The shortlist for the 2014 Sony World Photography Awards, one of the world's leading photography competitions, has been revealed today by the World Photography Organisation. Photographers from 166 countries submitted nearly 140,000 images, the highest number of entries in the awards' seven-year history.

All the shortlisted images will go on show at Somerset House, London, from 1-18 May as part of the 2014 Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition. Tickets are now available at www.worldphoto.org/2014exhibition. The winners and images that made it to the final phase will also be published in the 2014 edition of the Sony World Photography Awards book.

The awards recognise Professional, Open and Youth contestants. This gallery showcases just 20 of the shortlisted images in the Open competition, which is for photographers of all abilities, in a number of categories like Nature & Wildlife, Low Light, Arts & Culture. Category winners will be announced on 18 March and one Overall Open Photographer of the Year will be revealed on 30 April 2014.

stars arch
Nicholas Roemmelt, Austria: "Mobius Arch, Alabama Hills, with Milky Way." Nicholas Roemmelt
snow
Vlad Eftenie, Romania: First Snow Vlad Eftenie
frog beetle
Nicolas Reusens, Spain: The Knight and his Steed Nicolas Reusens
tube
Sean Batten, United Kingdom: Canary Wharf Sean Batten
party
Vuk Adzic, Serbia and Montenegro: Dancer in the Dark Vuk Adzic
wildebeest
Bonnie Cheung, Hong Kong: Jump of Life Bonnie Cheung
leaf lizard
Lessy Sebastian, Indonesia: See Thru Lessy Sebastian
mantises
Hasan Bağlar, Cyprus: Let's Dance Hasan Bağlar
fairground
Pedro Londoño, Colombia: Infancia Pedro Londoño
oranguntan
Chin Boon Leng , Singapore: What are you staring at!? Chin Boon Leng
horse fighting
Ngai Bun Wonh, China: Untitled Ngai Bun Wonh
milky way
Ivan Pedretti, Italy: Starry Lighthouse Ivan Pedretti
stars landscape
Iñigo Cia Da Riva, Spain: "Desert of Bardenas Reales of Navarra on a beautiful night near Pamplona, Spain." Iñigo Cia Da Riva
holi dreadlocks
Igor Kryzhko, Russia: Last Summer Day. "Kubana open air festival that took place in 2013 in the vicinity of the city of Anapa in Russia." Igor Kryzhko
bridge
Holger Schmidtke, Germany: Lightsnake Holger Schmidtke
landscape
Helga Urban, Hungary: Colourful mountains. "This picture was taken in Landmannalaugar, Iceland." Helga Urban
muddy smile
Alpay Erdem, Turkey: Muddy Smile Alpay Erdem
snow pony
Gert van den Bosch, Netherlands: The Cold Pony Gert van den Bosch
camel
Anthony Fernandez, Philippines: Camel portrait Anthony Fernandez
panoramic UK
Alf Bailey, United Kingdom: Buttermere Lake in Cumbria. "A moment when the sun appeared just over the mountain and illuminated both sides of the valley, leaving the trees very prominent and the background hazy." Alf Bailey
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