Sony World Photography Awards Reveals Shortlists

Less than two weeks after the World Press Photo winners were announced, the World Photography Organisation has put itself center stage with the release of the shortlists for its Professional, Open and Youth categories.

The world’s biggest photography competition got even bigger this year as the number of submissions grew by 24% compared to 2014.

Almost half of the photos were submitted to the Open categories where anyone can enter, reaffirming the general feeling that every second person today is a photographer, or as the press release referred to them – “the growing army of citizen photographers”.

Jokes aside, I’m happy to see so many non-professional submissions and so are the organizers who state the awards offer these photographers “unpreceded exposure and opportunity”.

If you’ve ever had to sort through a bunch of photos and choose a few favorites you know it can be a challenging task. Now imagine having to go through 173,444 photos…

There were 87,505 Professional entries, 79,264 Open entries and 6,675 Youth entries, showing that not all young people are glued to their mobile phones 24/7 (there’s a dedicated category for mobile phone cameras this year).

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 unpreceded 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”.

Without further ado, I present you an assortment of the shortlisted photos.

Berlin

Jump!

One of traditional attraction in Indonesia Culture called Bujang Ganong. He jumped into the circle of fire.

Ukraine, Maydan

Ukrainian protester plays piano on a barricade in front of the riot police line during the continuing protest in Kiev, Ukraine 10.02.2014

Ukraine. Kiev. Euromaidan

Anti-government protesters stand in line in Independence Square in downtown Kiev, Ukraine, 19 February 2014

Sister’s Grief

A woman crawls towards the body of her sister as Ebola burial team members take her for cremation on October 10, 2014 in Monrovia, Liberia. The woman had died outside her home earlier in the morning while trying to walk to a treatment center, according to her relatives. The burial of loved ones is important in Liberian culture, making the removal of infected bodies for cremation all the more traumatic for surviving family members.

These photographs were taken during two trips to Liberia, first in August and then October of 2014 to highlight the growing Ebola epidemic. On the first trip, there was little media presence in Liberia covering the crisis. The photographs were published widely in international media, and added a sense of urgency to the crisis, resulting in much greater international assistance to Liberia to combat the epidemic.

On the Tundra….

A Young Nenets boy plays in -40 degrees on Yamal in the Winter in Siberia.

Old Shepherd

An old shepherd that had been surprised by snow storm in Gilan’s countrysides in the north of Iran

When I Am Laid In Earth, 1

Mapping with a pyrograph, the melting away of the Lewis Glacier on Mt. Kenya.

Restricted Areas, 1

Blue Fields, 1

The images were shot from a light aircraft flying at between 4,000 & 5,000ft. The height was crucial in order to flatten perspective by using long focal lengths. Time of day and cloud cover were also critical, the abstract effect being heightened by complete lack of signifying shadow.

Couples in shower

Everland is the largest theme park in Korea. This is the open shower in Caribbean Bay.

Black days of Ukraine, 2

These pictures were taken in June and July near the city of Luhansk, Ukraine

Cat Mother, 2

Brick Makers, 1

Kids resting over bricks after breakfast. Nabadwip, West Bengal. April, 2014

Brick Makers, 2

Extracting bricks from oven. Nabadwip, West Bengal. April, 2014

Pelican Feeding

These pelicans are resident on the point at Port Vincent on the Yorke Peninsular in South Australia and have become as opportunistic as the seagulls waiting for fish offal. January 2014

Solar Portraits Myanmar 09

Construction workers dig a household latrine in Pa Dan Kho Village, Kayah State. Myanmar

caesar #19

Children born by incision

One Country More Culture 1

Malaysia is a multi cultured country. We have Chinese, Malaysian and Indian cultures, so living in Malaysia can mean very different experiences.

Underwater Grace 2

The photographer attempts to capture the underwater grace and juxtaposition of the synchronized swimming team trainings in Singapore.

Berlin on ice

It´s a sunday in february and one of the rare occasions, when the “Rummelsburger Bucht” in Berlin, a sidearm of the Spree river, is completely frozen. So people start to explore the new place and some even find an business opportunity selling grog.

