“Spirit of Yartung” © Ajay Maharjan, Nepal, Winner, National Awards
A rider charges forward with intensity and grace during the Yartung Festival in Manang, Nepal. This vibrant celebration of tradition and skill reveals the deep bond between horse and rider in the high Himalayas.
The Sony World Photography Awards is a competition recognizing the best photographic talent from across the globe. Run by the World Photography Organization, it puts on multiple competitions and has recently announced the winners and shortlisted photographers of its 2026 National and Regional Awards.
The special recognition is part of a program set up by Sony and Creo Arts to support local photographic communities. The winners were chosen from the Open, Professional, and Student competitions, from which there were many. For the 2026 competition, there were 430,000 images entered from over 200 countries and territories.
Within the Professional competition, there are three location-specific awards available. One is the Latin America Professional Award, which celebrates work produced within the region. This year, Citlali Fabian of Mexico won first place for Bilha, Stories of my Sisters. The series blends portraits and digital illustrations to tell stories of inspiring women in southern Mexico, as part of a collaboration among activists and artists from Indigenous communities in the region.
The India National Award was new for 2026. It recognizes outstanding series by Indian photographers entering the Professional Competition. The inaugural winner is Avijit Ghosh for Keeper of Mangroves, a poignant collection highlighting the conservation efforts of “tiger widows” in Dayapur, India. There, women who have lost their husbands to tiger attacks are helping restore the tiger’s ecosystems to try to soothe the conflict with the big cats.
Japan has its own award, aptly titled the Japan National Award. This year’s winner is Hayate Kurisu for his series titled Living Photographs. It documents the experience of the photographer and his wife following the devastating loss of a child due to stillbirth and the grief that comes with it.
The National and Regional Awards winners will be on view at the Sony World Photography Awards exhibition at Somerset House in London from April 17 to May 4, 2026. Scroll down to see a selection of the winners. Then, check out the entire gallery on the Sony World Photography Awards website.
The Sony World Photography Awards is a competition recognizing the best photographic talent from across the globe.
“Yasnaya Elena Aguilar” © Citlali Fabian, Mexico, Winner, Latin America Professional Award
Growing up without role models can make it difficult to dream or recognise one’s ability to shape the future. This photographic series seeks to create a precedent through collaboration with activists and artists from various Indigenous communities in southern Mexico, particularly from Oaxaca state. Their stories offer a glimpse into the world we are living in, and how their roles and work are generating meaningful impact and change in their communities and beyond. This project is intended to be published as a children’s book, with digital illustrations made by the photographer.
“Living Photographs” © Hayate Kurisu, Japan, Winner, Japan National Award
My wife and I lost our child to stillbirth at 18 weeks of pregnancy. In the days leading up to the cremation we spent time together at home, during which time I took many photographs. In contemporary society, photographs are easily shared, generated and consumed, and with the rise of social media and artificial intelligence, the meaning of photography as a medium continues to shift. However, pressing the shutter in front of my child brought a renewed awareness of photography’s fundamental qualities — its relationship to time and to the body. These photographs were not taken for the purpose of record or explanation. They are made simply to face the time that undeniably existed in that place. For me, looking at these photographs is an act of reaffirming the sensation of being alive.
“Keeper of Mangroves” © Avijit Ghosh, India, Winner, India National Award
The Sundarbans are the only mangrove habitat for tigers, yet the area faces severe threats from rising sea levels, cyclones and climate change. These pressures have pushed tigers closer to people, increasing incidents of human-tiger conflicts that lead to fatalities. Women who lose their husbands to tiger attacks are called ‘tiger widows. In the village of Dayapur, India, the tiger widows have taken the initiative in conservation by collecting seeds, nurturing mangroves, and planting them along the riverbanks. Their efforts restore ecosystems, reduce conflict and honor the memory of loved ones lost in the forest.
Run by the World Photography Organization, it puts on multiple competitions and has recently announced the winners and shortlisted photographers of its 2026 National and Regional Awards.
“Mongolian Kazakh” © Jargalsaikhan Bayarkhand, Mongolia, Winner, National Awards
Many Kazakhs migrated to western Mongolia in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, preserving their customs, nomadic lifestyle and traditional clothing. Despite differences with other ethnic groups of the Mongolian steppe, they are hardy and welcoming people.
“Rest” © Nakheon Choi, Korea, Republic Of, 3rd Place, National Awards
Cheonggyecheon in Seoul, South Korea, is a sanctuary for workers in the concrete jungle. When the stream finally opened for the first time in 20 years, people cast aside their urban restraint and embraced the raw, healing power of the water.
