The World Photography Organisation has announced this year’s category winners and shortlist in the Open competition of the Sony World Photography Awards 2021, recognising the best single images from 2020.
Over 100 photographers were shortlisted in the 2021 competition alongside 10 category winners. Each winner receives Sony camera prizes and will go on to compete for the Open Photographer of the Year title with a $5,000 reward.
The overall Open winner will be announced on the 15th April. Winning and shortlisted work will be presented in the form of a virtual exhibition available to view via the World Photography Organisation website. also from the 15th April.
The ten category winners, with comments from the judges, are as follows:
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 on a table while 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 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, 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.”
For more information about winners and shortlists, visit the website
