The World Photography Organisation is pleased to announce the category winners and shortlist in the Open competition of the Sony World Photography Awards 2022, recognising the best single shots from 2021.

Over 170,000 images were entered to this year’s Open competition, with over 100 photographers shortlisted in addition to the ten category winners. Each winner receives digital imaging equipment from Sony and will go on to compete for the prestigious Open Photographer of the Year title and a $5,000 (USD) prize.

The overall winner of the Open competition will be announced on the 12 April. Selected work by winners and shortlisted entries will be exhibited as part of the Sony World Photography Awards at Somerset House from 13 April-2 May 2022.

The ten category winners are:

ARCHITECTURE

Anthony Chan (Hong Kong) for Old Meets New, a black and white photograph depicting the chaotic façade of a weathered industrial complex, juxtaposed with the stylish front entrance of a skyscraper. The image highlights a clash between the past and the present in Hong Kong by contrasting the co-existence of old and new developments.

CREATIVE

Isabel Salmon (United Kingdom) for Untitled, in which the photographer documents her mother’s experiences with chronic vertigo and dizziness. In this portrait Salmon explores the senses; shooting her Mother with her eyes closed in a stark red light, head titled as if trying to find balance.

LANDSCAPE

Vicente Ansola (Spain) for Exodus, an evocative image of a field of wilted sunflowers dried out by the beating sun in Castilla León. The photographer’s imagination was caught by the proud stature of the flowers, recalling for him the rural past of Spain, and the women who worked the arid fields of Castilla.

LIFESTYLE    

Utsab Ahamed Akash (Bangladesh) for The Honey Collector, capturing a honey collector from below as they inspect a tray of honeycomb. A typical countryside scene in Bangladesh, honey collectors place bees’ nests near mustard fields and collect the honey in winter.

MOTION

Raido Nurk (Estonia) for Surfing festival, a shot of a stormy day of surfing in the Hague, the Netherlands. The stark silhouettes of surfers stand out against the grey waves and driving rain.

NATURAL WORLD & WILDLIFE

Scott Wilson (United Kingdom) for Anger Management, a dramatic black and white photograph of a wild mustang stallion, bowing its head as it kicks up a dust storm in northwest Colorado, United States.

OBJECT

Leonardo Reyes-González (Mexico) for Segundo Uso (Second Use) II, a still-life of discarded objects. Assembled together against a blue wall, a balanced broken hat stand and a three-legged chair take on a new elegance.

PORTRAITURE

Simone Corallini (Italy) for The Endless Summer – Surf Trip, a black and white portrait of 16-year-old surfer Simone Gentile. Corallini captures Simone fresh from the sea, with beads of water running down his cheeks.

STREET PHOTOGRAPHY

Etienne Souchon (France) for Havana Running Away, a photograph showing a split-second moment as a child runs across a street in Havana, Cuba, turning to look behind him at a car blocking the road. The black and white format, crumbling building facades and vintage car give the image the appearance of a classic street scene.

TRAVEL

Nguyen Phuc Thanh, Vietnam (Vietnam) for Bike with Flowers, an image depicting a traditional flower street seller cycling  in Hanoi, Vietnam. The bike has been shot just as it passes a wall bursting with flower decorations, giving the appearance that they are spilling from the rider’s baskets.

This year’s Open competition was judged by Hideko Kataoka, Director of Photography at Newsweek Japan.

Commenting on the judging Hideko Kataoka says: ‘‘I enjoyed judging this wide variety of categories from Object to Street Photography. Creativity and originality were very important in choosing a winning image and it was terrific to see the excitement and joy of the photographers when they captured the moment. The photographs in this competition each make a coherent visual statement about a situation or particular circumstance in an elegant visual way. As can be seen in many images in the shortlist this year, black and white photography holds a special place in the hearts of many photographers. The simplicity of black and white has the power to distil the content of an image, and direct the viewer’s attention to the subject.’’

