All The Winners Of The Sony World Photography Awards 2020

The Sony World Photography Awards, one of the most important fixtures in the global photographic calendar, highlights the power of photography that not only captures a meaningful moment, but also conveys a powerful message.

Produced by the World Photography Organisation, the Awards consist of four competitions: Professional (for a body of work), Open (for a single image), Student (for academic institutions) and Youth (for 12-19 year-olds). Now in its 13^th year partnership with Sony, the awards aim to recognize the world’s most influential artists working in the medium. Categories are designed to be open to all photographic genres and abilities so just about anyone with a keen eye can enter.

This year, Pablo Albarenga was announced to have cinched the title of Photographer of the Year by the Sony World Photography Organisation. It is an award that comes along with a handsome $25,000 accompanying prize. Albarenga isn't the only one who's earned this international acclaim. The World Photography Organisation also announced the ten category winners of the Professional competition alongside the overall winners of the Open, Student and Youth competitions. Here are our favourite selections from the winner's list.

Photo: Courtesy

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Eng Tongtan's "The Balcony"

"The Balcony" is a depiction of Eng's family summer holiday in Tokyo, Japan. He saw this beautiful balcony as his family made their way from Shimbashi Station to Hamarikyu Gardens.

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Eng Tongtan Malaysia Open Architecture

Justin Chui's "Illustration or Photograph?"

When describing this image, Chui said "making a photograph look like an illustration is what keeps me going in my photography".

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Justin Chui Hong Kong Open Architecture 2020

Antoine Veling's "Mark 5:28"

This image captures the moment when audience members were invited on stage to dance at an Iggy Pop concert in Sydney Opera House, Australia. To Veling, the scene is reminiscent of a passage from the Bible: ‘Because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.”’ (Mark 5:25-34, line 28). The image has been likened to religious paintings by Caravaggio, and his chiaroscuro technique. It has since gone viral on social media, making 40,000 people, including Iggy Pop, very happy.

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Antoine Veling Australia Open Culture 2020

Mahesh Lonkar's "Devotees Enjoying Palkhi Festival"

Lonkar photographs thousands of devotees at the Palkhi Festival in Pandharpur, Maharashtra, India. This moment is of a devotee standing on the shoulders of others to form a human pyramid, while playing a drum-like instrument called a Pakhavaj. Lonkar used the hands in this image to bring a sense of depth to the scene.

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Mahesh Lonkar India Open Culture

Satheesh Chandran's "Demigods of Malabar"

Chandran photographs the Theyyam ritual, which is performed in temples in the north of Kerala, India. The performer transforms from human to a demigod through music, dance, make-up and costume.

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Satheesh Chandran India Open Culture 2020

Craig McGowan's "Ice Reflections"

McGowan captures a solitary iceberg, set against the fjord walls in Northeast Greenland National Park.

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Craig McGowan Australia Open Landscape 2020

Chen Jun's "Blue Sea, Silver Sand and One Leaf Boat"

During a family holiday to Exuma—a district comprising more than 365 islands, known as cays—in the Bahamas, Jun flew a drone over a white sandy beach. Jun recalls "..it was almost too beautiful to be captured all at once".

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Chen Jun China Open Travel 2020

Hsiang Hui and Sylvester Wong's "Dawn at Walakiri Beach"

The duo captures the iconic "dancing mangrove tree" found at Walakiri Beach, Sumba, Indonesia.

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Hsiang Hui, Sylvester Wong Malaysia Open Landscape 2020

Or Adar's "Rivers"

"Rivers" is the depiction of the rise and fall of tides in the small curved rivers that appear in a swamp area near Venice, Italy.

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Or Adar Israel Open Landscape 2020

Stanley Lin's "Field of Dreams"

This image, taken in the autumn of 2019, showcases a series of ponds and lakes collectively known as Goshikinuma. Due to the chemical makeup of the ponds, which were affected when Mount Bandai erupted in 1887, the water can appear emerald green, cobalt blue, or sometimes even reddish.

