Scott Gray, CEO and founder of the World Photography Organisation commented: “Each year, the Sony World Photography Awards uncovers emerging photographic talent and gives established artists a global audience for their work. I look forward to seeing the entries and our esteemed judges’ selection.”
Submitted by photographers from around the world, the images cover a wide variety of topics taken from the 10 categories of the Open Competition, which is judged on a single image. Prizes include US$25,000 for the Photographer of the Year and US$5,000 for the overall Open competition winner.
Portuguese photographer Edgar Martins, who won in both the 2009 and 2018 Sony World Photography Awards said: “The media response to the awards was overwhelming, with extensive press and TV coverage all over the world. Apart from providing my work a huge international platform it has also brought my images to the consciousness of collectors, curators, galleries and museums… As a direct result of being part of the Sony World Photography Awards, my work was acquired by several private and public collections.”
British photographer Amanda Harman won the Professional Competition’s Still Life category in 2014, and her series A Fluid Landscape was shortlisted in the Professional Landscape category in 2018. Harman said, “Taking part in the Sony World Photography Awards has led to great things for me. I feel that being shortlisted for the 2018 awards - and receiving a book deal - for a series that I took with the Sony camera that I won at the 2014 awards has nicely completed a circle.
"The awards have undoubtedly helped me in my career, and I am excited for the next steps.”
British artist Alys Tomlinson won Photographer of the Year, which has led to her being represented by HackelBury Fine Art. "It has been fantastic to gain representation by a prestigious contemporary photography gallery and to see my work exhibited with them at fairs across the world. Adding to this, since winning the award I've also found a publisher for the series, and my book is due to be published by GOST Books in spring 2019," she shared.
The World Photography Organisation is a global platform for photography initiatives. Working across up to 180 countries, its aim is to raise the level of conversation around photography by celebrating the best imagery and photographers on the planet. The organisation hosts a year-round portfolio of events including the Sony World Photography Awards, the world's largest photography competition, and PHOTOFAIRS, international art fairs dedicated to photography around the world.
Sony Imaging Products & Solutions is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation that is responsible for its imaging products and solutions businesses, from consumer camera, solutions with a focus on broadcast- and professional-use products, to the medical business.
Details:
Open to all, submissions to these global and prestigious awards are free to enter. There are four categories, of which only one may be chosen:
Professional - Recognising outstanding bodies of work (closes January 11, 2019 - 1300 GMT)
Open - Rewarding the world’s best single images (closes January 4, 2019 - 1300 GMT)
Youth - Best single images by photographers aged 12-19 (closes January 4, 2019 - 1300 GMT)
Student - For photography students worldwide (submissions closed)
Key dates
• February 5, 2019 - Open and Youth shortlists
• February 26, 2019 - Open and National Awards winners
• March, 2019 - Outstanding Contribution to Photography revealed
• April 2, 2019 - Professional and Student shortlists
• April 17, 2019 - Photographer of the Year, Professional category winners and overall Open, Youth and Student winners
All category winners will receive the latest Sony digital imaging equipment and the overall competition plus Professional category winners will be flown to London, UK to attend the Sony World Photography Awards dinner on April 17, 2019. The awards’ winning and shortlisted images will be exhibited in London. Running April 18 – May 6 2019, the exhibition will also include exclusive new works by the recipient of the Outstanding Contribution to Photography Award, to be announced March 2019.
Key dates
• February 5, 2019 - Open and Youth shortlists
• February 26, 2019 - Open and National Awards winners
• March, 2019 - Outstanding Contribution to Photography revealed
• April 2, 2019 - Professional and Student shortlists
• April 17, 2019 - Photographer of the Year, Professional category winners and overall Open, Youth and Student winners
All category winners will receive the latest Sony digital imaging equipment and the overall competition plus Professional category winners will be flown to London, UK to attend the Sony World Photography Awards dinner on April 17, 2019. The awards’ winning and shortlisted images will be exhibited in London. Running April 18 – May 6 2019, the exhibition will also include exclusive new works by the recipient of the Outstanding Contribution to Photography Award, to be announced March 2019.