The secondary trainer

Long time member of the gym, Rocky provides comfort and acceptance to the performer.

Animal Behaviour 02

In the series I have constructed still live images using cats. Animals have their own will and they will not pose at the behest of the photographer.

One hundred and forty centimetres, 1

1 in 700 babies are born with Down syndrome. Down syndrome is the most common chromosomal abnormality in new-borns. Specialists call it trisomy 21. Down syndrome is not a disease – it is not curable. People with Down syndrome have often physical and mental impairments that make them different from others. Since 2012 it has been possible to determine by means of non-invasive tests before birth whether a child will have Down’s syndrome, as necessary, initiate an abortion. The photo series “one hundred and forty centimetres” raises questions about our relationship with the stigma of “living with impairment,” and the technical possibilities to determine this even before birth.

Une Crise Humanitaire2

Gore, Tchad. 1er juin 2014. Chad/CAR refugees/ Gore hospital/Guidi Oumarou, 19, seats on a bed at Gore hospital where her 2 year-old son, Mama Sale, is being treated for acute malnutrition. They arrived in Chad four months ago after two weeks walking in the bush to escape violence in CAR. She was at the hospital in CAR when the rebels circled the hospital and she had to flee with her sick boy.

Then The Sky Crashed Down Upon Us 1

Savar, Dhaka – Bangladesh (April 2014) One year after the RanaPlaza tragedy still hundreds of people suffer from invisible, intangibles wounds. Trauma is a normal response to a disaster like this, but still too many people suffer panic attacks or memory losses, hear continuously mourning voices imploring help or even see dead workers laying beside them. Although I’m still alive, Rana Plaza changed the course of my life – says a survivor. His conditions are common to hundreds of victims and their relatives, who are still unable to recover physically and, especially, psychologically from the trauma.The tragedy and pain are far from over.

A Life Apart: The Toll of Obesity 2

By last June 2014, Hector Garcia Jr.’s weight was again nearing 500 pounds. After four knee surgeries, he needed to use a walker for support again and felt his knees were unstable. The Garcias often had trouble finding motorized scooters at stores, but found two for Garcia and his mother, Elena, on their grocery shopping trip.

Anna

Tooting Bec Lido, London

Lidos were perhaps at their most popular between the wars when people took their holidays here in England. Many of them were built in the 1930s or earlier and were naturally located on the English south coast, which was a favoured holiday destination for those living in London and the home counties. However there were many that were built in towns and cities to cope with the demand that once was and many of these remain. However, when the affordability of overseas holidays started to emerge in the 1960s many of these lidos fell into decline and have never recovered. Some have survived and have benefitted from investment and so have taken on a new lease of life as popularity has started increasing again. Most have been left to decay or lost under modern developments, such as Ramsgate’s once booming pool which is now under a car park. The ones remaining are desperately clinging on while campaigns are fought to save them from disappearing completely, relics of a lost golden age.

futuristic archaeology 03

Still 35% of Mongolians are living a nomadic life and depend on their land for survival. This is increasingly difficult due to serious changes: 25% of the Mongolianland has turned into desert in the past 30 years. Potentially 75 % of Mongolian territory is at risk of desertification. These environmental changes directly threaten the Mongolian nomadic way of life, which has been passed from generation to generation. This project attempts at recreating the museum diorama with actual people and their livestock in a real place where decertifying in Mongolia. It is based on an imagination that these people try to go into museum diorama for survival in the future. This is accomplished with printed images on a billboard placed in conjunction with the actual landscape horizon. I hope to accomplish a sense that the lives of these nomadic people occur between this reality and a virtual space of a museum. Mongolian traditional nomadic lifestyle might be existed only in museum in the future.

This photo might seem familiar to DIYP readers as we covered Lee’s outstanding series last month.

If you’d like to see all the shortlisted photos, head on over to the Professional, Open or Youth categories.

The Open and Youth category winners will be announced on March 31, 2015.

The Professional, Open, Studen and Youth Photographer of the Year will be announced on April 23rd, 2015 along with the Professional category winners.