The overall winners in the Student, Youth, Open and Professional competition of the Sony World Photography Awards 2022 will be announced on the 12 April 2022 and will go on display as part of the exhibition at Somerset House, London from 13 April-2 May 2022. For more information about winners and shortlists please visit www.worldphoto.org

OPEN COMPETITION 2022 CATEGORY WINNERS AND SHORTLIST

ARCHITECTURE: Category Winner: Anthony Chan, Hong Kong Shortlist: Bryan Field, United Kingdom Francesca Sciambarruto, Italy Gerhard Hucke, Germany Giulio Casti, Italy Günter Kleber, Germany Junming Chen, China Mainland Khanh Le Viet, Vietnam Klaudia Chwastek, Poland Klaus Lenzen, Germany Marcus Ek, Norway Muhammad Najib Bin Abdul Rahman, Singapore Ute-Christa Scherhag, Germany Wonyoung Choi, Republic of Korea Zeynep Demirhan, Turkey	CREATIVE: Category Winner: Isabel Salmon, United Kingdom Shortlist: Abbas Valadi, Islamic Republic of Iran Caleb Nii Odartey Aryee, Ghana Clair Robins, United Kingdom Gemma Pepper, United Kingdom Hanna Lisava, Germany Isabel Salmon, United Kingdom Jacek Orzeł, Poland Pierre Portolano, France Ryan Rogers, United States Sawamaru Pokiru, Japan Shabnam Maleki, Islamic Republic of Iran Valentina Cipriany, Venezuela Vanessa Fairfax-Woods & Henry Woide, United Kingdom	LANDSCAPE: Category Winner: Vicente Ansola, Spain Shortlist: Anargyros Dekavallas, Greece Cigdem Ayyildiz, Turkey Fernando Famiani, Italy Hal Gage, United States Julien Visse, France Luis Manuel Vilariño Lopez, Spain Manuel Schmidt, Germany Marko From, Finland Martin Morávek, Czech Republic Muzaffer Murat İlhan, Turkey Olivier Vauguin, France Peter Leyer, Hungary Stuart Chape, Australia Tim Hodges, United Kingdom   NATURAL WORLD & WILDLIFE:
LIFESTYLE: Category Winner: Utsab Ahamed Akash, Bangladesh Shortlist: Catherine Falls, United Kingdom Daniela Jaime Díaz, Colombia Davide Agostini, Italy Haikun Liang, China Mainland Hend Wahdan, Egypt Ivo Kiapes, Slovakia Kantaya New, Singapore Kishor Shrestha, Nepal Marina Lattanzi, Argentina Osman Maasoglu, Turkey Roni Süslü, Turkey Txema Lacunza Nasterra, Spain   OBJECT: Category Winner: Leonardo Reyes-González, Mexico Shortlist: Aleksandra Garbarczyk, Poland Andre Boto, Portugal Holger Bücker, Germany Jonas Strandberg, Sweden Klaus Lenzen, Germany Marina Tsaregorodtseva, United Kingdom Martin Rawle, United Kingdom Maryia Sapego, Belarus Masumi Shiohara, Japan Paolo Paccagnella, Italy           TRAVEL: Category Winner: Thanh Nguyen Phuc, Vietnam Shortlist: Alessandro Accordini, Italy Ashok Gidwani, India Claudia Magnani, Italy Darshan Ganapathy, India Eduard Gutescu, Romania François Philippe, France Hong Nguyen, Vietnam Huu Binh Nguyen, Vietnam Ioan Maga, Romania Milad Nalbandiyan, Islamic Republic of Iran Saravut Whanset, Thailand Sujon Adikary, Bangladesh Yang Shu, China Mainland Yawar Abbas, Pakistan	MOTION: Category Winner: Raido Nurk, Estonia Shortlist: Caroline Kearsley, United Kingdom Chin Leong Teo, Singapore Christine Abel, United States Hiroki Nose, Japan Isabela Eseverri, Venezuela Izabela Lyson, Poland Joachim Kiner, Germany Oscar Seguel, Chile Samiran Chakraborty, Bangladesh Shiloh Garcia, Mexico Tomohiko Funai, Japan Yiming Yang, China Mainland Zhenhuan Zhou, China Mainland   PORTRAITURE: Category Winner: Simone Corallini, Italy Shortlist: Davide Limonta, Italy Elaine Klein, Israel Francesco Fantini, Italy Maria Gutu, Moldova Matthew Brown, South Africa Olga Urbanek, Poland Owen Harvey, United Kingdom Siavosh Ejlali, Islamic Republic of Iran Simon Murphy, United Kingdom Tom Barnes, United Kingdom Wagner Pena, Brazil	Category Winner: Scott Wilson, United Kingdom Shortlist: Albert Beukhof, Netherlands Amish Chhagan, Zambia Antonio Coelho, Portugal Brice Tribollet, Switzerland Dinorah Graue, Mexico Ewa Jermakowicz, Poland James Crombie, Ireland Jessica Mohn, Germany Liqiang Ma, China Mainland Martyn Harris, United Kingdom Memo Gómez, Colombia Raquel Inés Correa Chiesa, Spain Thomas Barry, Ireland Tiho Trichkov, United States STREET PHOTOGRAPHY: Category Winner: Etienne Souchon, France Shortlist: Assaf Sharon, Israel Beatrice Collado Orive, Spain Davide Bonaldo, Italy Elias Sarquis, Argentina Emre Çakmak, Turkey Jonathan White, United Kingdom Juan Cruz Olivieri, Argentina Li Ting, Taiwan Ludovic Le Guyader, France Miguel Angel Mínguez Corella, Spain Nina TBerg, Germany Seyed Ali, Islamic Republic of Iran Shun Wang, China Mainland

