienen.
Professional Competition/Landscape/Finalist. Photo by Nenad Saljic.
Professional Competition/Travel/Shortlist. Photo by Agurtxane Concellon.
Open Competition/Travel. Photo by Nathan Willis.
Professional Competition/Travel/Shortlist. Photo by Mehmet Karaca.
Professional Competition/Travel/Shortlist. Photo by Val Proudkii.
Professional Competition/Campaign/Finalist. Photo by Scout Tufankjian.
Open Competition/Architecture. Photo by Peter Mysticdidge Plorin.
Open Competition/Nature & Wildife. Photo by Frederick van Heerden.
Open Competition/Low Light. Photo by Elmar Akhmetov.
