Sony World Photography Awards Announces Stunning 2021 Contest Category Winners
Sony World Photography Awards is one of the contests that always brings us lots of magnificent photos. The World Photography Organisation that stands behind it has just announced this year’s category winners and shortlist in the Open competition. And as always, it’s a selection of amazing images.
The contest recognizes winners in ten categories, and over 100 photographers were selected as shortlisted. Each winner receives Sony gear and competes further for the Open Photographer of the Year title and a $5,000 reward.
Category winner, open competition, street photography. 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. (Photo by F. Dilek Uyar/Sony World Photography Awards)
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Category winner, open competition, creative. 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. (Photo by Tamary Kudita/Sony World Photography Awards)
Category winner, open competition, travel. 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. (Photo by Khanh Phan/Sony World Photography Awards)
Shortlist, open competition, street photography. Night in Pandemic Time, taken at the Pondok Ranggon Cemetery, Jakarta, late one afternoon. The funeral officers were having a break, watching videos on their smartphones and chatting with their families. (Photo by Ares Jonekson Saragi/Sony World Photography Awards)
Category winner, open competition, portraiture. 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. (Photo by Lyudmila Sabanina/Sony World Photography Awards)
Shortlist, open competition, travel. An algae called dunaliella salina gives Lake Tuz in Ankara its pink colour in summer – it can be quite surreal. On the edge of the lake is an old fountain where the shepherds occasionally bring their herds during the day, before returning to their grazing. (Photo by F. Dilek Uyar/Sony World Photography Awards)
Category winner, open competition, object. 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. (Photo by Kata Zih/Sony World Photography Awards)
Shortlist, open competition, object. Wild Garden – garden plants used to make photograms, exposing them in sunlight on to Ilford Ilfobrom Galerie FB black-and-white photographic paper. The photographer combined the resulting photograms digitally, in order to produce this ethereal floral image that gives the effect of a wild garden. (Photo by Ann Petruckevitch/Sony World Photography Awards)
Category winner, open competition, lifestyle. Dias de playa, a softly focused picture of two women enjoying a morning walk on the beach in Alicante, Spain. (Photo by Mariano Belmar Torrecilla/Sony World Photography Awards)
Shortlist, open competition, natural world and wildlife. Hello World – an ant looking through an autumn leaf in a forest near the photographer’s home. “I like the tones of this autumn leaf. So warm. It was hard to take this image because of the fast-moving ant, but with a little help of a flashlight I was able to freeze the motion”. (Photo by Alex Pansier/Sony World Photography Awards)
Category winner, open competition, natural world and wildlife. Little Kiss, an amusing picture of a hare looking out into the field with its tongue sticking out. (Photo by Cristo Pihlamäe/Sony World Photography Awards)
Shortlist, open competition, landscape. I know I’m not alone. On the way to seek the best view at Mount Gongga in Sichuan province, China. (Photo by Jinjing Lyu/Sony World Photography Awards)
Shortlist, open competition, motion. Storm Ciara at Newhaven, East Sussex. (Photo by Dan Portch/Sony World Photography Awards)
Shortlist, open competition, lifestyle. After Show – ballet backstage. (Photo by Alexey Tsiler/Sony World Photography Awards)
Shortlist, open competition, motion. Light Athletics. The first element was the black-and-white shot, which makes the lines of the tracks stand out and suppresses any distractions. The final image was edited in Photoshop. (Photo by Zdeněk Vošický/Sony World Photography Awards)
Shortlist, open competition, lifestyle. Healing Vibes – the hot springs of Bagno Vignoni in Italy flow out at a temperature of about 49°C. They were appreciated by the Romans for their healing powers, and have been used as therapeutic treatments since the 12th century, under Emperor Federico II. (Photo by Stefano Butturini/Sony World Photography Awards)
Shortlist, open competition, creative. Illusion – in a situation where man thinks only of construction and objects, for self-knowledge, he can only resort to the imaginary. (Photo by Alireza Movahedi/Sony World Photography Awards)
Category winner, open competition, landscape. Electric Storm on Lavender, a dramatic photograph capturing the moment lightning 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. (Photo by Juan Lopez Ruiz/Sony World Photography Awards)
Shortlist, open competition, architecture. Memorable Buildings – these buildings were once full of joy and happiness. Until about 15 years ago, travellers making their way to Lake Urmia in Iran could rest and enjoy this place. Now, since the salt lake of Urmia has dried up, they lie abandoned. (Photo by Farshid Ahmadpour/Sony World Photography Awards)
Category winner, open competition, architecture. The Blue Window, depicting a ramp of stairs at the Hyatt hotel in Düsseldorf, Germany, 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. (Photo by Klaus Lenzen/Sony World Photography Awards)
Category winner, open competition, motion. Girl Power, a black-and-white photograph recording the moment when a woman dives off a cliff on the island of Lokrum near Dubrovnik, Croatia, while her friends stand and watch. (Photo by Marijo Maduna/Sony World Photography Awards)
Shortlist, open competition, portraiture. Asylum seekers who had travelled to Turkey’s northwestern Edirne province from Istanbul and many other Turkish cities as they wait for humanitarian aid near a buffer zone between the Kastanies and Pazarkule border gates. They were hoping that Greece would open the border gate. More than 3,000 people camped in this woodland for a month. (Photo by Elif Öztürk/Sony World Photography Awards)
National Award Winner. Two young girls in traditional Indonesian garb, took out the country’s national award. (Photo by Hardijanto Budyman/Sony World Photography Awards)
Shortlist, Open competition, Landscape. The Neowise Comet pass overhead at Stonehenge in the United Kingdom. (Photo by James Rushforth/Sony World Photography Awards)
Shortlist, open competition, creative. Espoir – made at the Château du Vieux Mareuil in France, this image is part of a series called Calypso. (Photo by Maximilien Diaz/Sony World Photography Awards)