Competitions
Prize-winning inspiration
Fire up your creative mindset by studying successful images from prestigious photo competitions the world over. This month, we highlight winners spanning the open category of the Sony World Photography Awards 2023
N atural world & wildlife: Dinorah Graue Obscura, Mexico Mighty Pair, a classy black & white portrait taken during an outing to south Texas. It features two crested caracara birds standing still and looking out beyond the camera in the same direction, as if posing for the photographer. O bject: Mieke Douglas, Netherlands All is not as it seems in Recycled – a shot of flower-like plastic bags and tulle arranged as a bouquet. Douglas placed gift wrapping on an office scanner for these works. P ortraiture: Sukhy Hullait, UK Charlie, a centre-frame portrait of a young teenager who, along with his friends, decided to turn an abandoned pub car park into a skatepark when most of them were closed during the pandemic. S treet photography: Andreas Mikonauschke, Germany Exhausted, an evocative black & white portrait of men at the point of collapse. The traditional Easter processions of Semana Santa in Andalusia see these volunteers carrying heavy biblical statues on vast wooden frames in a procession through their town. T ravel: Max Vere-Hodge, UK Ghosts, a dramatic black & white photograph of the Mundari tribe of South Sudan, appearing among the nightly fires they light to keep tsetse flies and mosquitoes off their beloved Ankole-Watusi cows. The overall winner of the open category is due to be announced at the awards ceremony in London later this month. A selection of winners and shortlisted images will be displayed at the Sony World Photography Awards exhibition at Somerset House from 14 April to 1 May. For more on winners and shortlists, visit the website below. worldphoto.org “200,000 from the submitted 415,000 were entered into the competition”
WORDS BY SAMARA HUSBANDS
THE WORLD PHOTOGRAPHY Organisation has announced the winners (and shortlist) of the open category for this year’s Sony World Photography Awards. Now in its 16th year, the competition recognises the best single shots from the past year in ten categories: architecture, creative, landscape, lifestyle, motion, natural world & wildlife, object, portraiture, street photography and travel. This contest gives global photography a voice, while providing vital insight into contemporary image making. A total of 200,000 from the submitted 415,000 were entered into the open competition. Each winner receives digital imaging equipment from Sony and will progress to compete for the prestigious Open Photographer of the Year title and a $5000 cash prize. See the winners: Architecture: Mark Benham, UK The Silos, a collage-like image of silos and surrounding buildings in eye-catching rosy hues at the port of Brest in France. C reative: Boris Eldagsen, Germany The Electrician, from the Pseudomnesia series: a haunting black & white shot of two women from different generations, brought to life with the careful use of AI image generation. L andscape: Giorgos Rousopoulos, Greece Greek mountain landscape featuring a hiker climbing Mount Tymfi – which stands majestically in the background and overlooks Pindus National Park. L ifestyle: Azim Khan Ronnie, Bangladesh Childhood, a photograph of children weaving in and out of scores of giant cones (topas) in a Bangladeshi rice processing plant as they play with a cart used by workers to carry and dry rice. M otion: Zhenhuan Zhou, China Slam on the Brakes, capturing a cowgirl in a barrel racing contest in Ontario, Canada. For these events, riders race around a twisting course marked out with barrels – and the breakneck pace lends itself to truly dynamic shots.
10 Photography News | Issue 106
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