IMAGES AVAILABLE AT WORLDPHOTO.ORG/PRESS 

PRESS CONTACTS

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Inbal Mizrahi / Polly Brock on press@worldphoto.org

NOTES TO EDITORS

ABOUT SONY WORLD PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS

Established by the World Photography Organisation, the internationally acclaimed Sony World Photography Awards is one of the most important fixtures in the global photographic calendar. Now in its 15th year, the free-to-enter Awards are a global voice for photography, providing a vital insight into contemporary photography and offering leading and emerging artists world-class opportunities for exposure of their work. The Awards additionally recognises the world’s most influential artists working in the medium through the Outstanding Contribution to Photography; the acclaimed Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky is the 2022 recipient of this award joining a distinguished list of iconic names including Martin Parr, William Eggleston, Candida Hofer, Nadav Kander, Gerhard Steidl, Graciela Iturbide. The Awards showcase the works of winning and shortlisted photographers at a prestigious annual exhibition at Somerset House, London. worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards-exhibition . Our hashtags to follow are #sonyworldphotographyawards #swpa #swpanews.

 

ABOUT WORLD PHOTOGRAPHY ORGANISATION

The World Photography Organisation is a leading global platform dedicated to the development and advancement of photographic culture. Our programming and competition initiatives provide valuable opportunities for artists working in photography and help broaden the conversation around their work. Through our fairs we play a key role in driving the growth of the contemporary art market for photo-based art and deepening audience engagement with the medium. The World Photography Organisation’s portfolio includes: the Sony World Photography Awards, one of the world’s biggest photography competitions, PHOTOFAIRS Shanghai the leading fair in Asia Pacific dedicated to photo-based and digital artworks and Photo London the international fair held annually at Somerset House, London. www.worldphoto.org

 

IMAGE CREDITS

LEFT TO RIGHT BY ROW:

© Gerhard Hucke, Germany, Shortlist, Open competition, Architecture, Sony World Photography Awards 2022

© Shabnam Maleki Islamic Republic of Iran, Shortlist, Open competition, Creative, Sony World Photography Awards 2022

© Sawamaru Pokiru, Japan, Shortlist, Open competition, Creative, Sony World Photography Awards 2022

© Cigdem Ayyildiz, Turkey, Shortlist, Open competition, Landscape, 2022 Sony World Photography Awards

© Seyed Ali Hoseinifar, Islamic Republic of Iran, Shortlist, Open competition, Street Photography, Sony World Photography Awards 2022

© Manuel Schmidt, Germany, Shortlist, Open competition, Landscape, Sony World Photography Awards 2022

© Hanna Lisava, Germany, Shortlist, Open competition, Creative, Sony World Photography Awards 2022

© Christine Abel, United States, Shortlist, Open competition, Motion, Sony World Photography Awards 2022

© Olga Urbanek, Poland, Shortlist, Open competition, Portraiture, Sony World Photography Awards 2022

© Jacek Orzeł, Poland, Shortlist, Open competition, Creative, Sony World Photography Awards 2022

© Hong Nguyen, Vietnam, Shortlist, Open competition, Travel, Sony World Photography Awards 2022

© Sujon Adikary, Bangladesh, Shortlist, Open competition, Travel, Sony World Photography Awards 2022

© Nguyen Phuc Thanh, Vietnam, Winner, Open competition, Travel, Sony World Photography Awards 2022

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