The World Photography Organization is delighted to announce this year’s category winners and shortlist in the Open competition of the Sony World Photography Awards 2021, recognizing the best single images from 2020.
Over 100 photographers were shortlisted in the 2021 competition alongside ten category winners. Each winner receives the latest digital imaging equipment from Sony to develop their vision and will go on to compete for the prestigious Open Photographer of the Year title and a $5,000 (USD) 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 from the 15th April.
The ten category winners are:
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 contextualizing 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 center, 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 & 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.
This year’s Open competition was judged by Gastón Deleau, Director, FOLA, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The overall winners of the Open, Professional, Student and Youth competition of the Sony World Photography Awards 2021 will be announced on the 15 April 2021 via the World Photography Organization’s digital and video platforms. For more information about winners and shortlists please visit www.worldlphoto.org
OPEN COMPETITION 2021 FINALISTS AND SHORTLIST
ARCHITECTURE
Category Winner:
Klaus Lenzen, Germany
Shortlist:
Farshid Ahmadpour, Islamic Republic of Iran
Abdulla Al-Mushaifri, Oman
Steffen Ebert, Germany
Simone Hutsch, Germany
Vytenis Jankūnas, United States
Klaus Lenzen, Germany
Kunkun Liu, China Mainland
Aleksandr Lefler, Russian Federation
Jordan McChesney, Canada
Vitaly Medvedev, Russian Federation
Da Miane, Georgia
Jose Pessoa Neto, Portugal
Holger Ostwald, Germany
Ashwani Sarda, India
CREATIVE
Category Winner:
Tamary Kudita, Zimbabwe
Shortlist:
Edita Bízová, Czech Republic
Tatenda Chidora, Zimbabwe
Maximilien Diaz, France
Vyacheslav Ivanov, Russian Federation
Ali Jamshidi,, Islamic Republic of Iran
Joosep Kivimäe, Estonia
Angiolo Manetti, Italy
Jarod Mauws, Belgium
Alireza Movahedi, Islamic Republic of Iran
Hoije Nuuter, Estonia
Nara O’Neil, Australia
Jing Shen, China Mainland
Georgе Shpuntov, Russian Federation
Kylli Sparre, Estonia
LANDSCAPE
Category Winner:
Juan López Ruiz, Spain
Shortlist:
Luca Donegani, Italy
Kevin Frank, Switzerland
Jinjing Lyu, China Mainland
Joaquin Marco, Spain
Andrea Ortiz Diaz, Colombia
Mehdi Parsaeian Islamic Republic of Iran
Lorenzo Poli, Italy
Scott Portelli, Australia
James Rushforth, United Kingdom
Hans Kristian Strand, Norway
Markus Wiedmann, Germany
Parker Yost, United States
LIFESTYLE
Category Winner:
Mariano Belmar, Spain
Shortlist:
Antonino Barone, Italy
Isabela Teresa Basilio Neri, Brazil
Gemma Brunton, United Kingdom
Holger Bücker, Germany
Stefano Butturini, Italy
Aimee Glucina, New Zealand
Michail Karagiannis, Greece
Hamed Rahmati, Islamic Republic of Iran
Alexey Tsiler, Russian Federation
Brad Walls, Australia
MOTION
Category Winner:
Marijo Maduna, Croatia
Shortlist:
Sandi Bertoncelj, Slovenia
Hersley-Ven Casero, The Philippines
Serkan Çolak, Turkey
Tadiwanashe Murowe, Zimbabwe
Mary Nhoileen Maypa, The Philippines
Ruud Peters, The Netherlands
Daniel Portch, United Kingdom
Zdeněk Vošický, Czech Republic
Brad Walls, Australia
Xianshe Ye, China Mainland
NATURAL WORLD & WILDLIFE
Category Winner:
Cristo Pihlamäe, Estonia
Shortlist:
Thoedoros Apeiranthitis, Greece
Hin Man Au, Hong Kong
Amish Chhagan, Zambia
Yuta Doto, Japan
Arturo de Frias, Spain
Tatyana Nemova, Russian Federation
Alex Pansier, The Netherlands
Alexandre Pietra, Switzerland
Mati Puum, Estonia
Inger Rønnenfelt, Denmark
Koki Shinoda, Japan
Andrew Suryono, Indonesia
PORTRAITURE
Category Winner:
Lyudmila Sabanina, Russian Federation
Shortlist:
Frederic Aranda, United Kingdom
Shirsendu Banerjee, India
Paul Benns, United Kingdom
Bella von Einsiedel, Germany
Reinis Fjodorovs, Latvia
Sabbir Hossen, Bangladesh
Zeng Jinwen, China Mainland
Heun Jung Kim, South Korea
Justin Keene, United Kingdom
King Mtambisi,, South Africa
Rhianna Payne, United Kingdom
Jose Pessoa Neto, Portugal
Elif Öztürk, Turkey
Mireia Vilaplana, United Arab Emirates
OBJECT
Category Winner:
Kata Zih, Hungary
Shortlist:
Steve Chandler, United Kingdom
Christian Holz, Argentina
Uwe Langmann, Germany
Klaus Lenzen, Germany
Agata Mroczek, Poland
Paolo Paccagnella, Italy
Stefan Pankow, United Kingdom
Ann Petruckevitch, United Kingdom
Manuel Schmidt, Germany
Masumi Shiohara, Japan
STREET PHOTOGRAPHY
Category Winner:
F.Dilek Uyar, Turkey
Shortlist:
Dina Alfasi, Israel
Dimpy Bhalotia, India
David Keith Brown, United States
Gary Cummins, Ireland
Ramunas Danisevicius, Lithuania
Basu Deb, India
Tommaso Galli, Italy
Vytenis Jankūnas, United States
Ares Jonekson, Indonesia
Bartlomiej Jurecki, Poland
Tomasz Kowalski, Poland
Francesco Saverio Lopazio, Italy
Zhang Weijian, China Mainland
Soemyint Winn, Myanmar
TRAVEL
Category Winner:
Khanh Phan, Vietnam
Shortlist:
Marios Forsos, Greece
Alexis Guevara, Mexico
Graeme Haunholter, Canada
Martina Lo Casto, Italy
Rune Mattsson, Norway
Hiroki Nose, Japan
Yukihito Ono, Japan
Franz Sußbauer, Germany
F.Dilek Uyar, Turkey
Min Min Zaw, Myanmar
IMAGES AVAILABLE AT WORLDPHOTO.ORG/PRESS
