© Andrej Tarfila, Slovenia/2016 Sony World Photography Awards

The is the famous Goðafoss in wintertime. Clear blue/green water and ice everywhere.© Markus van Hauten, Germany/2016 Sony World Photography Awards

It's Easter, and after a large celebratory meal, a moment's peace is an opportunity for a nap. The youngest member of the Nawrot family, having none of it, climbs onto the sofa and prepares to wake 'Dziadzia Jacek' (his grandfather). This brief moment before jumping on his grandfather's legs is one of pure joy.© Alex Ingle, UK/2016 Sony World Photography Awards

The season of a firefly comes around in Japan at the beginning of a rainy season. This firefly is a species called Luciola parvula, and repeats blink. [Hime-HOTARU] Call a firefly in Japan. This species flies in the beautiful forest. In particular, the firefly in bamboo forest is valuable. The population of these firefly decreases every year in Japan. These may be influence by environmental destruction. This picture was taken under a little moonlight.© Kei Nomiyama, Japan/2016 Sony World Photography Awards

Planned Obsolescence© Pedro Diaz Molins, Spain/2016 Sony World Photography Awards

Lantern Store in Hoi An Vietnam© Swee Choo Oh, Malaysia/2016 Sony World Photography Awards

The winning shots – plucked from more than 100,000 entries – included one by a Briton, Alex Ingle from Scotland.

A Sony World Photography Awards spokesperson said: ‘The scale of competition faced by each of the 13 winners was incredible, even more so as many of the winners are simply photography enthusiasts, not professionals in the industry.

‘The winners are from around the world and the youngest [Anais Stupka from Italy] is just 12 years old.’

Chair of the judging panel Jael Marschner added: ‘The variety of categories in the Open competition allows for an unrestricted scope of subjects, giving way to an array of photography styles and techniques, which made my job very enjoyable.

‘The quality of photography was outstanding, and I had a harder time than I ever imagined picking my favourites.’

The Open category was open to photographers of all abilities, while the Youth section sought images by people aged 12–19.

World Photography Organisation CEO Scott Gray said: ‘Nurturing and supporting photographers is at the heart of the Sony World Photography Awards. Nowhere is this more clear than in the Open and Youth competitions, both of which focus on identifying and promoting amateur and enthusiast photographers.’

Marschner continued: ‘Judging such remarkable photographs against each other was a wonderful yet almost impossible task. Hopefully you will enjoy the winners’ work as much as I have.’

The overall winner will be announced in London on 21 April.

The winners:
OPEN COMPETITION
• Architecture – Filip Wolak, Poland
• Arts & Culture – Swee Choo Oh, Malaysia
• Enhanced – Pedro Díaz Molins, Spain
• Low Light – Kei Nomiyama, Japan
• Nature & Wildlife – Michaela Šmídová, Czech Republic
• Panoramic – Markus van Hauten, Germany
• People – Alexandre Meneghini, Brazil
• Smile – Alex Ingle, Scotland
• Split Second – Chaiyot Chanyam, Thailand
• Travel – Andrej Tarfila, Slovenia

YOUTH COMPETITION
• Culture – Sepehr Jamshidi Fard, Iran (age 17)
• Environment – Anais Stupka, Italy (age 12)
• Portraits – Sam Delaware, United States (age 18)

It was one of those brisk wintery days in March 2015. Everyone was already tired of the long and tough winter here in the north east. Amazed by how clear the day was I took my Cessna above New York's restricted airspace, which gave me a full freedom to roam. The winds were quite strong that day with no haze and unlimited visibility. With a bit of planning (and luck) I was able to capture perfect shadow alignment along the avenues - I had only one chance to capture - they were shifting fast.© Filip Wolak, Poland/2016 Sony World Photography Awards

A polar bear enjoying his bath.© Michaela Smidova, Czech Republic/2016 Sony World Photography Awards