The winners were chosen from the Open, Professional, and Student competitions, from which there were many. For the 2026 competition, there were 430,000 images entered from over 200 countries and territories.
“Bodies of Water” © Johan Garrido Rivera, Ecuador, Shortlist, Latin America Regional Awards
This photograph presents an intimate act of communion with water, the source that nourishes life. Memory and the present merge, reminding the viewer that within its depths lies the force that sustains the land.
“Adrift in the Sea of Weeds” © Hieu Linh Nguyen, Vietnam, Winner, National Awards
Photographed from above, a small boat drifts through dense underwater vegetation, surrounded by shifting currents and light. The image reflects the fragility of human presence within a vast, living seascape.
“Lady of the Lake” © Meshaal Alawadhi, Kuwait, Winner, National Awards
Photographed at Lake Bled, Slovenia, this image features three of the area’s iconic buildings: the Church of the Assumption, the Bled Castle and St. Martin’s Parish Church.
Within the Professional competition, there are three location-specific awards available. One is the Latin America Professional Award, which celebrates work produced within the region.
“Harbour Market” © Mohamed Nageeb, Qatar, Winner, National Awards
This photograph captures the harmony and rhythm of daily life, highlighting the energy and vibrancy of a beachside market.
“Fishing Together” © Kyaw Zayar Lin, Myanmar, Winner, National Awards
The wetland area of Myanmar’s Inle Lake is rich with trees and fish, providing a livelihood for local communities. This photograph shows children fishing in the early morning.
The India National Award was new for 2026. It recognizes outstanding series by Indian photographers.
“Penda” © Camila Gattamelati, Chile, Shortlist, Latin America Regional Awards
Photographed in an open field in Costa Brava, this portrait captures its subject in a quiet moment. Something in her gaze caught the photographer’s attention, and the exposure was made at the brief, striking moment when their eyes met.
“Dawn Over the Wetlands” © Lahiru Iddamalgoda, Sri Lanka, Winner, National Awards
Taken in the east of Sri Lanka at dawn, this aerial photograph presents a calm moment of daily life, as a herd of buffalo cross a shallow lagoon.
Japan also has its own award, aptly titled the Japan National Award.
“Twilight” © Muhammad Asmar Hussain, Pakistan, Winner, National Awards
A cold morning in the Katpana Desert in Skardu. The first light of day pierces the blue hour.
“Untitled” © Sergio Vila, Peru, Shortlist, Latin America Regional Awards
Inti Raymi is an important annual celebration in Andean culture that takes place on 24 June in Cusco, Peru. Dance plays a central and symbolic role, representing the worship of the sun (Inti) and the renewal of the agricultural cycle, capturing the connection with nature.
The National and Regional Awards winners will be on view at the Sony World Photography Awards exhibition at Somerset House in London from April 17 to May 4, 2026.
“Happiness Seller” © Yousef Naser, Egypt, Winner, National Awards
A ‘happiness seller’ waits for worshippers to leave the mosque after Eid prayers in Old Cairo, Egypt.
“Hermanas” © Livier Miroslava Ultreras, Mexico, 2nd Place, Latin America Regional Awards
This photograph pays homage to the Chicano style, the Virgin Mary and Frida Kahlo’s painting The Two Fridas.
“The Eye: Window to the Soul” © Chung Cheong Wong, Singapore, Winner, National Awards
Blakiston’s fish owl is a nocturnal bird of prey that relies on its keen hearing and sight for hunting. This carefully timed photograph captures one of the owl’s eyes, revealed through its flight feathers.
“Stealth” © Greg du Toit, South Africa, Winner, National Awards
A solitary leopard descends a fallen tree in Botswana’s Okavango Delta, its silhouette merging with the vast, moody sky. Captured from a distance, the image evokes the predator’s grace, and the untamed freedom of its wild home.
“Yolanda” © María Candelaria Rivera, Nicaragua, Shortlist, Latin America Regional Awards
Yolanda is a photographic series born from the photographer’s encounter with a domestic worker of the same name. Through intimate, direct portraits it seeks to reveal the strength and dignity that sustain Yolanda’s days, reflecting both her own life and that of many women in Latin America who support other households while carrying their own dreams and struggles.
“Hunting Game” © Fabiana Fregonesi, Brazil, Shortlist, Latin America Regional Awards
A Galápagos sea lion swims through a dense school of black salema fish. Captured during a dive in the Galápagos Islands, the image reveals the predator’s agility against the fluid patterns of the fish, providing a raw look at the survival instincts, and the high-energy interactions that define this unique volcanic ecosystem.
