The 2015 edition of the Sony World Photography Awards announced the shortlists for its Professional, Open and Youth categories.
Recognizing and rewarding the world’s best contemporary photography from the last year, the 2015 competition received the highest number of entries in its eight year history – 173,444 images from 171 countries – and a 24% increase on 2014.
Speaking about the shortlisted images, Astrid Merget Motsenigos, Creative Director of the World Photography Organisation and organizer of the awards said:
“The sole purpose of the Sony World Photography Awards is to celebrate and appreciate the talented artists working in the photographic industry. Once again, the shortlist demonstrates the vibrancy, diversity and skill of both today’s established photographers and, as importantly, the growing army of citizen photographers for whom the awards offer unprecedented exposure and opportunity.
“The record number of entries gave our expert panel of judges a monumental task but we are incredibly proud to present to you a shortlist which truly showcases some of the world’s best photography.”
The shortlisted photographers for all categories are listed below and names included are both new and familiar to the competition. Those recognised again by the awards include: Peter Franck (Germany); Donald Webber (Canada); Amit Madheshiya (India); Brent Stirton (South Africa); Simon Norfolk (UK), Fan Li (China) and Massimo Siragusa (Italy). New names include Julia Fullerton-Batten (UK) and Sebastian Gil Miranda (France).
Those in the awards’ Professional categories will now compete for a $25,000 prize and the coveted L’Iris d’Or/ Photographer of the Year title. The recipient, along with the winners of the Professional categories, overall Youth and Student winners plus the Open Photographer of the Year, who receives a $5,000 prize, will all be announced at the Sony World Photography Awards Gala Ceremony on Thursday 23 April. All winners will receive the latest digital imaging equipment from Sony.
The winning and shortlisted images will go on show at Somerset House, London from 24 April – 10 May and published in the 2015 edition of the Sony World Photography Awards book. The images will be printed by theprintspace, WPO’s Official Exhibition Printer. The exhibition will also include an intimate display of still images, books and films by Elliott Erwitt, recipient of the Outstanding Contribution to Photography award.
Here is a selection of the best shortlisted images:
PixelPluck Photography Tutorials, Guides, News and Updates