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Stanley Lin Taiwan Open Landscape 2020

Adam Stevenson's "That’s Nothing to Laugh About"

This image was taken with Stevenson's iPhone X, close to his home at Wallabi Point, New South Wales, Australia, after devastating bushfires swept through the area.

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Adam Stevenson Australia Open Natural World Wildlife 2020

Alex Kydd's "A Fever of Cownose Rays"

Kydd captures a rare encounter with a fever of cownose sting rays on the Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia. Kydd explains "the rays were circling and rubbing together in a behaviour that is not fully understood. " The image was taken while free-diving, and Kydd recalls it to be a "once-in-a-lifetime" encounter.

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Alex Kydd Australia Open Natural World Wildlife 2020

Shivansh Mathur's "Mountain Yak"

Mathur came across this scene in the mountains of Arunachal Pradesh, India where he had "to wait patiently for the animal to adopt the perfect pose".

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Shivansh Mathur India Open Natural World Wildlife 2020

Will Venter's "I'm Here"

"I'm Here" is the image of a water buffalo as it peeks out from dense foliage with an expression that Venter describes as "a look as though it wanted us to help it".

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Will Venter South Africa Open Natural World Wildlife 2020

Kihyoung You's "Roadkill"

True to the name, You took inspiration from thoughts while driving: "...we sometimes compare our lives to the road." Although he looks around and acts cautiously and quickly to avoid being hit on the road of life, anyone can become a victim of roadkill.

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Kihyoung You Korea Republic of Open Still Life 2020

Indranil Aditya's "Massive Fire in Kolkata"

Aditya captures a massive fire that broke out in a chemical "godown" (warehouse) near the Howrah Bridge in Kolkata, India.

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Indranil Aditya India Open Street Photography 2020

Adrian Guerin's "Riding a Saharan Freight Train"

To capture this image, Guerin had to stand on the rocks for height and position himself in a rear carriage to get the full view of the 2.5km long, iron-ore train.

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Adrian Guerin Australia Open Travel 2020

Tran Tuan's "Drying Tea"

A moment captured during the first stage of oolong tea production, where workers in Moc Chau and Son La in Vietnam spread green tea leaves out to dry.

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Tran Tuan Vietnam National Awards 2020

Trung Pham Huy's "Water lily Harvesting Season"

Women wash and wrap the plants in Long An Province, before sending them off to market during the peak water lily harvest in the Mekong Delta.

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Trung Pham Huy Vietnam Open Travel 2020

Hsien Pang Hsieh's "Hurry"

Hurry depicts the first time Hsieh travelled abroad alone to Germany for her studies.

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Hsien Pang Hsieh Taiwan Youth Street photography 2020

Dita Suci Putri Rahmawati's "A spotlight on waste"

Taken at the Piyungan, Bantul Regency, in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, this image showcases the struggle of poverty in the country.

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Dita Suci Putri Rahmawati Indonesia Youth Environment 2020

Ram Kaushalyan's "Green room frames"

This photo was taken during the Kaveripattinam festival

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Ram Kaushalyan India Youth Travel 2020

Hashem Shakeri's "Cast Out of Heaven"

A view of half-constructed buildings in the new town of Pardis, located 17 km northeast of Tehran province. The timing of the completion is being constantly postponed.

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Hashem Shakeri Iran Professional Discovery 2020

Adam Ferguson's "Hong Kong Protestors Series"

This image displays a 20-year-old male student from Yau Tsim Mong as he stands for a portrait at a studio in Chai Wan, Hong Kong. Since June, pro-democracy protesters have flooded the streets of Hong Kong, furious with the territory’s Beijing’s-backed government which refuses to concede to democratic reforms.

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Adam Ferguson Australia Professional Portraiture 2020

Sarah Sasani's "Sarah Sasani"

This self portrait showcases Sasani who is a professional judoka. Being an athlete, she craves victory: "I badly crave to embrace my father when I win a fight and allow him to wipe the tears of joy off my cheeks. Maybe my son will see firsthand how her mother fights to be crowned champion."

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Sarah Sasani Iran Professional Sport 2020